Comedian, talk show host, and author Amber Ruffin will host the 2023 National Book Awards Finalist Reading, the National Book Foundation announced in a news release.
Ruffin, who hosts the Amber Ruffin Show and writes for Late Night with Seth Meyers, will serve as emcee at the event that will see the authors who are shortlisted for the literary prizes read from their works. The finalists, including Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Justin Torres, Cristina Rivera Garza, Vashti Harrison, and John Vaillant, were announced Tuesday.
Ruffin has co-written two books with her sister Lacey Lamar: The World Record Book of Racist Stories and You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism. The latter is being adapted as a television series for NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock, with Ruffin and Lamar as writers.
The announcement of Ruffin as the host for the finalist reading comes weeks after the National Book Foundation dropped Drew Barrymore as the host of the National Book Awards ceremony. The actor’s invitation was rescinded after she said that she planned to bring back her talk show in the midst of the writers’ strike, which was ongoing at the time. Barrymore later apologized and said she wouldn’t bring the show back after all.
The National Book Foundation has not yet announced a new host for its awards ceremony.
The finalist reading is scheduled for Nov. 14 at New York University’s Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available on the center’s website.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
