entries must be received before january 20, 2022. the competition rules, tutorials how to get started, visit studentcam.org. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> thank you, it is an honor to welcome everyone to the 72nd national book awards. i'm coming in from random house building. [cheering]

shot, they have wi-fi that won't quit. that is true ally ship. as you can all see, the ongoing pandemic is making this the second will be virtual program. >> that's just horrible. >> get it? berkeley plate the nba, national basketball association? they're all haters. that impression got me on saturday night live. anyway, i'm excited we are gathered here this evening on one of the biggest nights of publishing, the power of the written word, game changing talent in the industry. excuse me. as a host/nominee, i'm all about that.ou wait, sorry. a producer in my e ear is he talking to me. i'm not nominated? for anything? you sure?

you know what's? there is still timeor for me to get nominated and being a winnen tonight. the book is available everywhere. okay, check out this on my book which i writech about ally ship. basically, white guilt is a comic like something always? are trauma without realizing she's a key architect of the spectacle that is her life. fired.etting you set your goal because you bring it home to your cat. i was dmg and he told me he wished he had written that. sorry, the producer again. okay, they are telling me is also not true. all right, well, the national

book awards bank account and nominations, let's focus on the matter at hand. growing up in cleveland, ohio, i wrote stories in my bedroom. don't judge my journey, they allowed me to develop, helped cap into my imagination and strengthen my creativity. there is a passport i needed to the world. my escape daily thought of life and challenge the belief i had. i know i'm not the only one, all right? close your eyes forne a second, come on, close them. okay. now think about the first book that changed a you. all right? try to remember how the pagers smelled. maybe slightly musty as you are probably the last person in a long time to check that book

out. a brand-new copy you got from the bookstore. now imagine it weight in your hand. how comforting that felt. finally, think about the excitement that pulls through you as you could not wait if you could tell your parent, teacher, sibling or friend about what you just read. okay. open your eyes. , dressing upp is done, this is amazing. how you get from think there, a book that can live in your bones forever. tonight, writing that sentence, paragraph or book is what it's all about, it's what truly matters. i should know as i'm ann author of three books and publisher of tiny operations t books, dedicad

to women, people of color and folks from the lgbtq i a+ community. books are my safe space, my happy place. all you nominees are my safe space and my happy place. i am thrilled to be here tonight celebrating all the nominees and honorees, you are the heartbeat of this industry. you're the inspiration to so many writers. so thank you for your talent and ability, bravery and contribution to the literary tradition, you make us smile, laugh, think, cry and feel. show us how the world is and what it canld be, what it should be. for me, next time i submit my book, i'll get myself a nomination. let's go get the show on the road. tonight's event is open to

everyone and free but also the biggest fundraiser for the national book foundation. nonprofit organization and they need your support. if you believe in the power of books to change the world, please consider donating today. i'm going to do it right now. 12,000 dollars, that's a little rich for my pocket, clock out at 150. we have an audience tonight, people who love books are champions of the national book foundation. hey, everybody. make some noise with your hands. thank you for being here with us tonight. your bookshelves look amazing, okay, everyone has good internet? okay. they're going to check and over the course of theg night and we began by honoring the foundations lifetime achievement honoree. lifetime achievement awards is a literary award for the american

literary community, given to a person who's showed a remarkable dedication, the audience for books and reading. last year the foundationea honod the late simon & schuster publisher, carolyn. other winners include maia angeles film. if the american association. .... the weekly book newsletter and totally cap video book review. previously it was the editor of the book section of the christian science monitor. his book has been honored by

the national critics book circled the society for futures a journalism and the american library association. andhe check this out, he's also served as a judge for pulitzer prize for fiction and since 2013 is hosted life of a poet. erexcuse me an interview series cosponsored by the library of congress. it givesf me great pleasure to welcome ron charles. >> thank you. nancy pearl once wrote each time i begin a new book there's a really real chance this'll be the the very bookoo i fall in love with. who isn't incurred by the perennial possibility of such love waiting for us on the very next page? like most people i first or nancy pearl when he heard her voice on the rate at recommending books for npr. she was a funny, she was warm and most of all she was enthusiastic. she immediately reminded me of

my first vibrator's voice drew my classmates and me through comedies and adventures around the world and across the galaxy. later i would learn that nancy's enthusiasm from literature came from experience. this is heaven who entitled her memoir girl discovers reading then discovers life. growing up in detroit, nancy found the library offered rescued. she was rescued from despair by books. libraries and librarians. it's not too much of an exaggeration to say reading saved my life. at a young age she discovered books allowed her to find yourself in to escape herself. by the time she was ten she knew she wanted to be a librarian. self-described rita holick she started working at the bookshelf in detroit before she graduated from high school. she had a masters degree in library science university of michigan and from there her involvement with books kept evolving. she began her career as a

children's librarian in detroit and moved to the tulsa county library in the seattle public library she became the executive director. nancy had a typically audacious fancy sized idea in 1998 she started book club that embrace the whole population of the city. a program called if all of seattle read the same book exemplifies the breadth of nancy's vision the depth of her faith and power in literature. this replicated ingr every state of america and around the world. as a program base and increase the essential idea that people meeting in a public place to talk about a book couldn't learn to appreciate the book and each other. i believe sheve once said there's an opportunity for reading and discussion to help make the world a better place. what could be more necessary at a moment when our society needs and fractured and found

