At L.A. Times Book Prizes ceremony, winners advocate for hope in the face of uncertainty
It was a night of literary excellence at the 45th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony Friday night at USC's Bovard Auditorium.
As winners in 12 competitive categories and three special prizes took the stage, many addressed the fraught political climate in the U.S. as well as L.A. rebuilding after January's devastating firestorms.
Writers also addressed the dire need to use their voice to reflect the present moment — from poetry winner Remica Bingham-Risher reflecting on the abuse her grandmothers endured (in another time and place, their narrative would have been hers, she said), to current interest winner Jesse Katz urging the audience to recognize the individuality of often-stigmatized MacArthur Park residents.
Pico Iyer — whose written 15 books translated into 23 languages — accepted the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, which honors a writer with a substantial connection to the American West. The author's latest novel, 'Aflame: Learning From Silence,' recounts his mother's home in Santa Monica burning during a wildfire in 1990. The book was published on Jan. 14, in the immediate aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires.
'I know that many people in this room have been through tremendous losses in the last few months,' he said, sharing that he lost handwritten notes for three books in progress in the 1990 fire. 'What initially presented itself mostly as loss began to open doors … and make possible many things that might have never happened otherwise. I really hope that might be the case for some of you.'
'Writing still seems the deepest way of inhabiting another soul and the very best way, therefore, of rescuing us from black and white,' he added.
Investigative journalist Emily Witt accepted the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose for her memoir 'Health and Safety: A Breakdown,' about her exploration of New York's nightlife scene.
In her acceptance speech, Witt cited Isherwood's writing about pre-WWII Berlin as a major influence. Like his milieu, she said the characters of her memoir, which takes place in Brooklyn in the years 2016-2020, lived in acute awareness of the 'ideological bankruptcy' of their time.
Celebrated L.A.-born poet Amanda Gorman accepted the Innovator's Award for bringing 'books, publishing and storytelling into the future.'
'Love is no silent harbor, no haven,' Gorman recited. 'Still, it is the roaring thing that tugs away from the very shores we clutch. There is no better compass than this compassion.'
Iyer and Gorman will speak Saturday at the Festival of Books about their respective books.
The biography prize went to Laura Beers for 'Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century.' The book, written upon the 75th anniversary of '1984,' explores George Orwell's prescient and radical teachings. Beers, who was surprised by the win, said the world 'seems to become slightly more Orwellian with each passing day.'
Journalist Rebecca Boyle won the science and technology award for 'Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are,' which traces the moon's role in our biological and cultural evolution.
'The moon, my subject, does remind us that there are cycles,' she said while accepting the prize. 'Inherent in the meaning of a cycle or a phase is a return. Things go away and they come back. Fascism went away, and now is back. Authoritarianism went away, we thought, and now it is back. But there's a flip side to that. Every phase that leaves brings something new. There's also hope and renewal. And I think part of our job, the most important job we have as writers, is to remind us of the positive phases, the return of good, the return of new cycles and hope.' In her closing remarks, she quoted Pope Francis, whose funeral is tomorrow: 'Hope is a gift and a task.'
Kim Johnson, whose 'The Color of a Lie' won the award for young-adult literature, said she set her book, about a white-passing Black teen, in 1955 Levittown, Penn., after her first novel was banned in Bucks County, where Levittown is located.
'Writers write in a lot of spaces where we're doing resistance,' she said. 'I'm thinking about reckoning, trying to untangle the roots of racism and systemic factors in this country that are so embedded and baked in our society.'
Achievement in audiobook production went to Dominic Hoffman (narrator) and Linda Korn (producer) for 'James: A Novel.' Presented in collaboration with Audible, the award — the ceremony's newest — honors performance, production and innovation in storytelling.
Jiaming Tang took home the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction for 'Cinema Love.' The decades-spanning epic follows gay Chinese immigrants. The novel also has won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction and the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ+ Fiction.
Jesse Katz's 'The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant L.A.' won the award for current interest. The book explores the exploitation of undocumented Angelenos by both gang overlords and local law enforcement.
The fiction award went to Jennine Capó Crucet for 'Say Hello to My Little Friend.' Brimming with dark humor, the novel follows a failed Pitbull impersonator's encounter with a captive orca at the Miami Seaquarium.
Danielle Trussoni's 'The Puzzle Box' received the award for mystery/thriller. The second of Trussoni's Puzzle Mike Brink series, the book follows a puzzle master invited to Tokyo to try his hand opening the legendary Dragon Box, which contains a priceless Imperial secret.
The ceremony, which opened with remarks by Times Executive Editor Terry Tang and was emceed by Times columnist LZ Granderson (who also provided updates from the Lakers playoff game), serves as a kickoff to this weekend's Festival of Books.
'In a world that is now feeling so confusing and distressed, this weekend gives all of us a chance to find a sense of unity, purpose and support,' she said.
The 30th annual celebration brings more than 550 storytellers to the USC campus across seven outdoor stages and 15 indoor venues. While some panels are ticketed, general admission to the festival is free.
