A dystopian novel about a private, for-profit prison system in which inmates fight for their freedom in live-streamed death throes. A History of Native Americans and the Development of American Democracy. And a graphic novel about a Muslim family’s road trip to Disney World.
These books are among 25 finalists for this year’s National Book Awards announced Tuesday by the National Book Foundation. The winners will be announced on November 15th.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was nominated for “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” the novel about the for-profit prison system. Justin Torres was a finalist for “Blackouts,” about a dying man who shares his research on queer history with someone he met in a psychiatric hospital. Another nominated book, “Temple Folk” by Aaliyah Bilal, is a debut collection of stories about the diverse experiences of Black Muslims in America.
The nonfiction finalists include Ned Blackhawk, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, whose book “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History” examines the role of indigenous peoples in shaping American democracy. Cristina Rivera Garza, a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation grant colloquially known as the “genius” grant, has been named a finalist for “Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Quest for Justice,” about the murder of her 20-year-old Sister is examined in 1990 and femicide – the killing of women and girls because of their gender – more broadly.
In the poetry collection “From From,” finalist Monica Youn examines American racism and anti-Asian violence through poetry and personal essays; The title refers to the question “Where are you from?” The poems in “How to Communicate” by John Lee Clark, another finalist, were influenced by Braille and translated from American Sign Language and Protactile, a touch-based language .
Finalists in the translated literature category include Bora Chung, whose story collection “Cursed Bunny,” translated from Korean by Anton Hur, explores capitalism, patriarchy and female existence. Stênio Gardel was nominated for “The Words That Remain,” a debut novel translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato.
“Huda F. Are You Interested?” by Huda Fahmy was nominated in the Young Adult Literature category; The book follows a Muslim family on a road trip to Disney World. Dan Santat’s graphic memoir “A First Time for Everything,” about unpleasant experiences in middle school, was also a finalist.
Five of the finalists have previously been recognized by the National Book Foundation. Adjei-Brenyah, the author of “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” and Torres, who wrote “Blackouts,” have both been 5 Under 35 honorees in recent years. Lisa Dillman and Pilar Quintana were 2020 finalists for translated literature. And Youn was a poetry finalist in 2010 and was longlisted for poetry in 2016.
Here is a full list of finalists in five categories.
fiction
Aaliyah Bilal, “Temple Folk”
Paul Harding, “That Other Eden”
Hanna Pylväinen, “The end of the drumming era”
Justin Torres, “Blackouts”
Non-fiction books
Ned Blackhawk, “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Destruction of U.S. History.”
Cristina Rivera Garza, “Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Quest for Justice”
Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes
Raja Shehadeh, “We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir”
John Vaillant, “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World”
poetry
John Lee Clark, “How to Communicate”
Craig Santos Perez, “from unincorporated area [åmot]”
Evie Shockley, “Suddenly Us”
Brandon Som, “Tripas”
Monica Youn, “From From”
Translated literature
Bora Chung, “Cursed Rabbit”
Translated from Korean by Anton HurDavid Diop, “Beyond the Door of No Return”
Translated from French by Sam TaylorStênio Gardel, “The words that remain”
Translated from Portuguese by Bruna Dantas LobatoPilar Quintana, “Abyss”
Translated from Spanish by Lisa DillmanAstrid Roemer, “On the Madness of a Woman”
Translated from Dutch by Lucy Scott
Young adult literature
Katherine Marsh, “The Lost Year: A Story of Survival of the Ukrainian Famine”
Dan Santat, “A First Time for Everything”