Meet the Authors Virtual Event October 20
BROOKLYN—Brooklyn Public Library today announced its six-book shortlist for the 2020 Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) Literary Prize for fiction/poetry and nonfiction. The shortlist nominees are: Saeed Jones, Ian Urbina, Ruha Benjamin, Rivers Solomon, Ocean Vuong, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
A select group of nominees will read from their works on Tuesday October 20 at 7 pm. The virtual program is open to the public. To register and for a link, click here.
This year’s finalists are a daring group of storytellers, poets and journalists who transport readers across the globe, from a small Texas town to the frigid waters of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean. Along the way, the writers both delight and challenge readers with provocative new perspectives on technology, race, and the immigrant experience. They offer poignant stories of love, loss and humanity, illuminating anew our relationship to ourselves and to each other across time.
“From speculative fiction to reportage, each of the shortlist titles our librarians have chosen is unflinchingly brave,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. “These books represent what readers are craving in 2020: to better understand how our world has come to be, so that we might imagine it differently.”
Over 100 books were nominated this year by librarians from across Brooklyn. A smaller committee evaluated the nominees and selected the winners. Drawing both on their extensive knowledge of literature and the communities in which they work, librarians are uniquely equipped to select works that resonate with readers. Several previous Brooklyn Public Literary Prize winners have gone on to win additional prestigious honors. The 2019 winner in the nonfiction category, Tressie MacMillan Cottom, was just awarded a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.” Carmen Maria Machado, the 2018 winner for fiction was honored with a Lambda Literary Award the following year. Tommy Pico, the 2017 winner in the fiction and poetry category, was honored with the American Book Award and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in 2018.
The 2020 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize, presented by the Brooklyn Eagles, is generously supported by the Peck Stacpoole Foundation. The Brooklyn Eagles are a vibrant group of young and engaged Brooklynites who are passionate about Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and their community. They host events to connect new patrons to the Library, celebrate books through our literary prize, volunteer at branches and spread the word about BPL’s essential services for our borough.
The Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding work of nonfiction as well as an outstanding work of poetry or fiction. The winners will be announced at the 2020 Classic, hosted virtually on Friday November 20.
NONFICTION
Alphabetical by author last name
How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir
By Saeed Jones
Simon & Schuster
The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier
By Ian Urbina
Knopf (Penguin Random House)
Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code
By Ruha Benjamin
Polity
FICTION
Alphabetical by author last name
The Deep
By Rivers Solomon (with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes)
Gallery/Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
By Ocean Vuong
Penguin
This is How You Lose The Time War
By Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Gallery/Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st-century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.