Saturday's events include conversations and panels with Amor Towles, Jay Ellis, Claire Hoffman, Stacey Abrams, Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque, Griffin Dunne, E.A. Hanks, Rebecca Yarros, Amanda Knox, Rachel Kushner, Krysten Ritter, Max Greenfield and 'Giggly Squad' podcast hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo, as well as a cooking demo from Roy Choi, reading by Alison C. Rollins and a performance by singer Aspen Jacobsen.
Sunday's authors and entertainers include Percival Everett, Jenny Slate, Steve Wasserman, Maureen Dowd, Wilmer Valderrama, Jon M. Chu, Rachel Lindsay, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Haigh, Gretchen Whitmer, Attica Locke, Janelle Brown, Kristen Ciccarelli and Mike Campbell. A special screening of PBS series 'Miss Austen' and an appearance by children's entertainer Blippi are also among the highlights.
Here's the full list of finalists and winners for the Book Prizes.
Pico Iyer, 'Aflame: Learning From Silence'
Emily Witt, 'Health and Safety: A Breakdown'
Amanda Gorman
Jiaming Tang, 'Cinema Love: A Novel'
Pemi Aguda, 'Ghostroots: Stories'
Joseph Earl Thomas, 'God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer: A Novel'
Jessica Elisheva Emerson, 'Olive Days: A Novel'
Julian Zabalbeascoa, 'What We Tried to Bury Grows Here'
Matt Bomer (narrator), Kelly Gildea (director, co-producer), Lauren Klein (producer); 'Giovanni's Room: A Novel'
Narrators: Clare Brown, Ayanna Dookie, Korey Jackson, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Brittany Pressley, Emana Rachelle, Malika Samuel, Heather Alicia Simms, Diana Bustelo, Tyla Collier, Alejandra Reynoso, David Sadzin, André Santana, Shaun Taylor-Corbett; Producer: Allison Light; 'New Nigeria County'
Narrators: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, Chukwudi Iwuji, Romesh Ranganathan, Natasia Demetriou, Francesca Mills, Alex Lawther, Katie Leung; Producers: Chris Jones, Mariele Runacre-Temple, Robin Morgan-Bentley, Nathan Freeman; 'George Orwell's 1984: An Audible Original adaptation'
Dominic Hoffman (narrator), Linda Korn (producer); 'James: A Novel'
Michele Norris With a Full Cast (narrator), Mike Noble (producer); 'Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity'
Laura Beers, 'Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century'
Cynthia Carr, 'Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar'
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, 'Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde'
Pamela D. Toler, 'The Dragon From Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany'
Jessica Goudeau, 'We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration'
Jonathan Blitzer, 'Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis'
Ta-Nehisi Coates, 'The Message'
Jesse Katz, 'The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant L.A.'
Robin Wall Kimmerer, 'The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World'
Wright Thompson, 'The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi'
Rita Bullwinkel, 'Headshot: A Novel'
Jennine Capó Crucet, 'Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Novel'
Percival Everett, 'James: A Novel'
Yuri Herrera translated by Lisa Dillman, 'Season of the Swamp: A Novel'
Miranda July, 'All Fours: A Novel'
Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes, 'Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 2: The Cursed Hermit'
Taiyo Matsumoto, 'Tokyo These Days, Vol. 1'
Bhanu Pratap, 'Cutting Season'
Miroslav Sekulic-Struja, translated by Jenna Allen, 'Petar & Liza'
Ram V and Filipe Andrade, 'Rare Flavours'
Andrea Freeman, 'Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, From the Trail of Tears to School Lunch'
Andrew W. Kahrl, 'The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America'
Aaron Robertson, 'The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America'
Joseph M. Thompson, 'Cold War Country: How Nashville's Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism'
Michael Waters, 'The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports'
Christopher Bollen, 'Havoc: A Novel'
Michael Connelly, 'The Waiting: A Ballard and Bosch Novel'
Attica Locke, 'Guide Me Home: A Highway 59 Novel'
Liz Moore, 'The God of the Woods: A Novel'
Danielle Trussoni, 'The Puzzle Box: A Novel'
Remica Bingham-Risher, 'Room Swept Home'
Andrea Cohen, 'The Sorrow Apartments'
Cindy Juyoung Ok, 'Ward Toward'
Pam Rehm, 'Inner Verses'
Alison C. Rollins, 'Black Bell'
Jedediah Berry, 'The Naming Song'
Lev Grossman, 'The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur'
Kelly Link, 'The Book of Love'
Jeff VanderMeer, 'Absolution: A Southern Reach Novel'
Nghi Vo, 'The City in Glass'
Rebecca Boyle, 'Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are'
Ferris Jabr, 'Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life'
Daniel Lewis, 'Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future'
Kyne Santos, 'Math in Drag'
Zoë Schlanger, 'The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth'
Traci Chee, 'Kindling'
K.A. Cobell, 'Looking for Smoke'
Safia Elhillo, 'Bright Red Fruit'
Carolina Ixta, 'Shut Up, This Is Serious'
Kim Johnson, 'The Color of a Lie'
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