Finalists for 2021 Kirkus Prize Are Revealed

Kirkus announced the 18 finalists in three categories for the annual Kirkus Prize, one of the richest literary awards in the world.

Kirkus Press Release:

The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the more than 80 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism that Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earn the Kirkus Star with publication dates between Nov. 1, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2021 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2021 Kirkus Prize. Six finalists in each of three categories will be announced in September. The Kirkus Prize judges will select three winners on Oct. 28, 2021.

Here are the finalists:

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers – fiction category for The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois   
Colson Whitehead – Harlem Shuffle
Joy Williams – Harrow
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson –  My Monticello
Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed – translated by Megan McDowell
Pajtim Statovci – Bolla –translated by David Hackston

Kristen Radtke – Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness
Tiya Miles – All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake
Brian Broome –  Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir
Dara Horn – People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present
Katherine E. Standefer – Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life
Juan Villoro – Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico – translated by Alfred MacAdam.

The picture book and YA finalists are:
Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
The Life I’m In by Sharon G. Flake

The Kirkus Prizes, which come with a cash award of $50,000. This year’s winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony .livestreamed from the Austin Public Library in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 28.