the latest battleground of the cultural wars. the time and too many people nancyy writes original encounter new worlds new ways. to experience a beauty, to understand myself better but the pure wonderment of it all. nancy retired from her post as executive director of the washington center for the book and this is not a person given to mockery she has made a mockery of retirement. following up on the success of her indispensable reading guide sharon to publish more book lesson crush first novel george and lizzie books for travelers vagabonds and dreamers above demonstrates what emily dickinson meant when she said there is no free like a book to take his lands

away. and perhaps that some of the thesis of all of nancy's work. throughout her career she's been on a critic to readers advocates, someone who understands how thirsty people are to find books they will love. and to hear is to know her vocationor is inspired by good humor is still coincident she was chairman of the fiction committing i the way andrew sean greer won a prize reminding us a comic novel can be a great work of art. nancy's voice on radio, television and her own best-selling books was so powerful to represent the idea of the eye librarian. an activist for the unbridled pleasure of reading she is not a guardian of the treasures, she is a farmer of the orchard. i have never wavered as she writes in my belief in being a librarian's were the best noblest careers anyone could have. people pursued that profession with such infectious

intelligence and delights. reading she says has always brought me pure joy in her joy has been for decades. and so it is my honor to introduce the recipients of the 2021 literary award for outstanding service to the american literary community, nancyy pearl. >> thank you ron for that lovely introduction. i want to thank the national book foundation from theor bottom of my heart for this award. i feel as though my entire life has now been validated. and to find myself in such notable countries previous winners it's beyond wonderful. when you have gotten to be the age i am there are so many people who have made a difference in your life. people who have helped me become the person i am today that if i named all of them i would far exceed my time limit

so here are just a few. my husband joe who has made my reading life possible. mr. francis whitehead the children's librarian at the parkman branch of the detroit public library, who took this miserably unhappy 8-year-old girl that i was and gave me the world to the books she recommended. including the hobbits, lois lindsey's strawberry girl and esther forbes johnny tremaine. ms. whitehead showed me books are places where you can both m find yourself and lose yourself. iiw knew it when i was ten i wanted to be a librarian just like ms. whitehead so i could give to other children what she gave me. ms. glen the halle elementary school librarian who made sure i read helen gannon it's my father's dragon and eleanor cameron's wonderful flight to theo mushroom planet thank you

tracy hired me too work at the yorktown alley bookstore in tulsa, oklahoma. craig who brought me to the seattle public library from tulsa by creating a job for me that required me too do what i loved and didin best, talking about books in the pleasures of reading and not having to do anything i was not good at which was basically everything else. craig gave me the time, space and encouragement to create if all of seattle read the same book program which is grown throughout the world into all of those one city, one book projects. gary luke, then an editor at sasquatch books here in seattle who called meet one day and asked me too write a book about good books to read and named it book lust. mark palo who used me as a model for the librarian action figure thus immortalizing me

and what i'm pretty sure non- biodegradable plastic. sunshine icend in a cultural affairs officer at the u.s. embassy in sarajevo who camet up with the idea of having all the teenagers in the country, whether they be muslim, croat or serb read and discuss sherman alexi's absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. she asked me too come to bosnia to work with librarians and teachers who we've been discussing this book with those teens. my experience there solidified my belief that reading and then discussing a book can be a small but important step in helping heal a fractured nation or a community in conflict. and lastly i want to thank all of the writers, editors and publishers whose books have given me so much joy through the years.

i am, i believe the first librarian to win this award. i am dedicating it to all of the librarians who do such essential work for their communities. one t of the foundational principles of the public library is that it is a truly egalitarian institution available free to everyone. regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, age or economic status. and as such it is a democratizing and unifying force in our society which is needed now more than ever before. thank you again to the national foundation for this great honor. ♪ ♪ >> congratulations and now back to our host phoebe robinson. >> nancy has her own action

figure, that is amazing i love libraries, andib go to them all the time. thank you so much for your incredible work. i bow down. the second award will be presenting as the distinguished contribution to american letters. include toni morrison, steven king, walter mosley and gwendolyn brooks. this honor is given to a writer who has over the course of their career greatly enriched our literary heritage through the body of work. has had an extraordinary impact in here to present the metal. novelty sympathizer won the pulitzer prize winning for fiction and numerous other awards he's also the author to other works of fiction the committed and the refugee. his book nothing ever dies in vietnam in the memory of war was a final at the national

book award for nonfiction. university professor in the harold arnold chair of english at the university of southern california and a recipient of fellowships of the guggenheim foundation. oh my god, while paired with great pleasure i would like to welcome. >> it was one of the most inventive and unpredictable writers whose work i've had the pleasure of reading. it's a real honor to have this opportunity to say a few words about international writer, an american writer in asian american and japanese american writer. i mention all these adjectives because a book span all them travel across many borders were always putting at their center of the stories of diverse people in the americas including those of asian descent. karen has been an enormously meaningful to me.

someone who is saved by discovering american asian literature the same year karen beganra publishing, this is 1990 i was a college student wondering if a vietnamese refugee like me can be a writer in english. or someone like me can be part of america, along comes karen with her personal to the ark of the rain forest which blows my mind. we are part of america, yes but by america ^-caret met more than just the united states. to the ark of the rain forest brings ary magical realism in the story about environmental destruction the japanese migrant to brazil in a wide about karen exploring themes and should pursue for the next 30 years the movements of migrants the difficulties of race relations and the challenges of writing about history and memory from south and north america from japan, her next novel about japanese immigration to brazil was

pressured and foregrounded the american and japanese are much more rest. two japanese-americans of the united states. karen's work this kind of u.s. focused lines us in the united states the only too much of the world but how we are impacting like global forces of war. migration capitalism that we do not instigate. third landmark novel topic of origin which countless dissertation articles have been written, imagine los angeles is a sign that apocalyptic silt funny moment of conversion caused by a gigantic orange from mexico to california bringing with it you've got to read it to see how many threads karen weaves together her ambition which i most admire about her as a writer she can move easily from a grand project to book of short pieces about japanese

brazilians i go to japan for low-wage work some say sensibility another book short pieces featuring japanese-americans who work serious as it is about the damage we do to each other and the world is streaked with human satire as well as ultimately an deep humanity and compassion. it's one reason why found her letters and memories so moving a work inspired the family archive it spans a 20th century and all of the human drama including the internment of japanese americans internment not only a japanese american event was an american event in american internment karen's work will not allow us to forget that history prints one reason why her masterpiece is for me the great asian american novel with agent in parentheses. is the great american novel with asian and asian americans

are history literature battle politics and jokes at the heart of it. also at the heart of the hotel is radical hope conviction fans and all of karen's work we can and must fight for a more just future that literature imagination all have important roles to play. she has played a role with unwavering commitment to artistic vision giving us an indisputably distinguished contribution to america. karen, congratulations on this richly deserved. >> to the board of directors of the national book foundation chair david steinberger executive director and associate director thank you for this gracious and profound honor. thank you for your gracious introduction.

including the illustrious and i am stunned to be here. but i know i am here because of a small but mighty esindependent press, coffeehouse press and is a visionary publisherk read my work and took a chance on my writing. allen in the coffeehouse staff in the world of publishing that intellectual and social influence the art of bookmaking and the love of language and story. after launching my first novel alan asked what have you got next? i answered very different you won't want to which she said let us be the judge of that. since then i have published all of my books with coffeehouse over the years that cap my books in print. thus readers continue to have

access to my book. i'm here because coffeehouse has envisioned the long distance of eight writer's journey knowing a book take time to be read and to be shared. coffeehouse is understood a small margin of profit over time might give authors like me a chance to grow growing up as a writer is in asian american community. it is i believe an imagined space that recognizes the immigration and participation of asian and pacific islander people in an american society and political life. initially this asserted its grounding within american continental history. that's always been referential to the crossing of the ocean. this navigation has not necessarily been specific but

the result of colonialism, racism asian american literature is at heart a literature of politics andic resistance. for our community your recognition tonight is significant. especially this year post- pandemic and in the twitter of absurdity, corruption and audacity. the racial profiling insight refugee, anti- muslim anti- hatred. we are writing forced tolerance and care. i am also here because the generosity and support of a broader shared community to mentors and teachers across the world and most significantly calling students and staff at the university of

california at santa cruz who have provided me with the home to research and to write. and i am here because myde friend and family especially my sister and my creative husband and partner have given me love and faith because you have believed. many years ago my aunt took me two visits, years later i would discover when a cache of letters hurt wartime correspondence with her dear friend i took for granted the connection of the family to the church into the wartime incarceration. i know they planned this meeting with her i was a

writer. this is both comical and sweet and meanwhile i did earnest kid in college had no idea. in those years was the most successfully published japanese american writer all for a h generation. these writers only was able to live by her craft. not that she was swimming in royalties she lived alone and very modestly. in 1949 she published her first book the dancing teakettle and other japanese folktales. i assume the book read to me as a child to be the first

book of these tales one story that continues to resonate in the story saves a giant turtle from bowling children returning it to the sea. one day is fishing the turtle reappears and invites to visit the princess of the sea. climbs onto the turtle's back and travels to the bottom of the ocean. at last he races home. as he leaves the princess offers him a small jewel box if he wishes to return he must never open that box. well, perhaps you know the story. the turtle may be magical but inscrutable being uponn his back we find our destiny.

perhaps what lies ahead is an adventure or escape of the moment of our death. turtle is a great vehicle the responsibility of our journey is only our own. the turtle with that shell as a home has a different lesson how we must travel within our bodies even if marred by ethnicity, gender, color. immigrants, refugees, exiles by the fortunes of life have set forth on the backs of immortal turtles to distant places. sometimes alternate displaced bombed out realities to discover it impossible. there's also the predicament of her mobility as transnational often celebrated but for many migrant laborers a great prokaryote t.

