Winner of the nonfiction award for her memoir The Yellow House, Sarah M. Broom spoke movingly of her mother and her presence in Broom’s life and memoir. And Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai, winner of the translated literature award now in its second year in this iteration, thanked the foundation for the creation of the award and his translator Ottilie Mulzet, saying that through translators international writers can also “be at home in America.” Among the other stories told was that of Oren J. Teicher, chief executive at the American Booksellers Association, who won this year’s Literarian Award for service to the wider literary community. The award was presented by author and bookstore co-owner Ann Patchett who remarked on Teicher’s tradition of working at the counters of various independent bookstores during the busy holiday season. And novelist and activist Edmund White who won the award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a lifetime achievement award, for his pioneering contributions to gay literature. His award was presented by the author and director John Waters.

— National Book Foundation (@nationalbook) November 21, 2019 And now to present the winners in each of the five categories—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction!

Young People’s Literature

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby

1919 The Year That Changed America by Martin W. Sandler (Winner)

Judges this year: Elana K. Arnold, Kristen Gilligan, Varian Johnson, An Na (Chair), and Deborah Taylor

Translated Literature

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder Crossing by Pajtim Statovci Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston Judges this year: Keith Gessen, Elisabeth Jaquette, Katie Kitamura, Idra Novey (Chair), and Shuchi Saraswat

Poetry

The Tradition by Jericho Brown I: New and Selected Poems by Toi Derricotte Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky Be Recorder by Carmen Giménez Smith

Sight Lines by Arthur Sze (Winner)

Judges this year: Jos Charles, John Evans, Vievee Francis, Cathy Park Hong, and Mark Wunderlich (Chair)

Nonfiction

What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistanceby Carolyn Forché The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer Judges this year: Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Carolyn Kellog, Mark Laframboise, Kiese Laymon, and Jeff Sharlet (Chair)

FICTION

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James The Other Americans by Laila Lalami Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips Judges this year: Dorothy Allison, Ruth Dickey, Javier Ramirez, Danzy Senna (Chair), and Jeff VanderMeer