Miami, Nov. 12, 2019 – For the sixth year in a row, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) acclaimed Miami Book Fair (MBF), in partnership with the National Book Foundation, and with the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation welcomes the Finalists and Winners of the National Book Foundation’s National Book Awards.
“Each year, the Miami Book Fair gathers thousands of South Floridians for a celebration of stories from the people who live, inspire and write them,” said Victoria Rogers, Knight Foundation vice president for the arts. “The Fair brings celebrated authors and their new works to Miami, connecting audiences to emerging and well-known names in literature, and offering diverse programming that captures the essence of Miami.”
The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, expand its audience, and enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing.
Previous winners of the Award—including William Carlos Williams, Joyce Carol Oates, and William Faulkner—comprise a who’s who of American literature. Following the awards ceremony in New York City on Nov, 20, at which the winners will be announced, all Winners and Finalists in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young People’s Literature and Translated Literature will travel to Miami for this remarkable gathering of literary talent.
Following are the nominated authors participating in this year’s Miami Book Fair:
Hanif Abdurraqib, Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest
Dan Beachy-Quick, Variations on Dawn and Dusk
Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House
Jericho Brown, The Tradition
Susan Choi, Trust Exercise
Tressie McMillan Cottom, Thick: And Other Essays
Toi Derricotte, “I”: New and Selected Poems
Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories
Camonghne Felix, Build Yourself a Boat
Carolyn Forché, What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance
Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic
Laila Lalami, The Other Americans
Kadir Nelson, The Undefeated
Kimberly King Parsons, Black Light: Stories
Helen Phillips, The Need
Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth
Iliana Regan, Burn the Place: A Memoir
Ariana Reines, A Sand Book
Jason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Laura Ruby, Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
Hal Schrieve, Out of Salem
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership
Brian Teare, Doomstead Days
Colleen AF Venable & Ellen T. Crenshaw, Kiss Number 8
Diane Grosklaus Whitty, The Collector of Leftover Souls: Field Notes on Brazil’s Everyday Insurrections
Following are the National Book Award nominee events, in chronological order:
Friday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. National Book Foundation Presents the Teen Press Conference
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, Chapman Center, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Room 2106 (Bldg. 2, First Floor)
High school students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools play the role of reporters as they direct questions to nominees for the 2019 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Students participating as citizen journalists have been pre-selected. Sponsored by the Meredyth Anne Dasburg Foundation.
Friday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m., An Evening with The National Book Awards Winners and Finalists
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, Auditorium, 300 N.E. Second Ave., (Bldg. 1, Second Floor)
All finalists and winners attending the MBF will gather for short readings and a Q&A with National Book Foundation Executive Director Lisa Lucas.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 12 p.m., Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Nominees and Winner in Poetry
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Room 6100 (Bldg. 6, First Floor)
The National Book Foundation’s National Book Awards recognizes some of the most outstanding poetry collections published in the U.S. each year. Moderated by poet Denise Duhamel.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 12 p.m., Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Nominees and Winner in Translated Literature
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Room 8202 (Bldg. 8, Second Floor)
The National Book Foundation’s National Book Awards recognizes some of the most outstanding works of translated literature published in the U.S. each year. Moderated by translator Becka McKay.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2 p.m., Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Finalists and Winner in Fiction
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Room 3314 (Bldg. 3, Third Floor)
Celebrate the 2019 National Book Award Nominees and Finalists in Fiction, in recognition of some of the most outstanding works of fiction published in the U.S. this year. Moderated by Miami-Dade Public Library System Branch Manager Ellen Book.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2:30 p.m., Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Nominees and Winner in Nonfiction
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Room 3209 (Bldg. 3, Second Floor)
The National Book Foundation’s National Book Awards recognize some of the most outstanding works of nonfiction published in the U.S. each year. Moderated by Elizabeth Flock, for PBS NewsHour.
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2:30 p.m., Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Nominees and Winner in Young People’s Literature
MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., MDC Live Arts (Bldg. 1, First Floor)
The National Book Foundation’s National Book Awards recognize some of the most outstanding works of young people’s literature published in the U.S. each year. Moderated by Miami-Dade Public Library System Children’s Librarian Rita Mayer.
For more information and the most current listings of 2019 MBF authors and events, please visit www.miamibookfair.com, call 305-237-3528, or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.
Find the Book Fair on social media at:
https://twitter.com/miamibookfair
https://www.facebook.com/MiamiBookFair
http://instagram.com/miamibookfair
Visit MiamiReads.com for complete schedule and more information. #MiamiReads
National Book Foundation
The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing. In 1950, William Carlos Williams was the first Winner in Poetry, the following year William Faulkner was honored in Fiction, and so on through the years. Many previous Winners of a National Book Award are now firmly established in the canon of American literature, such as Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Franzen, Denis Johnson, Phil Klay, James McBride, Joyce Carol Oates, Adrienne Rich, and Jesmyn Ward.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org.
Miami Book Fair media contacts: Lisa Palley, 305-642-3132 lpalley@bellsouth.net