lester by leilani. sharp, strange, propellant and a whole lot of fun. a rich deeply felt novel about family ties, immigration, sexual longing and desire. by james mcbride. an exuberant set to the music of life. you will never forget scene by scene this book is a masterpiece congratulations to all the finalist beard he have touched so many people with your work this year. the winner of the 2020 prize for fiction is lester by raven leilani. >> oh my gosh. thank you. this is surreal. thank you so much. thank you. thank you, kirkus. this is wild to be in the company of such amazing writers. it really mean so much to me. i want to think first, i want to thank my mom. this has been an interesting year for us. we have a lot of loss. i want you to know that you're the reason i have the nerve to do this. to try to write this book. to be as honest as i could. i really appreciate and thank my family for being the people that made art feel like a worthwhile thing. i appreciate all the mentors and friends that i have that push me and challenge me in this. when i fel

luster by raven leilani, strange propellant and a whole lot of fun. a rachel deeply felt novel about the family ties, longing, faith and desire, simultaneously law and luminous. thseeingscene by scene this booa masterpiece. congratulations to all of the finalists you've touched so many people with your work this year. the winner of the 2020 prize for fiction is luster by raven. >> this is deeply surreal. thank you so much it meant so much. first i want to thank my mom. this has been an interesting year for us. we have had a lot of loss but i want you to know you are the reason i had the nerve to do this and to be as honest as i could on the page. i appreciate and i think my family for being the kind of people that made this feel like a worthwhile thing to pursue. i appreciate all the mentors and friends i had it is as it tends to always be and i appreciate everybody that stood beside me while i was encouraged to do this. i appreciate and thank you for helping me try to usher this book into the world. it's just been the most surreal and special first t

luster by raven leilani, sharp, strange, propellant and a whole lot of fun. [inaudible] a rich deeply felt novel about family ties, immigration, sexual longing and faith and desire. and douglas stuart. you will never forget scene by scene it is a masterpiece. congratulations to all the finalists. you've touched so many people with your work this year. the winner of the kirkus prize for fiction is luster. >> oh my god! thank you. this is a really deeply and surreal. thank you so much. with such amazing writers this really means so much for me. first i want to thank my mom. this has been an interesting year for us. we have had a lot of loss but i want you to know you are the reason i had the nerve to do this and to be as honest as i could on the stage. i appreciate and thank my family for being the kind of people who made our to feel like a worthwhile thing to pursue. i appreciate all the mentors and friends who pushed me and challenged me on this. when i felt it was going wrong and that i had to throw things away, it is a real path and i appreciate everyone. t