i have also plundered the meeting of the jewel box it's a secret hidden within, the jewel, the soul the joyful horrific messy contradiction of life. the story of a a journey indeed, the book would have remembered or imagined this journey sometimes revealed intensely, extravagantly, comically orc's violence. but the imagination is the only sane site or we can play with satire and do plenty c combat express anger and solace, reconciliation. his heart filled with confusion, curiosity, wonder seeking answers will open his gifted box and reap the

consequences. we discover writing what we think, turning ideas on the page can reconstruct ways of thinking. ideas are dangerous and transformative. it's creative work to which we are responsible, accountable. it requires arc constant care and integrity. i think all of you who have gifted me this amazing journey. i have been truly blessed. varco congratulations and now back to our host phoebe robinson. >> wow, that speech was a power felt almost teared up and i agree, writing you have

to include integrity. it's a dangerous out there we have to move it a good and positive way. okay now i like to introduce the national book foundation board chair david steinberger come on over. >> good evening. thank you phoebe we are so thrilled to have you with us here tonight as our host. this is our second exclusively national book award were joined by readers and book lovers from around the world as we celebrate the best in literature. we are thrilled to recognize the importance of powerful writing, talented authors and of course the o main readers whose lives are touched by books. to all thoseon joining us tonight, welcome to the 72nd annual national book awards. i need to start by thanking the team at the national book foundation your perseverance and dedication over the past years been nothing short of extraordinary thank you.

the board of directors of the national book foundation some of the most committed and enthusiastic people i have ever had the opportunity to work with. thank you all i am honored to serve this historic institutional insight each of you. tonight we are coming to from the offices of penguin renting house surrounded by books as we should be, generously made available to spar board member, thank you marcus and thank you penguin renting house for hosting us here tonight per like to thank all of those who have made not just this night but the year around work of the national book foundation possible. we have a lot of people to think and it is my privilege to be doing the thinking. thank you tort national book award sponsors penguin renting outsp central johnson, amazon, apple, barnes & noble, google, harpercollins and new york city mayor's officeog and in

simon & schuster, thank you tort national book awards signature virtual table host and a virtual table host taylor cia, cushman and wakefield my felloww board members and also, thank you both. the "new york times", scholastic, ww norton and company. thank you for the nonprofit table host bookshop, candlewick, charles and barbara white, great wolf, independent publishers princeton university press yale university press and thank you to all of your individual support is your generosity makes the work the foundation doesn't day in and day out possible. the national book awards is not just an awards show.

it's also the single largest source of funding for the work of the national book foundation. the foundation's mission and it is a great mission is to celebrate the best literature and america, expand its audience and ensure books have a prominent place in american culture. the foundation with children's and public housing communities across the country have access to free high-quality books more than 1.6 million books to date the foundation's work is give caregivers opportunities to cultivate their level of reading and moderate for the children in their lives. access to thought-provoking literature at the renowned authors and thinkers of today. to continue this work we need your help. as of now we have raised more than five enter $50000 towards our goal of $650,000. if you are watching tonight,

if you believe like we do that books matter, they can change lives we hope you will make a generous donation in support of our work att national book.org/awards. we truly cannot do it without your support. and now i could not be more excited to introduce you to the new champion of this book. as many of you know our former executive director, lisa looked as his publisher pantano books we congratulate lisa we are gratified she remains actively involved with the foundation as a member of our board of directors leases successor ruth dickey during the national book foundation in may of this year end it was not easy. she was in seattle at the foundation was in new york where in the middle of a pandemic but she is doing great. in addition to being a poet and a former national book

awards judge, ruth has led nonprofit organizations across the country not just towards artistic excellence but also toward making a difference to people of all backgrounds and circumstances including many who might otherwise be overlooked. she's a builder of an big believer and big dreams and we could not be happier to have her at the helm of the national book foundation. dell before we hear directly from ruth a let's take a look at our work and why we do it. >> since 1950 the national book awards celebrate the best in the b united states and helped reach more readers. >> this week's winner is by charles u. >> i feel like i left my body. i think i went completely numb with shock. definitely spoke from the heart and also forgot to thank my family he was sitting right next to me and my parents.

that is one thing i found when i became 535 it many years ago. someone might work out i had no idea that all this on their people in new york who i felt like in some way i was connected to now. >> the four main pillars awards and honors, educational access, a public program and support for the literary field. our intrepid and her partners are inspiring and considering to do the important work. as a time it mattered more than ever. they encouraged as the children to reading and talk about reading in the same ways they would talk about a movie or a sport program they saw.

>> the intention to serve has huge barriers to access for books. literature for justice was a three-year program designed to have conversations around books that illuminated mass incarceration in our country. an opening witness to the conversation breakthrough that we continued our partnership to bring books to people who are incarcerated in every corner of the country. >> what i amm excited about the things that we really will bring folks some joy. i do think creating and sometimes it's easier to get that but were really doing is expanding the community. ♪ ♪ >> the environments connect children and families in public community it's a high quality diverse. last year we were able to get 4500 books initiate we have

7000 books. being able to allow children to choose books often times books that have pictures of their likeness and choose any book, as many books as they want, build their own library. >> the literary arts center was created to address a crisis in a culture and support literary organizations in the pandemic. as a partnership with the academy of poets and the community unsupported by the andrew long validation. in fall of 2020 when we announce the second round of support whichnn is jibber $4.3 billion in the second round of the campaign. >> books offers opportunity one day at a time. we think about how shaky man. >> having acted the truth we have places we could not get

otherwise. >> that to rely? as a goal what sue learned about. we don't experience a big x the books below are not just books we chose ourselves, books of the people chose for us. >> is to create a sense of belonging in reading for readers absolutely everywhere. readers have extreme experiences with books. [laughter] >> how do people do it i do not know people do this. thanks, things have a good day. >> thank you so much, david for your leadership and for that introduction. i am absolutely thrilled to be here for my first ever national book award its executive director of the national book foundation. welcome to the audience is

joining us from new york and austin in seattle. my hometown in north carolina. we have honor recently from all over the world from charlottesville, virginia to something virtually from to beijing china. and so grateful for the technology that allows us together and celebrate out there. if there ever a time that underscored the extraordinary experiences that books provide it has been past 20 months. after eats joy this historic time there have been books. books that inspire, books that comfort, books that change i see the world books that help us have new possibilities were sent think are the efforts of the countless publishing teams, booksellers like deer in current teachers writers and advocates have brought us the books that expand entrance for my life. i am delighted together tonight that's all but the 25 extraordinary books that a

finalist this year to select the 25 books from over 1800 submitted books are steamy panels of judges who you can see here, read, and read, and read, and red. they have continued to meet on zoom throughout the judging process. they have thought and discussed thoroughly illegible. there grateful for the tremendous devotion to literature, for the heart and humor. all the time they have given to this process. i am in awe of the dedication. as david visited the great for the worse in 2018 for even almost inside vantage point the awards process was nearly effortless. i know now due to the incredible work of the national book foundation staff and interns. meredith injuries, andrew donnelly, natalie green, taylor michael, kendal neil, allie, jordan smith, meg at

kenzie. williams mcbride and all of the team's help the awards and all of our work come to life. thank you especially to emma jarvis. you have directed at this a book of words. that it's shepherded the words for four years in true form and had a longer thank you prepared, she cut it for time. thank you anna for keeping us on track and all the ways in making tonight reality. i feel tremendously grateful and lucky is it to work with such incredible community to celebrate reading and books. i could not have wished for a warmer welcome than when i receive of the national book foundation board of directors. your leadership and partnership have been extraordinary. they get charges are committed to the is not but it did or been so enthusiastic and so similar to thank you for the national book council energy and idea the park. think it's her partners in making incident happened. squires teddy blanks and visit

theirhe thoughts the use of immediacy making this all possible. winkler, into glasgow, thinking who were all design and technology wizards. so, thank you for the match covering all the honorees on screen together tonight. i cannot wait to hear who the winnerss w are. i had mentioned a finalist for the same way. i think if the green room so take a look at a finalist. the second flick the literature were russian record if you are ago they are waving at us from around the world as well. of these violets are just the beginning of the presidents of the impact of our work. finalist pleas from the monster just the start printer impact will continue to be felt beyond these awards

tonight. every time someone connected to book in the months, years, and decades to come. congratulations to all. of you and thank you for your books and your words. we are gathered to celebrate the power and importance of a books in our lives and in our worlds. select file is demonstrates books don't just reflect our humanity books remind us that humanity is shared. reading gives us an experience that is simultaneously unmitigated, in-depth, personal and universal. we need books and a deep thinking and learning and empathy that reading brings. books can open minds and that is why books can be challenging and why books are currently being challenged. yet this is all super slightly white folks matter and why it feels especially important to celebrate literature, up lift the of authors and champion reading.

what a gift tonight is the most meaningful most life-affirming when shared with friends and family, neighbors and colleagues at bookstores and libraries reading provides powerful opportunities for us to connect to different people, new ideas even in difficult conversations tonight we celebrate a community of readers in our shared commitment to create a culture of belonging in books in every corner of our country. thank you to all gathered here tonight. wewe are all part of this work. a very simple idea that books are for everyone. phoebe, thank you so much back to you. snaps for ruth she needs to write my speeches from now on, okay? let's check in with their audience how are you all

doing? are you awake or having fun? are you inspired going to buy more books going to buy my books? maybe question no? you getting excited for the announcement the national book awards youhe all, thank you so much for being here tonight. the national book award are particularly exciting because until the moment leaves that judges must only five person panel judges know the decision of the foundation board, not the staff i don't know either. everyone is hearing it here at the same time for the first time. winners of each category will be announced by the chair of the respective category and we reverse alphabetical order. these categories are young people literature, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. so you know we are about too go into young people's literature some of the most exciting writing out there. i'm so excited tonight and now

the national book award for young people literature. >> is the power and wonder of our world to entertain, educate and inspire. address gender and sexual identity racial policy ancestral history in her own personal mythology. illustration verse and prose externally books offer young people a connection to communities in the reflection of their extending. they ask us to revel in our imagination in the future we are celebrating. this year's national book award for young people literature is catherine the director of simmons university center for the study of children's literature. ♪ ♪

