Here are the finalists for the 2020 Kirkus Prize.
This morning, Kirkus Reviews announced its 18 finalists for this year’s Kirkus Prize in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers’ Literature.
The finalists were selected by a panel of judges from the pool of titles that received Kirkus Stars in the last year—this amounts to 352 fiction titles, 395 nonfiction titles, and 629 young readers’ literature titles, out of the more than 10,000 total books reviewed during the same period. (!) This year’s judges include Chang-rae Lee, Kiese Laymon, and Nicola Yoon.
“This has been an unprecedented and challenging year for authors, publishers, booksellers, and librarians,” says Kirkus Reviews editor-in-chief Tom Beer in a press release. “We’re thrilled that the Kirkus Prize can help bring attention to 18 books of exceptional merit that deserve the widest possible readership. The diversity and timeliness of all the finalists speak to our present moment, but they will endure as lasting works of literature.”
The winner in each category will receive a prize of $50,000. Previous winners include Colson Whitehead, Ling Ma, and Derrick Barnes.
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2020 Kirkus Prize Finalists
Fiction
Tola Rotimi Abraham, Black Sunday
Juliana Delgado Lopera, Fiebre Tropical
Elena Ferrante, tr. Ann Goldstein, The Lying Life of Adults
Raven Leilani, Luster
James McBride, Deacon King Kong
Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain
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Nonfiction
Eric Jay Dolin, A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes
Rebecca Giggs, Fathoms: The World in the Whale
Deirdre Mask, The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
Aimee Nezhukumatathil, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Mychal Denzel Smith, Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream
Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
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Young Readers’ Literature
Picture Books
Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James, I Am Every Good Thing
Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade, We Are Water Protectors
Middle Grade
Hanna Alkaf, The Girl and the Ghost
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Fighting Words
Young Adult
Elizabeth Acevedo, Clap When You Land
Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped From the Beginning
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The three winners of the 2020 Kirkus Prize will be announced at a special virtual ceremony via the Austin Public Library in Austin, Texas on Thursday, November 5 at 5:00pm (Central) / 6:00pm (Eastern).
