Justin Torres’s Blackouts won the National Book Award for Fiction at the 74th annual ceremony on Wednesday night. He kept his personal remarks short, as a group of finalists came to the stage to read a collective statement about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. “On behalf of the finalists, we oppose the ongoing bombardment of Gaza and call for the humanitarian ceasefire to address the urgent humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians, particularly children,” nominee Aaliyah Bilal read. “We oppose antisemitism and anti-Palestinian sentiment and Islamophobia, equally, accepting the human dignity of all parties, knowing that further bloodshed, does nothing to secure […]
