the net has to be told that way. thank you suzanne murphy. thank you aaron and bess and kassie. a special thanks for i have so much love for you all. drinks on me later. i come from an amazing dominican household.

i want to give special thanks to my ancestors who without whom i would not be here. when i was in eighth grade an english teacher i'm going to write a novel instead. do your thing. i did not tell him a dream that i didn't have that he didn't stand behind. i walked through the world with a chip on my shoulder. i go into so many spaces where i feel like i have to prove that i am allowed to be in that space is a child whose immigrants. as a latina. as someone who has the accented voice.

i always feel like you have to prove that i am worthy enough. and there was never been an award or accolade that would take that away. that is how i walked through the world. i've never seen the story until i read yours. and your spirit and reminded about how this matters. i see you, and in return being told that i'm seen. thank you so much to the reader whose time and again why took the sleep and why it matters. of my books matter. [applause]. thank you. [applause].

congratulations and well deserved. i would not graduate anything but i am intensely jealous of your hair. i will tell you that right to your face. next step to present the brand-new national book award for translated literature we had harold argo braun who is familiar to the awards into the stage. currently the acting editor of the yale review and was a visiting fellow, how do you say that?

he is translated among others hosea result, cabeza do vaca and the poetry of marcel preuss. his most recent translation as is the 1885 filipino novel neonate. [applause]. that makes up for the chicken.

we are here to present the national book award in translated literature. i wanted to begin with a bit of translation that is a translation of what ed said before. a little indonesian for my wife carla. i like to commend the foundation for the commitment to translated literature. they had labored in the field of that translation lord without much credit. there begin to get credit now. and especially like to mention the former board member steve levine who is that she been of

establishing the award. it really is a gem and lucky to have her here. my special think to karen. we spent the summer talking about them they were smart and intelligent. they were hard-working. they were insightful they were tough, we've bred 140 books. i would like to counter the vicious rumor that we only considered one-word titles. they famously said that reading a translation was like when you judge the translation award like this. i think it's more like living in a haunted house. you see your own word family

around you but you know that they have word ghost hiding in every corner. we looked up form, style content, in the book's contribution to the conversation about international literature. the five finalists for the national book award translation. published there. [applause]. love, translated from a norwegian. by martin aiken. the emissary.

[applause]. [applause]. the award goes to the emissary.

[music] [music].

hi. the astute among you has probably figured out. i have the distinct pleasure of displaying some words. i am truly surly not to be able to able to travel for the book award ceremony. every autumn i do readings and

performances in tokyo. and going to new york this year would mean canceling three of these readings. many people have already bought tickets the wonderful writer who lived in new york and has an interest in the same things that i do to take my place at the award ceremony and to tell you how grateful i am. i wish i could be there to think you myself i would especially like to thank everyone and new direction who published my book in english.

to all my english readers into the selection committee i think it's great that the translated literature category of the national book award has been resurrected. translation gives a book wings. and of course they saved her final thanks. they asked me to translated into injury. especially barbara who did a

great job editing. editors are so important. i would like to thank yoko for writing the book. they are nothing without authors. i would like to think the national book foundation. [applause]. incorporation you very much. [applause]. it's pronounced frankie. i love poetry.

anything can be could be poetry and for example. the way the red sox clinched the american league east. even that if you consider it a bit of poetry. when you travel north east when you get to new haven it's more like a soviet plast

merce. who becomes a little brighter of it and arriving in cambridge it's mr. rogers and finally in boston is a full on chumbawamba song. poetry is neat. here to present the national book award for poetry as mary jo bang a fellow midwesterner like myself she is an award-winning poet whose accolades include a national book critics circle award hotter fellowship a guggenheim fellowship into berlin prize fellowship. the author of eight books of poems including a doll for throwing, louise and love the last two seconds and elegy. she teaches creative writing at washington university in st. louis.

