Posted on

The winners of this year’s Costa Book Awards have been announced

This week saw the announcement of this year’s Costa Book Awards, a set of annual literary awards which recognize and honor British and Irish writers of the English language. Each award comes with £5,000; the author of the Costa Book of the Year, picked from these winners and announced in late January, will receive an additional £30,000. Previous Book of the Year winners include Helen Macdonald and Hilary Mantel. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on

Here are the winners of the inaugural Silvers-Dudley Prizes for criticism and journalism

Today, the Robert B. Silvers Foundation announced the winners of the inaugural Silvers-Dudley Prizes, recognizing outstanding achievement in criticism and journalism. Named for Robert B. Silvers, a founding editor of the New York Review of Books, and his longtime partner, Lady Grace Dudley, the prizes have a total value of $135,000 and range from $10,000 to $30,000 each. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on

Marjoleine Kars wins 2021 Cundill History Prize

Marjoleine Kars has been named winner of the 2021 Cundill History Prize for Blood on the River: a Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast (The New Press). Kars accessed a previously untapped Dutch archive to reveal the little-known story of a 1763 slave rebellion in Berbice, a Dutch colony in present-day Guyana. Drawing on nearly 900 interrogation transcripts – extremely rare verbatim accounts from suspected rebels, bystanders, and witnesses – she is able to provide a unique day-by-day account of the revolt, in the words of both colonists and, crucially, the slaves themselves. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on

Barnes & Noble booksellers reveal book of the year: ‘magnificent and deeply original’

Singer and songwriter Paul McCartney’s book “The Lyrics” is Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year for 2021 … Begun in 2019, Barnes & Noble’s books of the year are nominated by booksellers across the nation and then narrowed to eight titles by a selection committee. The booksellers then vote on the eight titles for their favorite of the year. Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)

Posted on

Omar El Akkad wins $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize for novel What Strange Paradise

What Strange Paradise is a novel that tells the story of a global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child. Nine-year-old Amir is the only survivor from a ship full of refugees coming to a small island nation. He ends up with a teenage girl named Vanna, who lives on the island. Even though they don’t share a common language or culture, Vanna becomes determined to keep Amir safe. What Strange Paradise tells both their stories and how they each reached this moment, while asking the questions, “How did we get here?” and “What are we going to do about it?” Read more

(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)