Month: January 2023

Twenty-two authors honored by the National Book Foundation to appear at 15 events between February and May 2023

The National Book Foundation announced its spring NBF Presents line-up of 15 events taking place in 12 states from February through May 2023. NBF Presents, the moniker for all of the Foundation’s public programs, aims to reach readers all over the United States, in-person and virtually, with access to thought-provoking conversations featuring authors honored by the National Book Foundation, through the National Book Awards, 5 Under 35, and, most recently, Science + Literature. Programming for the spring season will be presented alongside new and returning program partners, and held in-person, with select events streamed online at no cost to attendees.

Authors honored by the National Book Foundation confirmed to appear at NBF Presents events in the spring season include Alexandra Chang, Jonathan Escoffery, Tess Gunty, Joseph Han, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Sabrina Imbler, John Keene, Donika Kelly, Crystal Hana Kim, Jamil Jan Kochai, Toluse Olorunnipa, Tommy Orange, Meghan O’Rourke, Deesha Philyaw, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Marytza K. Rubio, Robert Samuels, Danez Smith, Alyssa Songsiridej, Brandon Taylor, Alejandro Varela, and Xiaowei Wang.

“This season, we are eager to hold space for conversations—across genres—about craft, place, and the connecting power of great books,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Through NBF Presents programs, we have been able to reach readers in communities big and small, and this year we are excited to continue our long-standing work with returning partners in addition to reaching readers in new cities and states nationwide.”

The Foundation will present programs featuring authors honored by the National Book Foundation and nationally recognized moderators, including the Foundation’s first NBF Presents events in partnership with the Chicago Humanities Festival in Chicago IL; and in the state of Montana at Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation in Pablo, MT and Elk River Arts & Lectures in Livingston, MT.

“We are so honored that the National Book Foundation has chosen our rural community as a venue for their world-class literary programming,” said Amy Zanoni, Executive Director of Elk River Arts & Lectures. “The Foundation has been an incredible partner, working closely with our organization and the Salish Kootenai College to create a program that will strongly resonate with Montanans. Their supportive and collaborative spirit will do wonders to advance our organization’s mission to strengthen our community through engagement with the diverse perspectives and ideas found in the literary arts.”

Returning college and university partners include Amherst College in Amherst, MA; Boise State University in Boise, ID; and Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center in Clarksdale, MS. Events will also be presented with regional book festival partners at the Miami Book Fair, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Oxford Conference for the Book, San Antonio Book Festival, Tucson Festival of Books, and Virginia Festival of the Book. The National Book Foundation will also join the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) as a literary presenting partner at the annual AWP Conference in Seattle, WA this spring.

“The National Book Foundation’s necessary public programming means a continued conversation with fellow National Book Award honorees and readers all over the country,” said Deesha Philyaw, 2020 National Book Award Finalist and the 2022-2023 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. “I’m looking forward to joining this spring’s NBF Presents programming—in my current home of Mississippi—to celebrate the importance of Southern stories to American literature.”

The full list of confirmed spring NBF Presents events can be found below with additional details and registration information coming soon, and an updated NBF Presents calendar is available at the Foundation’s website. Alongside its partners, the National Book Foundation will continue to closely monitor health and safety protocols. Events are free unless otherwise noted but tickets are limited, so please RSVP directly at the Foundation or partner website as directed.

NBF Presents Spring Schedule

Thursday, February 16, 8:00pm EST
In-Person | Miami, FL
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair
Miami Book Fair & NBF Presents: An Evening with the 2022 5 Under 35 Honorees

The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program recognizes five exceptional debut authors each year. Join us for a reading and audience Q&A with 2022 5 Under 35 honorees Alexandra Chang (Days of Distraction), Joseph Han (Nuclear Family), Crystal Hana Kim (If You Leave Me), and Alyssa Songsiridej (Little Rabbit). Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with Books & Books and the Miami Book Fair.

Friday, February 24, 7:00pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | Amherst, MA
Amherst College
NBF Presents: An Evening with the National Book Awards

For Amherst College’s annual LitFest, 2022 National Book Award Nonfiction Finalists Ingrid Rojas Contreras (The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir) and Meghan O’Rourke (The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness) read from their work, and discuss crafting personal narratives informed by cultural, historical, and scientific contexts. Moderated by Dennis James Sweeney, author of In the Antarctic Circle and a lecturer in English at Amherst College. This program is supported by Amherst College and The Common magazine.

Saturday, March 4, 2:30pm MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards 

On the first day of Tucson Festival of Books, join 2022 National Book Award Finalists Toluse Olorunnipa and Robert Samuels (His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice) and Jamil Jan Kochai (The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories) for a cross-genre conversation on capturing the stories that haunt us. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs at the National Book Foundation.

Sunday, March 5, 1:00pm MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards 

For the second day of Tucson Festival of Books, 2022 National Book Award Finalists Allison Adelle Hedge Coke (Look at This Blue), Ingrid Rojas Contreras (The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir), and Alejandro Varela (The Town of Babylon) discuss linking the past, present, and, hopefully, a better future through poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs at the National Book Foundation.

Thursday, March 9, 12:10pm PST
In-Person & Livestreamed | Seattle, WA
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
NBF Presents: The Power of Poetry 

Join National Book Award–honored authors Donika Kelly (Bestiary, 2016 Poetry Longlist) and Danez Smith (Don’t Call Us Dead, 2017 Poetry Finalist) in a conversation about the power of poetry for both author and reader, and its influence on the evolution of their own writing across collections. Presented in partnership with the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, and moderated by the National Book Foundation’s Executive Director Ruth Dickey. This event will be livestreamed. ASL interpretation and live captioning will be provided.

Wednesday, March 22, 6:30pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
The Cooper Union
Celebrating Science + Literature

Join the National Book Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The Cooper Union for the 2023 Science + Literature Ceremony—celebrating the second cohort of Science + Literature selected titles: Dyke (geology), Real Life, and Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside. The program is free and open to the public, and will feature readings and conversation with authors Sabrina Imbler, Brandon Taylor, and Xiaowei Wang.

Saturday, March 25, 4:00pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Charlottesville, VA
Virginia Festival of the Book
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards

2022 National Book Award Winner John Keene (Punks: New & Selected Poems) and Finalists Toluse Olorunnipa and Robert Samuels (His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice) discuss how singular stories collectively shape history—from the AIDS epidemic to the George Floyd protests—and what it means to make these stories real for readers across the country. Moderated by author, activist, and founder of Well-Read Black Girl Glory Edim, and presented in partnership with the Virginia Festival of the Book.

Wednesday, March 29, 11:15am CDT
In-Person | Clarksdale, MS
Coahoma Community College
NBF Presents: Stories of Belonging

Join National Book Award–honored authors Jonathan Escoffery (If I Survive You, 2022 Fiction Longlist) and Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, 2020 Fiction Finalist) for readings and conversation on what it means to belong, both in and outside of their fiction, and in and outside of the South. Moderated by W. Ralph Eubanks, author of A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape. Presented in partnership with Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center.

Thursday, March 30, 11:30am CDT
In-Person | Oxford, MS
Oxford Conference for the Book
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards

Join National Book Award–honored authors Jonathan Escoffery (If I Survive You, 2022 Fiction Longlist) and Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, 2020 Fiction Finalist, and the 2022-2023 Grisham Writer-in Residence) for readings and conversation on making a home for their characters in the South. Moderated by Jerid P. Woods, also known as Akili Nzuri, a writer, educator, and literary influencer @ablackmanreading. Presented in partnership with the 29^th Oxford Conference for the Book.

Wednesday, April 12, 7:00pm MDT
In-Person | Boise, ID
Boise State University
Science + Literature: The Future of Technology

Xiaowei Wang’s Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside (2023 Science + Literature Selected Title) expertly examines the quickly changing landscape of technology, and the people engaging with it as user, creator, and controller. Join Wang for a conversation on their debut essay collection, and if and how freedom can be found through technology. Presented in partnership with Boise State University’s Global Humanities and Cultural Studies program.

Saturday, April 15
In-Person | San Antonio, TX
San Antonio Book Festival
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards

In their debut books, 2022 National Book Award–honored authors Marytza K. Rubio (Maria, Maria & Other Stories) and Alejandro Varela (The Town of Babylon) depict characters chasing freedom—across countries, realms, and the suburbs. Join Rubio and Varela for a conversation on reading and writing contemporary literature set in the Americas. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the San Antonio Book Festival.

Saturday-Sunday, April 22- 23
In-Person | Los Angeles, CA
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Science + Literature: On Writing Science and Self

2023 Science + Literature Selected Title Dyke (geology) by Sabrina Imbler juxtaposes the long history of volcanoes, and a shorter history of a summer’s romance—demonstrating just how much humans emulate the natural world. Join Imbler in conversation with Latif Nasser, 2023 Science + Literature selection committee member and co-host of Radiolab, for a conversation on how science writing can inform and connect readers with the world around them. Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Tuesday, May 2, 5:00pm MDT
In-Person | Pablo, MT
Salish Kootenai College
NBF Presents: How to Map a Novel

In their debut novels, National Book Award–honored authors Tess Gunty (The Rabbit Hutch, 2022 Fiction Winner) explores the interconnected lives of housing complex residents and Tommy Orange (There There, 2018 Fiction Longlist) follows 12 Native people traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow. Join the authors for a conversation on the significance of place and point-of-view in fiction, and why reading matters. Presented in partnership with Salish Kootenai College.

Wednesday, May 3, 7:00pm MDT
In-Person | Livingston, MT
Elk River Arts & Lectures
NBF Presents: Novels that Connect Us

National Book Award–honored authors Tess Gunty (The Rabbit Hutch, 2022 Fiction Winner) and Tommy Orange (There There, 2018 Fiction Longlist) follow a large cast of characters in their novels—all affected in different ways by class, gender, and their environment. Join the authors for a discussion about interwoven storytelling that builds toward a more connected, collective future. Presented in partnership with Elk River Arts & Lectures.

Saturday, May 6
In-Person | Chicago, IL
Chicago Humanities Festival
Science + Literature: From the Lab to the Page

Real Life by Brandon Taylor (2023 Science + Literature Selected Title) questions what it means for a queer Black man to pursue a career in academia and in science. Join Taylor for a conversation on the real science within Real Life, and the possibilities for better representation—both in science and in fiction. Presented in partnership with the Chicago Humanities Festival.

For times and locations for events, please visit the Events Calendar at www.nationalbook.org or the websites of any of our partners.

The National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation today announced selected titles for the second year of the Science + Literature program. The initiative identifies three books annually that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology and focuses on highlighting the diversity of voices in contemporary science and technology writing. Authors receive a $10,000 cash prize, are celebrated at a ceremony in March, and will be featured in associated national public programming. The titles are selected by a committee of five scientific and literary experts, also announced today. The program is made possible by a three-year, $525,000 grant from the Sloan Foundation.

The three selected titles—all authored by queer writers of color—include a hybrid chapbook, a novel, and an essay collection. A blend of lyrical science writing, prose poem, and autofiction, Sabrina Imbler’s chapbook Dyke (geology) juxtaposes the lifecycles—and dating cycles—of both Hawaiian volcanoes and a queer human narrator, as they erupt and reveal new understandings of each other. Brandon Taylor’s debut novel Real Life follows Wallace, a queer Black man from Alabama who is pursuing a biochemistry degree in the Midwest, as he questions the pursuit of a career in science and what it means to live a “real life” in an environment steeped with racism, isolation, and repressed trauma. In Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside, Xiaowei R. Wang examines the intersection of politics, agriculture, and technology in China’s rural revitalization strategy. Wang shares case studies and personal stories—including their own family’s—to portray the knowns and unknowns of a rapidly changing world influenced by artificial intelligence and power.

“These deeply engaging works—from stories rooted in science journalism and lived experiences to fictional narratives rich with scientific understanding—demonstrate the many ways in which science and technology permeate our everyday lives,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “This year’s selected titles contribute to a national conversation around the importance of diverse scientific writing and are sure to offer something for every kind of reader.”

“We are delighted to join the National Book Foundation in recognizing these three powerful and unique writers engaging with scientific themes and characters across poetry, fiction, and nonfiction,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “Science seeks to uncover universal truths about nature, but every human being’s lived experience is different and these gifted storytellers shine a light on the complex inner lives of their characters as they explore the mysteries of the external world. We’re proud to add these outstanding authors to Sloan’s nationwide book program, which has supported over 200 books from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winner American Prometheus and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race to this year’s Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller and Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. Gross.”

An in-person ceremony will be held on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, featuring readings and conversation with the selected authors. This year’s ceremony will be free and open to the public, and is presented in partnership with The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper.

The 2023 selection committee includes authors and scientists whose work across fields make science and the humanities more accessible for everyone. Ben Green is a postdoctoral scholar in the Michigan Society of Fellows and the author of The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim our Urban Future; J. Drew Lanham is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, a 2022 MacArthur Fellow, and the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature; Latif Nasser is the host of WNYC’s Radiolab and Netflix’s Connected; Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Chair) is the author of World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, & Other Astonishments and poetry editor of Sierra magazine; and Weike Wang is the author of Chemistry and Joan Is Okay, and is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree.

“Now in its second year, Science + Literature continues to identify books and writers that break down complex scientific concepts through exceptional storytelling,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “We are grateful to the Sloan Foundation, this year’s selection committee, and our national programming partners, whose generous support makes Science + Literature possible.”

Public events featuring the selected authors will take place in cities across the country in Spring 2023 following the March ceremony, including with partners at the Chicago Humanities Festival in Chicago, IL, which connects people to the ideas that shape and define us, and promotes the lifelong exploration of what it means to be human; the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in Los Angeles, CA, which, since 1996 has gathered writers, poets, artists, filmmakers, musicians, and emerging storytellers; and Boise State University, a public research university in Boise, ID focused on student success with an innovation mindset. Event details coming soon.

Learn more about the Science + Literature program here.

Science + Literature Selected Titles:

Sabrina Imbler, Dyke (geology)
Black Lawrence Press 

Brandon Taylor, Real Life
Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House

Xiaowei R. Wang, Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside
FSG Originals / Macmillan Publishers

Author Biographies:

Sabrina Imbler is a science writer living in Brooklyn. They are the author of the chapbook Dyke (geology) and the essay collection, How Far the Light Reaches. Imbler is a staff writer at Defector Media, an employee-owned sports and culture site, where they write blogs about creatures and the natural world.

Brandon Taylor is the author of Real Life, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and of the national bestseller Filthy Animals, which won The Story Prize and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in fiction.

Xiaowei R. Wang is an artist, writer, and technologist. They are the author of Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside. Currently, they are one of the stewards of Logic School, an organizing community for tech workers; a research fellow at the UCLA Center on Race and Digital Justice; and a Senior Civic Media Fellow at the University of Southern California Annenberg Innovation Lab.

Committee Biographies:

Ben Green is a postdoctoral scholar in the Michigan Society of Fellows and an assistant professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics, with a secondary field in Science, Technology, and Society, from Harvard University. He studies the ethics of government algorithms, with a focus on algorithmic fairness, human-algorithm interactions, and AI regulation. He is the author of The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future. Green is also an Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and a Fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Starting in 2023, he will be an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information.

J. Drew Lanham is an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, and a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. He is an author and the 2022 Poet Laureate of Edgefield, South Carolina. His creative works include The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, Sparrow Envy: Poems, and Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts.

Latif Nasser is co-host of the award-winning WNYC Studios show Radiolab, where he has reported on everything from snowflake photography to meat allergies to space junk. He also hosted and executive produced the Emmy-nominated Netflix science docuseries Connected. He has given two TED talks, wrote for the Boston Globe Ideas section, and has a PhD from Harvard University’s History of Science department.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Chair) is the author of the New York Times bestseller World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, which was named the 2020 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year, and four books of poetry, most recently, Oceanic. Awards for her writing include Guggenheim and NEA fellowships. She is the poetry editor of The Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine and teaches in the MFA program at the University of Mississippi.

Weike Wang is the author of Chemistry and Joan is Okay. She is the recipient of the 2018 PEN/Hemingway Award and a Whiting Award, and is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories 2019, and The O. Henry Prize Stories 2019. She earned her MFA from Boston University and her other degrees from Harvard University. She currently lives in New York City and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Barnard College.

Join National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey, and explore the year’s National Book Award Winners along with her!

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