UK coffee shop chain Caffe Nero announced the shortlists for its inaugural book awards, which celebrate books that were first published in the UK and Ireland.
Awards
Baillie Gifford Prize
The Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction announced the winner of its 2023 award.
Finalists Call for Middle East Ceasefire at National Book Awards
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 […]
NBA Nominee Bilal Explains Plans to Speak Out at National Book Awards Ceremony
Finalist for the NBA fiction award for TEMPLE FOLK Aaliyah Bilal indicated to the NYT in their story that followed ours “that a number of finalists planned to take the stage at the end of the [awards] ceremony” on Wednesday night “as one person reads the statement. In framing the call for a cease-fire, she said, she and other writers wanted to demonstrate their sensitivity to losses on all sides and intend to specifically denounce antisemitism.” Bilal says: “It was very important, as we were constructing it, that we were clear that we are sensitive to all of the antisemitism going […]
National Book Awards Prepare For Protest As Zibby Media Withdraws Sponsorship
At least one sponsor of tomorrow’s National Book Awards ceremony recently withdrew their support of the event. CEO of Zibby Media Zibby Owens provided PL with a lengthy statement and posted it Tuesday morning. Owens had written to NBF executive director Ruth Dickey earlier this week after hearing a report that nominees might be planning collective action at the ceremony. Owens reports she wrote in an email, “I am deeply troubled to learn that all the nominees of the National Book Awards this year have decided to collectively band together to use their speeches to promote a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli agenda. […]
Cundhill History Prize
The winner of the 2023 Cundhill History Prize is Red Memory by Tania Branigan (Norton, Faber & Faber).