The NYU Creative Writing Program and the National Book Foundation will present readings by each of the 2022 National Book Award Finalists, including Tess Gunty, Sharon Olds, Meghan O’Rourke, Imani Perry, and Jenny Xie, among others, on Tues., Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
The finalists reading, hosted by Saraciea J. Fennell, writer and founder of the Bronx is Reading, will be held at NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life, Eisner and Lubin Auditorium, 60 Washington Square South (fourth floor). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, please visit the event page.
Each year, the National Book Award Finalists in Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their honored works. The event will also be livestreamed to the National Book Foundation’s YouTube channel; the link will be sent to those who select that option on the event page, linked above.
Fiction Finalists:
Tess Gunty, The Rabbit Hutch
Gayl Jones, The Birdcatcher
Jamil Jan Kochai, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories
Sarah Thankam Mathews, All This Could Be Different
Alejandro Varela, The Town of Babylon
Nonfiction Finalists:
Meghan O’Rourke, The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
Imani Perry, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
David Quammen, Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
Ingrid Rojas Contreras, The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir
Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
Poetry Finalists:
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Look at This Blue
John Keene, Punks: New & Selected Poems
Sharon Olds, Balladz
Roger Reeves, Best Barbarian
Jenny Xie, The Rupture Tense
Translated Literature Finalists:
Jon Fosse and Damion Searls, A New Name: Septology VI-VII
Scholastique Mukasonga and Mark Polizzotti, Kibogo
Mónica Ojeda and Sarah Booker, Jawbone
Samanta Schweblin and Megan McDowell, Seven Empty Houses
Yoko Tawada and Margaret Mitsutani, Scattered All Over the Earth
Young People's Literature Finalists:
Kelly Barnhill, The Ogress and the Orphans
Sonora Reyes, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
Sabaa Tahir, All My Rage
Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
(Finalists will not appear in this order)
About Host Saraciea J. Fennell
Saraciea J. Fennell is a Brooklyn born Black Honduran American writer, publicist, and social entrepreneur. She is the author and editor of the YA nonfiction anthology Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora, founder and CEO of the Bronx is Reading, executive director of the Bronx Book Festival, board chair for Latinx in Publishing Inc., and the creator of Honduran Garifuna Writers. Her writing has appeared in Popsugar, Remezcla, Mitú, Hypebae, Refinery29, Culturess, and other publications.
The event is presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation and the NYU Creative Writing Program, with assistance from the NYU Office of the Provost.
Masks are optional but strongly encouraged. Attendees should be prepared to show a government-issued ID and proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster. For more information, please visit this page.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Only guests who have purchased tickets in advance will be admitted. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the program to ensure a smooth check in process. Email Madeleine Shelton at mshelton@nationalbook.org with any questions and accessibility requests.
Subways: 1 (Christopher Street); A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street); R, W (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place).