The finalists for the 10th annual Kirkus Prize have been revealed, with 18 books in three categories contending for some of the richest literary awards in the world.
Making the fiction shortlist for this year’s prize are Jamel Brinkley’s Witness; Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood; Kelly Link’s White Cat, Black Dog; James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store; Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting; and Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend.
The jurors for the fiction award are Rosa Hernandez, marketing manager and bookseller for Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington; Michael Schaub, book critic, NPR Books contributor, and Kirkus contributing writer; and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick.
The finalists for the nonfiction prize are Tania Branigan’s Red Memory: The Afterlives of China's Cultural Revolution; Jennifer Homans’ Mr. B: George Balanchine's 20th Century; Clancy Martin’s How Not To Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind; Safiya Sinclair’s How To Say Babylon: A Memoir; Héctor Tobar’s Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino”; and Ilyon Woo’s Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom.
This year’s nonfiction jurors are Mark Athitakis, journalist, book critic, and award-winning author of The New Midwest; Anjali Enjeti, journalist, book critic, and author of Southbound and The Parted Earth; and Kirkus nonfiction editor Eric Liebetrau.
The finalists for the young readers’ category are divided into three subcategories, which contain two books each. The picture book finalists are Together We Swim, written by Valerie Bolling and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, and João by a Thread, written and illustrated by Roger Mello and translated by Daniel Hahn.
The middle grade books making the shortlist are Julia and the Shark, written by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and illustrated by Tom de Freston, and The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen. The young adult finalists are America Redux: Visual Stories From Our Dynamic History by Ariel Aberg-Riger and The Eternal Return of Clara Hart by Louise Finch.
The young readers’ literature jurors are Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, a two-time Newbery Honor recipient, New York Times–bestselling author, Kirkus critic, and the founder of the nonprofit Appalachian Literacy Initiative; Ayn Reyes Frazee, a high school librarian with Portland, Oregon, Public Schools, Kirkus critic, and an advocate for inclusive library spaces; and Kirkus young readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.
“From gorgeously written and moving fiction, to deeply researched and clear-eyed nonfiction, to young readers’ literature that entertains and educates, the finalists represent the very best books that Kirkus has seen this year,” Kirkus editor-in-chief Tom Beer said in a statement.
Each of the winners will receive a $50,000 cash prize. The finalists are selected from books that have received starred reviews from Kirkus—stars are given in recognition of “exceptional merit” to about 10% of all books reviewed by the magazine.
The winners of this year’s awards will be announced at an in-person ceremony at New York’s TriBeca Rooftop on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 7 pm. Eastern time; the announcement will be livestreamed on Kirkus’ YouTube channel. This will be the first time the ceremony will be held in New York; in past years, it has taken place in Austin, Texas.
“This year will be the biggest celebration of the Kirkus Prize yet,” said Kirkus Reviews publisher Meg LaBorde Kuehn. “2023 marks 90 years of Kirkus Reviews and a decade of honoring the most exceptional works of literature published in America. When the final prize is awarded this year, we will have given away $1.5 million to authors and illustrators, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating this momentous occasion with the publishing community in New York.”
Laurie Hertzel is a writer and book critic in Minnesota.
