Awards

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. […]

The National Book Foundation announced that LeVar Burton will host the 2023 National Book Awards ceremony in NYC on November 15. He replaces Drew Barrymore, whose invitation was rescinded when she resumed filming her show during the WGA strike. “LeVar Burton has introduced multiple generations of young people to the joys of reading, and is a fearless advocate for book access, especially amidst the alarming rise in book banning across the country,” David Steinberger, chair of the board of directors of the National Book Foundation, said in the announcement. “We are delighted to welcome LeVar back onto the National Book […]

The MacArthur Foundation announced their annual “Genius” fellows, including writers Ada Limón (whose most recent book is The Hurting Kind), Manuel Muñoz (The Consequences), and Imani Perry (South to America). Also named is Diana Greene Foster, author of The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion.