The winning authors were honored in a virtual ceremony hosted by Times Book Editor Boris Kachka

FROM: Los Angeles Times

Tonight, the 41st annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were awarded in a livestreamed virtual ceremony. Hosted by Times Book Editor Boris Kachka, the literary awards recognized 56 remarkable works in 12 categories, championing new voices and celebrating the highest quality of writing.

“The pandemic has upended every single aspect of our lives, but I suspect many of you will agree with me that it’s only deepened our appreciation for the solitary pleasure of reading,” said Kachka in his introduction. “[Reading] is solitary but of course it’s communal, too, because in reading we communicate with socially-distanced writers and all their characters, real or invented. We may isolate, but as long as we have books we are never isolated.”

To announce the winners, Kachka was joined by judges of the 2020 competition, including Tananarive Due (Ray Bradbury Prize for science fiction), Jenny McPhee (fiction), B. Mason (science and technology), Angie Wang (graphic novel/comics) and more. Presentations were followed with video of the winners discussing their books.

In addition to the 12 award category announcements, Leslie Marmon Silko was honored with the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) received the Innovator’s Award for its contributions and work assisting struggling independent bookstores and employees in a year when many small businesses were forced to shut their doors. Read Rest of Article Here