>> well, here we are it seems to have taken so very long to get here. and yet it is we just started meeting yesterday. i want to thank you all what a privilege it has been to participate in the 2021 national book award. and to foster a nation of readers by elevating excellence in new books published for young people. i went to think ruth in and for their undying support i want to thank my panel leslie connor, and others. having bent recognize the national book awards themselves that carried deep understanding of the awards as they put books inup the hands, the hearts and minds of young readerss. we experience personally that they have brought to their books. we read, we talked we talked

and we read we read some more of cap reading and talking and finally we are here with you tonight. all the details of character narrative understand not all of what a book to bill what it could do. you can rest our discussion i learned new ways of interrogating appreciating books published for young people. i will never read i will never teach the same ever again, thank you all. they finalist for the national book award for young people's literature the legend of an chipolte penguin random house. last night at the t telegraph

club melinda low books for young reader penguin random house. too bright to see books for young readers penguin randomm house. the black panthers of parties promised and amber mcbride fuel and friends mcmillan publishers on the national book award for young people's literature in 2021 goes to last night at the telegraph club melinda low books for young readers penguin random house ♪ ♪ >> melinda low last night at the telegraph club gotten books for young readers imprint of penguin random house class that the telegraph

club girls c with desire romantic flashes against fear and intolerance electricity tells melinda low materializes chinese-americans white cast love story during the rise of 1950s mccarthyism. exquisite pros contrast lily's unhurried discovery of her sexuality against the unquestioned belonging at the telegraph club sentence by restraint sentence this novel of queer possibility ♪ ♪ >> oh my god wow. wow it has been an incredible experience to be part of the national book award. want to say thank you for the judges i am so, so honored.

last night at the telegraph club began as a short story. and i want to thank my friend sondra mitchell for giving me thatpportunity to write story. thank you to my agent for seeing a novel in that story and inspiring me too see it too. thank you to my editor, working with you has been transformative. i am so grateful to have you on my side. oh my god, thanks to my publisher and everyone at penguin young readers. everyone at my agency, so many people have worked so hard behind the scenes to get this book in front of readers, thank you. parts of this novel are in chinese. i would not have been able to write them without the help of my parents and my aunt.

and to my y grandmother, you may not be in this world anymore, you are here with me in every book. to my wife, amy, thank you for all of thehe ways you support me. i love you. and one more thing, when my first novel came out in 2009 it was one of 27 young adult books about lgbtq characters are issues published that year. this year hundreds of lgbtq books have been published the growth has been incredible but the opposition to our stories is also grown. this year's schools across the country are facing significant right wing pressure to remove bookspe of people but color lgbtq people and especially transgender people from classrooms and libraries i urge every one of you watching to educate yourself about your school board and vote in your

local elections 2022 is coming and we need your support to keeps. our stories on the shelves. too not let them erase us. thank you. ♪ ♪ >> congratulations and now back to our host phoebe robinson. [applause] >> melinda that speech was on fire general at them erase us. we can all take that to our things better. congratulations again on your win, so excited for you. okay next up is the national book award this was added in 2018 is a first added in two decades the award adds global perspective from books all over the world that are published here in the united states. and now the national book award for translated literature.

>> reading literature in translation is an active journey in discovery. wordss transport us no plane or train required. perspectives beyond her own. translated literature brings the world to us for the finalist for the national book award for translated literature or translated into english from arabic, chinese, french and spanish. these extraordinary books are a triumph of collaboration that belong to personal and political history. contemplate intimacy and alienation and expand our notion of the possible. the panel chair for this year's national book award for translated literature is steven snyder whose translation was a national book award finalist in 2019. he serves as a vice president for academic affairs and dean

of langley schools at middlebury college. >> a good evening. it has been a great honor and a true pleasure to serve on a committee charged with delivering the 2021 national book award for translated literature. at first i want to recognize my extraordinary collaborators and friends to share this fascinating journey. the other members of this journey. during our many meetings i been amazed by their m dedication and the insightful reading they offer for each book. i have learned from their tremendous intelligence, their candor and their generosity of spirit and i'm deeply grateful to them and enormously proud of the work we have done. i've had the privilege of writing one to 54 entries representing 27 languages. a thrilling and at times daunting task that convinced

us of tremendous riches of contemporary literature in english translation. translated literature's family come into its own in this country with more work appearing each year end more mattention being paid to the array of literary talent and a new generation of gifted translators her work across a wide range of languages and cultural traditions. we are a delighted to bill to recognize each of the excellent submissions in this category. marvelous works on the long list and the five finalist being celebrated here this evening. those finalists are by alisa. translated from french and published by open letter. pizza box in paradise translated from the chinese then published by new york reviewie books. the twilight zone translated

from the spanish bite natosha and published by great wolfy press. we cease to understand the world by benjamin translated from the spanish published bite new york review books. planet of play translated from the arabic by larry price and published by world additions. and this year's national book award for translated literature goes to published by open letter. ♪ ♪ alisa translated from the french open letter this novel evokes the atmosphere of

abandonment and isolation as well as a stark beauty and provincial south korean seaside resort town the north korean story except floors identity personal cultural and national in the fleeting kinship they can start between solitary strangers elegant translation brings out tender and mysterious novel. [laughter] [inaudible] thank you so much.

[speaking in native tongue]. she says thank you from the bottom of her heart she doesn't want to say but this is coming from the bottom of her heart. this is very, very dear to her and she says a big thank you to everyone. i cannot thank everyone enough it is such an honor and am completely overwhelmed by this. thank you to alisa thank you to the publishers thank you

two books in london. i also want to say thank you to my -- our first editor on this book worked so hard on this text with us. thank you to all of you at the national book award award. this is such an honor and it's fantastic. for all of the people who will not reach her book and get to know more is a wonderful thing so thank you so. much to everyone. ♪ ♪ >> congratulations and now back to our host phoebe robinson. >> i love when winners are speechless. the true, raw emotion and yes get out there get this book if you have not yet it is fantastic. and that will go on over to poetry i am a terrible poet i tried in college, did not succeed. that is why i do comedy.

and now the national book award for poetry. ♪po ♪ asks us to play close attention to words, to linebreaks, to one another. to find the rest the 2021 national book award for poetry the complexities of the past, and document the impact and echoes of trauma and investigate existence of identity. and yet these books also ask us to empathize, to imagine and to recognize within the complexity of humaniz life. for this year's national book award for poetry is avon's order author of four poetry collections and literary award winner he is the director of the writers program at the university ofs michigan.

>> thank you all for tuning in tonight. this mashers book award is not meant not only one of the great honors of my career spent a lot of great joys. it's a real gift when you're called tose service and despite the work involved it also turns out to be a good time. beyond the wonderful books we read this year, i'm including the many books did not make it to the list of finalists i also felt lucky to work with some poets whose work on the page i already admired. i'm happy to report that matches are good spirits in the world. the foundation chooses the jurors not the chair so i say yes to churn before knowing with whom i would be work if it was all the names of the jurors for poetry i was as excited as tom cruise on his couch right knew i could not have chosen a finer group of poets if i would've chosen them myself. i want to thank who is a quiet

storm of wisdom. who brought her deeply insightful voice to every meeting. further her intuitiveness. who always caught anything we missed not only with the attention to detail but also with the big generous heart. for all their hard work and their generosity, and further deep emotional maturity throughout this process, i want to thank them. : : : year's national book award. they are what noise against the king. desiree c bailey yale university press. floaters homes. ww norton and company. so, great books.

1000 times you lose your treasure. the sunflower casts a spell to save us from the void. jackie. y and this year's national book award for poetry goes to floaters poems. ♪♪ >> floaters. ww norton and company.in managing to address the concerns of our times to a timeless voice that can be heard above this confident world. these have the power of s observation. what is in front of us, what is behind us, both in memory and heritage. we can only imagine believing all are worthy of songs, all are worthy of taking seriously

within our song he had this is a collection vital for our times and vital for those in the future. trying to make sense of it today. ♪♪ >> thank you very much. i am speechless to a large extent because i did not prepare a speech, but also because i'm very honored by my selection as a recipient of the national book award. there is enough -- there is not enough time for me. i beg your apology.

the book is dedicated. present on every single page. it means absolutely the world to e.me. i want to thank my editor and my publisher. i want to thank my agent. i want to thank someone who is not here, my father. both in artistic and acceptance throughout my life. i want to acknowledge the work of opponents.

i know what it is like to be where i am. and i hope -- i would like to thank the judges. that is all i have to say. i have way more intelligent things to say. thank you. ♪♪ >> congratulations. now back to our host. >> i love a man who keeps it short and sweet. so beautiful. congratulations again. only two awards left.

getting pretty close to the end of the night. please consider supporting books you all better donate. next is the national book award for nonfiction. >> known fiction discovers and transforms. seeking difficult truth and our understanding. layering personal experience and celebrate black american culture examine ecology, history and survival.

the author of eight books including the history b of white people. >> hello, good evening. i am so pleased to be able to speak to you. this year's nonfiction consisted of five data readers and writers we were a mix of skills and passion. we work together collaboratively we have 79 books. this is the largest category and

it includes history and memoir. a whole range of different kinds of writing of nonfiction. i want to ensure everybody that wrote the book that we were able to look at that each book got a review by five pairs of eyes. we did not split this up. reviewing everything. foraging our list of 10 long lists, 502 day our winner.in from beginning to and, we work collaboratively forging consensus every step of the way. we talk and talk and talk. i think my colleagues for their thoughtful dedication.n, the generosity of their critical

spirit from beginning to in. speaking for myself and i think also for my colleagues, i would like to say how these hundreds of books really suckered me for our time in history. you already know the books that we chose for our long list and find a list and you will soon know who the winner is. many more writers are grappling with the challenges, with the terrors of our time. hundreds of authors are facing this time and seeking answers. i think the rest of the jury at the end of our deliberation and i am hopeful in the hands of our fellow citizens, especially our fellow citizens that are nonfiction authors. the finalists were a little

devil in america. praise of black performance. penguin random house. running out. princeton university press. tastes like war. a memoir by grace. the university of new york. the story of murder and indigenous justice in early america. all that she carried, a black family keepsake by random house penguin random house.

the winner is tia miles for all that she carried. the journey of ashley sac. a black family keepsake. random house. ♪♪ >> all that she carried. the journey up a black family keepsake. random house. an imprint of random house. original work ordinary archives suppressed. giving us narrative history, social history and object history of women's craft who gave the daughter she was losing forever. with depth, miles off theual record of love in the face of the child trafficking atrocitieo of slavery.

