KIRKUS ANNOUNCES THE FINALISTS FOR THE 2021 KIRKUS

Eighteen finalists in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers’ Literature; $150,000 Bestowed Annually

 

New York, New York (September 13, 2021) – Kirkus Reviews, the nation’s leading journal of prepublication book reviews, today announced the 18 finalists for the eighth annual Kirkus Prize in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature.

Winners in the three categories will receive $50,000 each, making the Kirkus Prize one of the richest annual literary awards in the world. Books become eligible by receiving a rare, starred review from Kirkus Reviews. A panel of four judges for each category, composed of writers, booksellers, librarians, and Kirkus critics and editors, selects the Kirkus Prize finalists and winners.

“This year’s roster of finalists is as exceptional as any we’ve seen” says Kirkus Reviews editor-in-chief Tom Beer. “Our judges have surveyed a remarkably diverse field and identified the books that deserve the widest possible readership. That has always been our mission at Kirkus, and we’re thrilled to further it with this year’s prizes.”

This year’s finalists were chosen from the 749 young readers’ literature titles, 328 fiction titles, and 454 nonfiction titles that received starred reviews from the more than 10,000 total books reviewed by Kirkus during the period of eligibility. The three winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony livestreamed from the Austin Public Library in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, October 28, 2021.

The finalists for the 2021 Kirkus Prize are:

FICTION:

• The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell (Hogarth/Crown)
• The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper)
• My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (Henry Holt)
• Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, translated by David Hackston (Pantheon)
• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
• Harrow by Joy Williams (Knopf)

The judges for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Fiction are: bestselling author Rumaan Alam; critic Elsbeth Lindner; bookseller Ikwo Ntekim; and Laurie Muchnick, fiction editor at Kirkus Reviews.

NONFICTION:

• Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome (Mariner Books)
• People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present by Dara Horn (Norton)  
• All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles (Random House)
• Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke, illustrated by the author (Pantheon)
• Lightning Flowers: My Journey To Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life by Katherine E. Standefer (Little, Brown Spark)
• Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico by Juan Villoro, translated by Alfred MacAdam (Pantheon)

The judges for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction are: National Book Award–winning author Masha Gessen; critic Margaret Quamme; bookseller Karen Maeda Allman; and Eric Liebetrau, nonfiction and managing editor of Kirkus Reviews.

YOUNG READERS’ LITERATURE:

Picture Books:

• Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara (Versify/HarperCollins) 
• Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Carolrhoda) 

Middle Grade:

• Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes and 19 illustrators (Bloomsbury) 
• All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat (Candlewick) 

Young Adult:

• The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim (Scholastic)
• The Life I’m In by Sharon G. Flake (Scholastic)

The judges for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in Young Readers’ Literature are: Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye; critic Amy Robinson;youth services librarian Chrystal Carr Jeter; and Laura Simeon, young readers’ editor at Kirkus Reviews.

The previous Kirkus Prize winners are:

• 2020: Luster by Raven Leilani, Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith, and I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
• 2019: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones, and New Kid by Jerry Craft
• 2018: Severance by Ling Ma, Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises (and Essays) by Rebecca Solnit, and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
• 2017:What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky: Stories by Lesley Nneka Arimah, The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis, and The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
• 2016: The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan, In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi, and As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds
• 2015: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• 2014: Euphoria by Lily King, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast, and Aviary Wonders Inc. by Kate Samworth

2021 marks the eighth year of the Kirkus Prize. It was created in 2014 to celebrate the discerning, thoughtful criticism that Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large since it was founded in 1933.

Winners of the 2021 Kirkus Prize will be announced at a virtual ceremony via the Austin Public Library in Austin, Texas on Thursday, October 28 at 5:00pm (Central) / 6:00pm (Eastern).

 

For more information about the 2021 Kirkus Prize, including dates of eligibility, the rules and selection process, and bios of the finalists and judges, please visit KirkusReviews.com/prize.

 

About Kirkus Reviews

For more than 87 years, Kirkus has been one of the most trusted and authoritative voices in book discovery. Kirkus Reviews covers more than 7,000 books published by traditional houses and more than 4,000 self-published books every year. The magazine is published on the 1st and 15th of every month, and because of the scope of its coverage, its authoritative voice, and the timeliness of its reviews, Kirkus Reviews is revered by many as the first indicator of a book’s potential.

The Chairman of Kirkus Media is Herb Simon. Marc Winkelman is the President and Publisher, and Meg LaBorde Kuehn is the Chief Executive Officer. The Editor-in-Chief of Kirkus Reviews is Tom Beer. The Vice-President of Indie is Karen Schechner. Eric Liebetrau is the Managing Editor and Nonfiction Editor, Laurie Muchnick is the Fiction Editor, and Laura Simeon is a Young Readers’ Editor.

For more information about the Kirkus Prize, please visit https://www.kirkusreviews.com/prize.

For further information on Kirkus, see https://www.kirkusreviews.com.