And the Winner Is… 2024 National Book Awards Edition

Percival Everett, author of Erasure, flips the script on an American classic as Huck Finn steps to the side and Jim — James — takes center stage in a powerful, and often very funny, story of family, home and freedom. Told through language that plays its own role in shaping the story, James’ is one of escape and survival, all the while balancing precarious hopes for a better future and keeping his family together. This sharp and brilliant tale was also recently named B&N’s Book of the Year.  

Everett joined us live at The Grove to talk about language and storytelling, his sense of humor (and its origins), philosophy, identity and more on Poured Over. 

Anthropologist and award-winning author of The Land of Open Graves Jason De León examines human smuggling and border migration at the heart of Latin America. Soldiers and Kings is a never-before-seen glimpse into a billion-dollar underground history that centers on one coyote — a smuggler or guide — who tries to break free of the industry and leave it all behind. From glimpses of top leaders to subsidiary smugglers to migrants’ lives before and after immigrating, De León breaks down cultural myths and stereotypes through a searing and empathetic portrait of the journey for seeking asylum.

Taiwan Travelogue is a story within a story about two queer women and the colonial history of Taiwan. When celebrated novelist Chizuko is invited by the Japanese government to visit Taiwan, she has more on her mind than banquet halls and politics. Chizuko and her interpreter, Chizuru, embark on a trip through the South and find more than just inspiration for Chizuko’s lectures. Riddled with love, longing and loss, this is an exquisite tale about history and humanity.

These poems explore Palestinian life through the lens of American language, revealing a legacy of obfuscation and erasure. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha has done the seemingly impossible — expressing both joy and desire as well as protest and anger in evoking the diasporic experience. It is a rallying cry and a statement of support told through poignant prose that in the end reminds readers of the important fact that love itself is a radical act.  

Middle school is hard enough, but things are extra difficult for Kareem — seventh grade has begun and instead of wandering the halls with his best friend and proving himself to the guys on the football team, he’s stuck showing the new kid around school. To make matters worse, his mom can’t come back from Syria because of a new ‘Muslim ban’ enforced in the United States and no matter what he does, Kareem feels lost. A coming-of-age tale about growing up with one foot in two cultures and countries, Shifa Saltagi Safadi balances a young boy’s anxieties over middle school with real-world issues. This is a poignant and poetic story of family and finding home told in verse.