[applause]. >> thank you so much. and in the judging. we had been asked to talk a little bit about the process. it made an amazing committee [applause]. a network of artists involved in issues of migration and social change.

the poetry society of america. places poems on subways and buses. the author of three books of poems. there are two collection of poems. in a finalist for this. when advocate tough discovery award. the work has been featured widely including on buzz feed the new york times, pbs news hour and every poets dream the late show with stephen colbert.

the co-owner of point raised books. he has served as a juror for multiple book awards. he has published essays and interviews in his first book is forthcoming with bloomsbury press. it is about the fact that like many things in this world have the existence threatened by global warming. in terms of her actual process we decided to find books that we all admired. we achieved that aim by talking and talking and talking. in my listening with generosity. to be on the final list requires that a book has multiple supporters. a long list of ten in our short list of five.

[applause]. lesley university press. it goes to justin phil injury.

[applause]. [music]. [music] good evening.

i don't know that i have been this shallow of breath since my last asthma attack. it's very nostalgic to be a peer. i want to start by saying that i accept this award in loving memory of my grandfather and champion of centenary south carolina. the dr. of and the lasting atlantic breeze. i keep a book in which i hand write my attentions in affirmations. beginning with justin's of the

breed. the attention for allowance of joy and celebration. still not knowing what to make of this. it is kind of my business to get hung up on words. the national book in the united states. and therefore i appreciate the critical magnitude of imaginative revision it requires to whittle down 1600 bucks to 25 to five. to the judges have it been another title i would have had no smaller gratitude for the poetry that will be neatly read because you have read

it. likewise i had wondered maybe it neurotically about what it would mean to comply with those who love and encourage me to be proud and joyfully accept it as deserving. the space to be many and much among them. attentiveness and a questioning of pride affection and joy. if i hope to minify cement otherwise daily honoring those who make me possible. and of what recognizing my labor. i think is my spiritual duty to hold in the same mind those whom this nation and my participation in it daily make less possible in those whose labors continue and recognize. my life is lacking so many welcome voices. and i know this is not accidental. what do i make of this. the common question these days

is justin what are you going to do next, i don't know. i want to imagine it wildly. two such an extent that this particular extent. it becomes unrecognizable. what is next. i want to feel a fullness to love the vast proliferation of voices and continents. that have made it possible for me and for you those magnified. that should be so joyful. i mean to be grateful until gratitude on -- overwhelms me.

and not to the trusting hands. thank you all for this beautiful project. it is a national book foundation thank you. we've always only begun dreaming. i'm thankful to feel the warmth of any light that shines on your words. in my fellow carolina native. i hope they remember who they talk about when they talk about the south. my goodness. filled with this little piece of world that you had influenced and now the seismic immensity of what you have given. the gift or of the dictionary

and the speaker and stereo. my lifelong classmate. my first in my last that i get to be a mere facet of the magic you have made in your desire for different possibilities. [applause]. now you are my teacher. this is neither the time nor the place. the cover art for all of the books that we are seen.

in witnessing all of these eloquent writers. what in fact i'm doing here. now that they arrived for the book award. i realize i am being groomed. my wife and i have a book out right now. i believe would be nonfiction i guess they are getting me warmed up. for next year. it is a much cuter presentation. please bear that in mind. the award for nonfiction will be presented tonight by annette gordon reed. she won the national book award in 2009 for the hemmings of monticello.

this is her second time in judging the national book award for nonfiction. she is very familiar with this stage. she is the charles moore and professor of american legal history at harvard law school and a professor of history and the faculty of arts and sciences. un-american controversy. and most blessed of the patriarchs. in the empire of the imagination. it gives me a great deal of pleasure to welcome my table mate annette gordon reed to the stage. thank you. [applause]. thank you very much.

i set up on the stage. it is second a daunting task. we get 550 books this year. we spent the summer going over them. listing them. arguing some but agreed mostly about the merits of the books. and i'm endlessly grateful as well to my co- panelist. [applause]. i also had to give thanks to my faculty assistance.

they know something about it. who knows something about all other kinds of ways for us it chat. i'm all they have to set these things up for us. they did the dates for when we were supposed to have the conversations. this is something i could not had done it by myself. i had to recognize them as well. we decided that we wanted to look at the form of the book and we wanted to do find books that we thought would last. it said something about the human condition in a way that was worthy of an award. the long list that we have we were enormously proud of. at its it was said earlier. it would be nice if all of these books could win.

the finalist for nonfiction are, the following books. victoria johnson american eden. and the medicine in the garden of garden of the early republic. ferris and marsh. heartland. a memoir of working hard and being broke in the richest country in the earth. the life of the land lost. adam winkler we the

corporation. ww norton and company. and the winner of the national book award for nonfiction is jeffrey c stewart. [applause]. [music] [applause].

twomac i want to say is unbelievable to me. i'm so humble. that the scholars in the readers chose this book and that the national book foundation exists. as such and the times we live in in which many people just don't read.

first of all, i have to say to him or paris brown my literary agent. i cannot get a contract for the book on my own. not just your ideas. and convince the press. the oxford university press. it's also about oxford. finally was able to secure

that. at the certain point. i'd gotten that done. i'd heard from susan ferber the best editor that anybody could have. and she said you know, jeffrey, at that time i have half the book done. when i can to publish two books. but we will publish one large book. i don't link she realized she realized at that time what she was saying. it ends up being a very large book but one that i am enormously grateful for. angela mussina and others. supported me in this process. in the course of a book like this.

my great friend who labored over the book with me, ernie, am i the only person who believes this could be a great book. at that time i think he was. they helped me to learn how to write noncreative. i just want to say. my family and lisa stewart. without whom this book would not exist. and my son konrad and cassondra.

as a gay man who lived a closeted life. he have many struggles. and one of them was the tremendous crushing of this. and what that was. and call them the new negro. the basis for a new creative future not as for black people a new negro for new americans. thank you. [applause].

i mentioned my wife and her full name is megan manale. it will come to bear here to present the national book award for fiction is layla lila me. if you lease the two names together. i am running on fumes here folks. i have a good run. it was a finalist for the pulitzer prize in fiction.

she is currently a professor of creative writing at the university of california. help me welcome to the stage the illustrious layla alameda. [music] i'm thrilled to be here tonight with so many poets, writers and critics and readers and book people. book people are my people think you all so much for being here i want to thank them. the fantastic job of organizing the award ceremony. when lisa asked me to chair the fiction panel she warned me that there would come a time where about in the middle

of the summer when we would be diluted with books and i would be very angry at her the time never came. i also wanted to acknowledge this years fiction panel which have the monumental task of reading 360 books my judges and i have many spirited directions. we reach consensus and we were very proud of this year's list so thank you to my fellow judges [applause].

the short story writers and novelists so much of the time in solitude reading and writing fiction is even more urgent this particular moment it is through the language of stories that we interpret the world around us. exploring the mystery and seeing the beauty or warning about its danger. we use stories to entertain to reflect to inspire. we have survived. above all. we use stories to tell truths. novels that we have celebrated tonight they tell us about ourselves.

the lucky man. [applause]. the great believers. and the friend. riverhead. in the 200018 [applause].

[applause]. [music] thank you so much i

want to think the national book foundation at all of the judges on the fiction committee and i want to think of my agent joy harris in my publisher riverhead. thank you. and the rest of the team in riverhead. my heartfelt gratitude to you all. i was lucky enough as a child to have have a mother and teachers who taught me that whatever happened in life however bad things might get i can always escape by reading a book. i was lucky in that. people that believed that reading and writing were the best things a person could do with their life. and to learn what alan bennett

was getting at when he said that for a writer nothing is ever quite as bad as it is for other people. i became a writer not because i was seeking community because i thought it was something i could do alone and hidden. how lucky to have discovered that writing books made the miraculous possible to be removed from the world into be a part of the world at the same time.

[applause]. congratulations in an enormous congratulations to all the winners of tonight's national book award. your book well now get the coolest sticker. and they join the ranks of the best literature in america. and viewers. my brother who has been texting me criticism throughout the show. he has a bully, i learned that

from books. i'm telling mom. it would not be possible without the wonderful support of readers everywhere. let's keep reading and for everyone here in attendance please join us upstairs for the after party. good night. [music]