The Kirkus Prize is an American literary award conferred by the book review magazine Kirkus Reviews. Established in 2014, the Kirkus Prize bestows US$150,000 annually. Three authors are awarded US$50,000 each, divided into three categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers' Literature.[1] It has been described as one of the most lucrative prizes in literature.[2][3]
Eligibility and selection
Books reviewed by Kirkus Reviews that have received the Kirkus Star are automatically eligible for the Kirkus Prize and are selected for nomination. The eligibility dates of publication for books is typically between November 1 of the previous year and October 31 of the current year, with few exceptions. Self-published books that have earned the Kirkus Star are eligible for the Kirkus Prize. However, self-published books are not eligible based on their date of publication but rather the date of publication of their online review by Kirkus Reviews. All books must first be reviewed by Kirkus Reviews to be considered.[4]
The Prize is divided into three categories: the Kirkus Prize for Fiction, the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature. Each category is judged by a panel of three judges: a writer, a bookseller or librarian, and a Kirkus Reviews critic. The editors and staff of Kirkus Reviews evaluate each of the nominated books, conducting a first round of eliminations. The panels of judges then decide upon six finalists in each of the three categories. In the Young Readers' Literature category, the six finalists include two picture books, two middle-grade books and two teen books. The three winners are announced at a ceremony. The prize money for books with multiple authors and illustrators is divided fairly as decided by the Prize's judges and administrators.[4]
Winners and finalists
Fiction
Nonfiction
Year |
Winners and finalists |
Book |
Ref(s). |
2014 |
Roz Chast |
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? |
[5] |
Leo Damrosch |
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World |
Elizabeth Kolbert |
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History |
Armand Marie Leroi |
The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science |
Thomas Piketty
Arthur Goldhammer (tr.) |
Capital in the Twenty-First Century |
Bryan Stevenson |
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption |
2015 |
Ta-Nehisi Coates |
Between the World and Me |
[6] |
John Ferling |
Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It |
Helen MacDonald |
H is for Hawk |
Adam Tooze |
The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916–1931 |
Simon Winchester |
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers |
Andrea Wulf |
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World |
2016 |
Susan Faludi |
In the Darkroom |
[7] |
Sarah Bakewell |
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails |
Matthew Desmond |
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City |
Michael Eric Dyson |
The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America |
Beth Macy |
Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South |
J. D. Vance |
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis |
2017 |
Jack E. Davis |
The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea |
[8] |
Edward Dolnick |
The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Come |
Patricia Lockwood |
Priestdaddy: A Memoir |
Valeria Luiselli
Lizzie Davis (tr.) |
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions |
Michael W. Twitty |
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South |
Laura Dassow Walls |
Henry David Thoreau: A Life |
2018 |
Rebecca Solnit |
Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises (and Essays) |
[9] |
Shane Bauer |
American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment |
Kiese Laymon |
Heavy: An American Memoir |
Beth Macy |
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America |
Sarah Smarsh |
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth |
Timothy Snyder |
The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America |
2019 |
Saeed Jones |
How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir |
[10] |
Hanif Abdurraqib |
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest |
Naja Marie Aidt
Denise Newman (tr.) |
When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back: Carl's Book |
Patrick Radden Keefe |
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland |
Dina Nayeri |
The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You |
Rachel Louise Snyder |
No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us |
2020 |
Mychal Denzel Smith |
Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream |
[11] |
Eric Jay Dolin |
A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes |
Rebecca Giggs |
Fathoms: The World in the Whale |
Deirde Mask |
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power |
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Fumi Nakamura (ill.) |
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments |
Isabel Wilkerson |
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents |
2021 |
Brian Broome |
Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir |
[12] |
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 |
Dara Horn |
People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present |
Juan Villoro
Alfred MacAdam (tr.) |
Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico |
Katherine E. Standefer |
Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life |
Young Readers' Literature
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.