APPRECIATING CONTRIBUTIONS TO CULTURE
A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S HONOREES
Celebrating the finest books of the past year, the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes — a centerpiece of the Festival of Books — will be presented at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on Saturday, April 9, at 6: 30 p. m.
At the hear t of the largest book festival in the U. S., the 36th annual Book Prizes span a range of literary genres and styles i n 10 categories. Ten winners among 50 finalists will be announced that evening, and U. S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera — also celebrated as a car toonist, per former and teacher — will be presented with the prestigious Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement.
The annual award honors a living author who has made a significant connection to the culture of the American West — a fitting tribute to Kirsch, an L. A.
Times book critic for more than a quarter century who was an aficionado and passionate supporter of Western writers. Times editor Art Seidenbaum founded the Book Prizes in 1980 to honor Kirsch’s passing.
“The Book Prizes was inspired by a love of literature and a desire to celebrate authors whose work is of the best quality, whether or not it makes the best seller list,” said Ann Binney, L. A. Times Book Prizes administrator.
“Over the years, the Book Prizes have recognized a wide variety of distinguished authors.”
Best- selling author James Patterson will be presented the Innovator’s Award, recognition for his longtime efforts promoting a love of reading in young people, as well as his strong support for libraries, teachers and independent bookstores nationwide.
Patterson is a prolific, eclectic and wildly popular author whose books have sold more than 350 million copies, ranging from thrillers (“Along Came a Spider”) to middle- grade titles (“House of Robots: Robots Go Wild!”).
The other award categories are Biography; Current Interest; History; Fiction; Graphic Novel/ Comics; Mystery/ Thriller; Poetry; Science & Technology; Young Adult Literature; and the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Each includes five of the top authors of 2015, one of whom, Valeria Luiselli, won the Art Seidenbaum Award last year. This time she’s a finalist in the Fiction category for “The Story of My Teeth,” also a finalist for the National
Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction. Other finalists of note include prior finalist Don Winslow with his current mystery/ thriller “The Cartel,” Terry Alford’s biography “Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth” and the young adult entry “Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans” by Don Brown.
Finalists in the Young Adult Literature category “span a variety of genres and formats, representing the breadth of excellence that is currently being published in the field,” said writer/ teacher Jonathan Hunt, county school librarian for San Diego County and a judge in the category. “Moreover, each book examines the tensions between individuals and their communities, using this tension to examine what it means to be human.”
Longtime L. A. Times columnist and author Patt Morrison will be master of ceremonies. The Librar y Foundation of Los Angeles sponsors the ceremony. Notable presenters for the evening include Marcia Clark, prosecutor i n the O. J. Simpson murder trial as well as a crime/ fiction novelist, and Kwame Alexander, a best- selling author of 21 books, including “The Crossover,” which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children.
Book Prize judges include writers, journalists, academics and librarians — not employees of the L. A. Times — who have strong connections to their literary categories. Each winner receives the judges’ citation and $ 500. Recipients of the Kirsch and Innovator’s awards, receive the judges’ citation and $ 1,000.
“Book Prizes judges are dedicated throughout the year, reading and discussing the hundreds of books that are considered for the awards,” Binney said. “They are experts in the field and their picks for the best of the best have gained tremendous respect over the years.” Visit latimes.com/bookprizes for a list of this year’s honorees and past winners.