Three cheers for more exciting book news! Today, the Before Columbus Foundation announced the winners of the 41st-annual American Book Awards. The award, which has no categories or nominees, was created to recognize extraordinary literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community. The 2020 American Book Award winners will be formally recognized on Sunday, October 25th, 2020 from 2-3pm. Congrats to all!
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2020 American Book Award Winners
Reginald Dwayne Betts, Felon
Sara Borjas, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff
Neeli Cherkovski, Raymond Foye, and Tate Swindell (editors), Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman
Staceyann Chin, Crossfire: A Litany for Survival
Kali Farjardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories
Tara Fickle, The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities
Erika Lee, America for Americans: History of Xenophobia in the United States
Yoko Ogawa, The Memory Police
Jake Skeets, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers
George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker, They Called Us Enemy
Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
De’Shawn Charles Winslow, In West Mills
Albery Woodfox with Leslie George, Solitary: My Story of Transformation and Hope
Lifetime Achievement
Eleanor W. Traylor
Editor Award
Kofi Natambu, The Panopitcon Review
Publisher Award
Jasper Berns, Joshua Clover, and Juliana Spahr (editors), Commune Editions
Oral Literature Award
Amalia Leticia Ortiz
Walter & Lillian Lowenfels Criticism Award
Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll (editors), Appalchian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy