2023 National Book Awards Winners
74th NBA Video (2hrs 12min)
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Before the winners were announced, there were two lifetime achievement awards given to:
RITA DOVE
PAUL YAMAZAKI
Paul Yamazaki has been a bookseller at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers since 1970. He has been the principal buyer at City Lights Booksellers for more than 50 years. Yamazaki has served on the board of directors of several literary and community arts organizations, among them are the Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP), Small Press Distribution (SPD), and the Kearney Street Workshop (KSW).
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With the presentation of the 2 prestigious awards for "Life Time Achievment" completed, the evening quickly turned to the 5 book category award winners listed below!
Between the five categories, there are four writers and one translator who have been previously honored by the National Book Foundation: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was a 2018 5 Under 35 honoree; Pilar Quintana and Lisa Dillman were Finalists for Translated Literature in 2020; Justin Torres was a 2012 5 Under 35 honoree; and Monica Youn was a Finalist for Poetry in 2010 and a Longlister for Poetry in 2016. All of the Finalists in the categories of Nonfiction and Young People’s Literature are first-time National Book Award honorees. Three of the 25 Finalists are debuts, and 11 independent, nonprofit, and university publishers are represented.
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In The Category Of Fiction
The Winner:
Justin Torres is the author of We the Animals, which won the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, was translated into 15 languages, and was adapted into a feature film. He was a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University, and a Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, Tin House, and The Washington Post. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Book:
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In The Category Of Non-Fiction
The Winner:
Ned Blackhawk is the Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, where he serves as the faculty coordinator for the Yale Group for the Study of Native America. A graduate of McGill University, he holds graduate degrees in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Washington. He is the author and co-editor of four books in Native American and Indigenous history, including Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the early American West. His articles and review essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, American Quarterly, Reviews in American History, The American Historical Review, Ethnohistory, and The American Indian Culture and Research Journal, among others. An enrolled member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, he lives in New Haven.
The Book:
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
- The success of European colonization in the 1600s was not a foregone conclusion.
- Indigenous nations significantly influenced England’s imperial crises.
- The American Revolution was, in part, triggered by Native American issues in the hinterlands.
- California's Indigenous populations, targeted by government-funded militias, were among the Civil War's earliest victims.
- The outcome of the Civil War profoundly affected Native communities in the West.
- Activists from 20th-century reservations reshaped American law and policy.
The Winner:
Craig Santos Perez is an indigenous Chamoru from Guam. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco and a PhD in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of six books of poetry and the academic monograph Navigating Chamoru Poetry: Indigeneity, Aesthetics, and Decolonization. He is also the co-editor of seven anthologies, including Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia and Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures.
The Book:
From Unincorporated Territory [Åmot]
This anthology of avant-garde and illustrative poems delves into the heritage and ethos of the poet's native land, Guam.
This volume marks the fifth installment in Craig Santos Perez’s ongoing series titled "from unincorporated territory," which delves into the history of his native land, the western Pacific island of Guåhan (Guam), and the traditions of his indigenous Chamoru community. "Åmot" in Chamoru denotes "medicine," typically in reference to medicinal herbs.
Traditional Chamoru herbalists, known as yo’åmte, would forage for åmot in the wilderness, while reciting sacred verses and summoning taotao mona, or ancestral spirits, as part of their curative rituals.
Perez, through his innovative and pictorial poetry, investigates how the art of storytelling can morph into a metaphorical åmot, providing solace from the scars of colonialism, militarism, migration, ecological injustice, and the loss of community elders.
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In The Category Of Translated Literature
The Winner:
Stênio Gardel was born in 1980 in the rural northeast of Brazil. The Words That Remain is his first novel.
Bruna Dantas Lobato is a Brazilian writer and literary translator who lives in St. Louis.
The Book:
A letter has been a mysterious presence in Raimundo's life for over five decades, sent by his early love, the charismatic Cícero.
Raised in a poor Brazilian community, where physical labor took precedence over education, Raimundo never learned to read, leaving the letter's contents a mystery.
Raimundo and Cícero, once deeply in love, were torn apart when Raimundo's father violently discovered their relationship.
Despite building a new life in a bustling city, Raimundo remains haunted by the unread letter, a symbol of a long-lost love. Now at seventy-one, having finally gained literacy, he can uncover its secrets.
Set against the backdrop of Brazil's lesser-known rural areas and its vibrant cities, this novel delves into themes of oppression, brutality, and disgrace, juxtaposed with resilience, perseverance, and the remarkable journey of a man on the fringes of society.
"The Words That Remain" is a testament to the enduring impact of language and writing on our deepest connections and experiences.
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In The Category Of Young People's Literature
The Winner:
Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and the road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet? His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California.
The Book:
A middle-grade graphic memoir inspired by the life of a renowned author and illustrator, this book captures the quintessential struggles and triumphs of his middle school years, highlighted by a transformative trip to Europe.
The story follows a boy who exemplifies the traits of a model student - attentive in class, helpful at home, and generally avoiding trouble. Despite this, he faces the challenges of bullying and feeling invisible, leading to low expectations for his class trip to Europe.
However, this journey proves to be a turning point. Initially surrounded by classmates who mock him, he begins to experience a series of 'firsts' as he travels across France, Germany, Switzerland, and England - his first taste of Fanta, first fondue, his adventurous encounter with German punk rockers, and his first brush with romance.
This memoir is a blend of humor, warmth, and touching moments, portraying the life-changing journey of a young boy. It's a celebration of a universally challenging yet transformative period in life, resonant with many readers.
Included are accolades for another of the author's works, noted for its powerful message on resilience and recovery, and commended for its emotional depth and suitability as a redemptive story for both storytime and educational settings.
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In Conclusion:
A significant moment during the ceremony occurred when Justin Torres, the Fiction winner for "Blackouts," received his award and invited his fellow writers to join him onstage. Aaliyah Bilal, a Fiction finalist, then delivered a joint statement that called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, denounced anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and advocated for the importance of preserving human life during times of conflict.
The event, hosted by Oprah Winfrey and LeVar Burton, also emphasized the pressing issue of censorship, particularly in light of the recent increase in efforts to ban books in the United States.
This year's National Book Awards not only celebrated outstanding literary achievements but also showcased the enduring commitment to diversity, freedom of expression, and the unifying influence of literature.
As Always, Thanks For Reading
Rick
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