National Book Critics Circle, PEN America announce literary awards

Several literary awards were announced yesterday, from the National Book Critics Circle and PEN America.

The National Book Critics Circle actually handed out its awards last night for outstanding work published in 2018. 

You’ll recognize some names among the winners: 

• Autobiography: Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home, by Nora Krug.

• Biography: Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous, by Christopher Bonanos.

• Criticism: Feel Free: Essays, by Zadie Smith.

• Fiction: Milkman, by Anna Burns.

• Nonfiction: Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan, by Steve Coll.

• Poetry: The Carrying, by Ada Limón.

• The John Leonard Prize (an outstanding first book in any genre): There There, by Tommy Orange.

Meanwhile, PEN America revealed that it will give the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award to three Saudi women imprisoned for fighting Saudi Arabia’s restrictive guardianship system.

Although bans on certain activity were lifted in June 2018, Nouf Abdulaziz, a journalist, blogger, and activist; Loujain Al-Hathloul, an activist and social media commentator; and Eman Al-Nafjan, a blogger, columnist, and activist, were nevertheless arrested for their writing and speaking.

Initial hearings in their trial began Wednesday.

Read more about these women and their efforts to expand human rights in PEN America’s news release.