a scholarship at its best and most heartrending. [inaudible] back here in the green room i can see jason. [laughter] i cannot believe this honor. it is such a great honor. i am so grateful. i every category. i am so proud to be standing beside you. interpret and translate the issues of our times. i am grateful to my family who

made all of this possible. even my uncles. a road trip in mississippi like you said that you would deal. i would like to thank the national book foundations board and all of the judges and to professors. many many of us. i admired you so so so much for your work in african-american history. i cannot tell you what it means to me that you are the chair of this jury.

almost a decade. he shepherded this book into the hands where it had been taken care of. i am deeply thankful to my agents. tanya, you came in and you took care of me. you helped me to find the heart of this book, just in the nick of time. molly, look at your face. when we were having coffee, the projects i said writing a book about an old bag. here are these women.

you are so curious. you are the perfect part of this project. this is a co-written book. many many pages. the hundreds and line edits. going through this process. the third time. i want to say you were the life of this and i am so grateful. in my last second, i need to hold up rose, ashley and ruth.

they are the center of this book and i want them to know and see how much i love and honor today. thank you so very much. ♪♪ >> congratulations.gr now back to our host phoebe robinson. >> i know that editors are very important. shout out to all of them. the best birthday you could have ever written. the national book award for fiction. >> stories allow us to see humanity word by word and sentence by sentence. the national book award finalist for fiction including authors in the book to her one woman's life on the plains of indiana and the love between two enslaved men on

a plantation in the deep south. an interstellar shift in the 22nd century. these books show us we are more alike than we are different. the panel chair for this year is luis alberto real the author of 18 books including the house of broken angels. he has an distinguish professor of creative writing at the universityty of illinois chicag. [speaking in native tongue] i cannot believe i got this opportunity to chair this committee. i want to thank everybody at the foundation for this opportunity. i want to thank bruce and anna for helping us create the

coolest book club. did we really read hundreds of books? yeah, we did. they were amazing. so many of those hundreds of authors rose to this troublesome and troubling era. it was very difficult, but quite an honor and quite a blessing to do it. everybody on the team brought their a game. a little shout out to the committee. michael parker, charles you. the nominees are cloud cuckoo land and scheinman and schuster. matrix by lauren groff by riverhead books penguin random house. bloomsbury publishing. the prophets, robert jones

junior. for england random house. hell of a book. penguin random house. and this year's national book award for fiction goes to jason mott. ♪♪ >> jason mott. hell of a book. an imprint of penguin random house. jason mott's helluva book we used together three narrative strands. an unnamed author a boy named so it anda a figure known as kid into a masterful novel. a structurally art, fame, family and being black in america. mott somehow manages the

impossible trick of being playful, insightful and deeply moving all at the same time. highly original inspired work that breakss new ground. ♪♪ >> excuse me. i am overwhelmed right now. i did write this. i got overwhelmed. please bear with me if i stumble through this. i just want to begin by apologizing to all of those who have time constraints. i will be thanking you personally in the days and weeks to come. tonight i would like to thank my agent who exactly 10 years ago this month picked me out. since that day has been constant and all inspiring and love,

support and friendship. m i would like to thank my editor and the entire team who believed in this novel to help bring it into being. there too many people to name. i thank you all. i want to thank my friends and family. theyey not only made tonight possible but made all the otherr days and nights possible. to my parents who did not live to see this day and are watching right now. to everyone, we made it. lastly, i would like to dedicate this award to all of the other mad kids. to all the outsiders, the weirdos, the ones so strange that hadge no choice. the ones who in spite of this refused to outgrow their imagination. refuse to abandon their dreams. refused to deny, diminish their identity or their truth or their loves unlike so many others.

thank you very, very much. ♪♪ >> congratulations. now back to our host. >> congratulations, jason. that speech was beautiful. i am so happy for you. you are an amazing talented writer. congratulations to all of the winners of tonight's national bookti awards. our nonfiction and whose voice you may know from the audiobooks. thank you so much for all of tonight's finalists, winners, attendees and viewers. it would not be possible without the wonderful support of viewers everywhere. good night. >> each night this week we are bringing you book tv to showcase what is available every sunday

on c-span2. tonight a look back at criminal justice without therein former police commissioner on his book the profession. a memoir of community, grace and community policing in america. redeeming justice author and attorney. his criminal conviction and exoneration as well as the path he was current legal career. pulitzer prize-winning journalist with his book our class about his experience teaching inmates at new jersey state prison. watch book tv tonight on c-span2 >> recorded conversations. here many of those conversation on c-span's new podcast. presidential recordings. >> focusing on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you will hear about the civil rights act. the presidential campaign, the

march on simon and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew that they were being recorded. certainly, johnson's secretary because they were tasked with transcribing many of these conversations. in fact, they were the ones that made sure the conversations were tape as it johnson would signal to them between his office and there's. >> you also hear some blunt talk [inaudible] i would just stay right behind these gates. >> please enjoy your recording. going wherever you can get your podcast. ♪♪

coming to you live from austin texas w. in this room celebrating with the start of the year. grateful for the opportunity to share this moment with so many fans all around the world. giving us an idea of what it