Three cheers for more exciting book news! Today, the Before Columbus Foundation announced the winners of the 41st-annual American Book Awards. The award, which has no categories or nominees, was created to recognize extraordinary literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community.

The 2020 American Book Award winners will be formally recognized on Sunday, October 25th, 2020 from 2-3pm. Congrats to all!

Reginald Dwayne Betts, Felon

Sara Borjas, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff

Neeli Cherkovski, Raymond Foye, and Tate Swindell (editors), Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman

Staceyann Chin, Crossfire: A Litany for Survival

Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories

Tara Fickle, The Race Card: From Gaming Technologies to Model Minorities

Erika Lee, America for Americans: History of Xenophobia in the United States

Yoko Ogawa, The Memory Police

Jake Skeets, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers

George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker, They Called Us Enemy

Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

De’Shawn Charles Winslow, In West Mills

Albery Woodfox with Leslie George, Solitary: My Story of Transformation and Hope

Lifetime Achievement

Eleanor W. Traylor

Editor Award

Kofi Natambu, The Panopitcon Review 

Publisher Award

Jasper Berns, Joshua Clover, and Juliana Spahr (editors), Commune Editions

Oral Literature Award

Amalia Leticia Ortiz

Walter & Lillian Lowenfels Criticism Award

Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll (editors), Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy