Meet the Judges for the 2016 National Book Awards
Fiction: James English (Chair), Karen Joy Fowler, T. Geronimo Johnson, Julie Otsuka & Jesmyn Ward
Nonfiction: Cynthia Barnett, Masha Gessen, Greg Grandin, Melissa Harris-Perry (Chair) & Ronald Rosbottom
Poetry: Mark Bibbins, Jericho Brown, Katie Ford, Joy Harjo (Chair) & Tree Swenson
Young People’s Literature: Will Alexander, Valerie Lewis, Ellen Oh, Katherine Paterson (Chair) & Laura Ruby
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#National Book Awards #Fiction #Poetry #Nonfiction #Jim English #Karen Joy Fowler #T Geronimo Johnson #Julie Otsuka #Jesmyn Ward #Cynthia Barnett #Masha Gessen #Greg Grandin #Melissa Harris Perry #Ronald Rosbottom #Mark BibbinsThis week, we were thrilled to announce the Longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards. These titles in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature represent some of the best writing of the year. The Finalists will be announced October 8, all in the lead up to the 70th National Book Awards on November 20.
The 2016 National Book Awards nominations are open! Publishers: submissions are due May 16th.
For guidelines, deadlines + other information, go to http://www.nbaentry.org/
In the process of writing your book, what did you discover, what, if anything, surprised you?
Hanya Yanagihara (Fiction): One of the less-discussed perks (if one could call it that) of writing fiction is that affords you a perfectly good excuse to ask people all sorts of nosy questions about their jobs. Work – how it gives us an identity, how it gives our lives shape, how it can offer us a different way of seeing ourselves, and others to see us – is an important part of A LITTLE LIFE, and interviewing people (friends and friends of friends) about their careers in architecture, film, and the law was one of the book’s great pleasures. I was surprised, again and again, by my interviewees’ passion and eloquence and generosity, and fascinated by their descriptions of the various micro-societies in which they spent their working lives.
In the process of writing your book, what did you discover, what, if anything, surprised you?
Sy Montgomery (author of The Soul of an Octopus): In the process of writing this book, I was surprised at every turn: that octopuses taste with their skin. That most of their neurons are not in the brains, but in their arms. That their touch–one that many naturalists I admire found repulsive–was so soft, and that their suckers–dextrous enough to untie knots in surgical silk, and strong enough that just one sucker might lift 30 pounds–were capable of great tenderness. But what surprised me most was that a creature so unlike us was clearly capable of forming bonds with humans, and that my relationships with each individual octopus changed forever the way I understand what it means to think, to feel and to know.
Image: Phil Klay attends 2014 National Book Awards. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, at a New York City ceremony packed as much with jabs at Amazon as with jazzy entrance music, the National Book Foundation crowned a newcomer: Former Marine Phil Klay took home the National Book Award for fiction, winning the prize for his debut short story collection Redeployment.
Klay, who had been deployed in Iraq, appeared taken aback by the honor on stage.
"I can’t think of a more important conversation to be having — war’s too strange to be processed alone," he said in his acceptance speech. "I want to thank everyone who picked up the book, who read it and decided to join the conversation."
Awards were also handed out to Louise Gluck for her poetry collection Faithful and Virtuous Night, Evan Osnos for his nonfiction book Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China and Jacqueline Woodson for her young adult memoir Brown Girl Dreaming.
More about last night’s announcement here, and more about the nominees — including audio readings from each book — here.
In the process of writing your book, what did you discover, what, if anything, surprised you?
Steve Sheinkin (Young People’s Literature): In researching the Vietnam War and the Pentagon Papers I learned about an incident I think is truly shocking, even in the context of a story full of secrets and lies. With the 1968 election approaching, Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee, successfully undermined peace talks aimed at ending the war. Just days before the election, the talks were finally making progress, and Nixon feared a peace deal would rob him of his best issue – the Democrats’ failure in Vietnam. So Nixon secretly urged the president of South Vietnam to refuse to go to Paris for talks, promising that, if elected, he’d be a better friend to the South than Democrats had been. It worked – and the talks stalled again. And the most incredible part was that Lyndon Johnson knew all about it, thanks to wiretaps and intercepted cables! He privately (and, I’d argue, accurately) called it “treason,” but wasn’t sure he wanted to shock the world days before an election. So it was just one more secret from the American people.
T. Geronimo Johnson talks to Tavis Smiley about his novel Welcome to Braggsville, which has been longlisted for the 2015 National Book Award for Fiction.
Starting with Young People’s Literature on September 12, we’ll announce our National Book Awards Longlists in partnership with the newyorker.com!
Here’s the full announcement schedule:
9/12: Young People’s Literature
9/13: Poetry
9/15: Nonfiction
9/16: Fiction
In total, 40 titles will be longlisted for the 2016 National Book Awards. The Finalists will be released on October 13, and the Winners will be announced at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony on November 16.
Last week, we announced our the 40 books longlisted for the National Book Awards in Young People’s Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction. Excited readers across the country joined us in celebrating these remarkable books, and here are some of our favorite online reactions.
alwaysbringabookwithyou
all-these-paperback-dreams
Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.
Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.
But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”
that’s a fantastic plan, honestly? i would 100% go sit at a bookshop, buy a glass of wine, and pick up the newest biography. 50/50 i’d decide to buy it after a couple chapters, and even if i don’t, that’s still money i spent at B&N!
They could host book clubs with food and drinks where one of the employees shares their experiences with a book of their choice and tries to convince the guests to buy it.
Barnes and noble realizing the only reason people go to brick and mortar stores is for the experience and access to an enjoyable physical space they can socialize in (sure isnt for the price) and capitalizing on that is a stroke of genius and a really refreshing approach to the dilemma of competing with online stores
