thank you for coming to the fifth annual kirkus prizes and the editor in chief of kirkus review we are pleased you could join us it is a culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by the kirkus staff and judges and the 18 finalist of this year's authors whose books we are honoring tonight. silence your cell phones just so we can have the uninterrupted event. next i would like to thank a few people who make this evening possible this space available has been made available to us and thank you to the publishers who do that excellent work and bring them to our attention. thank you to the editors of kirkus review who invested time with the judges to make sure that process is orderly and thoughtful and fair in that nonfiction editor young and old editor. [applause] and independent editor. [applause] >> it's my pleasure to introduce to you kirkus ceo. [applause] >> we come together tonight to celebrate remarkable achievements and illustrations. one thing that makes this event so special is to celebrate the success of a writer or illustrator or any artist by definition to celebrate again

sixth annual kirkus book prize. in wrapping up the evening his washington post national security editor peter finn. on the life of a south carolina socialite turned spy in world war ii. ..... >> and lee have been talking about it and there is this incredible history that we talked we will still be uncovering so much talking about refugees and we will talk a little bit about that. >> thank you so much. so my book is that is not what i expected this and the reason it's not what they expected because it tries to do other things and to tell and intimate history. just of my life and relationships with other people. with a very intimate introduction and it is an introduction about my life. 's i will just jump in and then we can talk some more. my parents and siblings and my grandmother. a thin woman with thin skin and sharp blue eyes like my father he had been separated from his mother during the war and then came to israel years later and moved in with him and then with my mother and him and then with all of us. as long

eastern it's the sixth annual kirkus book prize.e evening his washington post national security editor peter finn. on the life of a south carolina socialite turned spy in world war ii. ..... >> and lee have been talking about it and there is this incredible history