Last week, Louise Erdrich and first-time author Katherine Boo were given National Book Awards in the fiction and nonfiction categories, respectively. William Alexander and David Ferry were awarded the young people’s literature and poetry prizes.
The National Book Foundation established the awards in 1950 to “celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America.”
Fiction
WINNER — The Round House by Louise Erdrich
FINALISTS:
- This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
- A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
- Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (available at CA Library)
- The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Nonfiction
WINNER — Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (available at CA Library)
FINALISTS:
- Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956 by Anne Applebaum
- The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
- The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez
- House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid
Young People’s Literature
WINNER — Goblin Secrets by William Alexander
FINALISTS:
- Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos
- Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick (available at CA Library)
- Endangered by Eliot Schrefer (available at CA Library)
- Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (currently on order for CA Library)
Poetry
WINNER — Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations by David Ferry
FINALISTS:
- Meme by Susan Wheeler
- Heavenly Bodies by Cynthia Huntington
- Fast Animal by Tim Seibles
- Night of the Republic by Alan Shapiro