NEW YORK (AP) — Books on human caging, early Detroit and African-American culture in Los Angeles are among this year’s winners for works reflecting the country’s diversity.
The American Book Awards were announced Monday by the Before Columbus Foundation, founded in 1976 by author-poet Ishmael Reed.
Winners included Kelly Lytle Hernandez’s “City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965” and Kellie Jones’ “South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s.” Tiya Miles was cited for her history “The Dawn of Detroit.”
Other recipients were Victor Lavalle for “The Changeling: A Novel,” Valeria Luiselli for “Tell Me How It Ends,” Tommy Pico for “Nature Poem” and Rena Priest for “Patriarchy Blues.”
Author-filmmaker Sequoyah Guess was given a lifetime achievement award. The poets-musicians Heroes are Gang Leaders were cited for oral literature and an Editor/Publisher Award was given to the late Charles F. Harris, who championed the works of Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni and other black writers.
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This story corrects the gender for Tiya Mills.