Award Winning Reads

An essential list of the top titles this year

6 min readNov 27, 2017

When respected writers, knowledgeable booksellers, wise librarians, forthright critics and more come together to carefully evaluate the industry’s most impactful books, you take note. 2017 was vibrant with new works, and we are lucky to enjoy a diverse array of stories and authors getting well deserved kudos. Along with these gems, we suggest you take some time to check out the New York Times Notable Books of 2017, too.

BODIES OF WORK

Nobel Prize in Literature

“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- — -/ one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction …”
— Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel

Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go, The Buried Giant and more by Kazuo Ishiguro

MacArthur Fellows

Also known as “The Genius Grant”, this fellowships is granted to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. This year, three writers were among the recipients.

Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Refugees, The Sympathizer and more by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Annie Baker
Uncle Vanya, The Flick, and more by Annie Baker

Jesmyn Ward
Salvage the Bones, The Fire This Time and more by Jesmyn Ward

FICTION

National Book Award in Fiction

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Man Booker Prize

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

One Book, One New York

Americanah by Chimamanda

Kirkus Prize in Fiction & Literature

What It Means When a Man falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

NONFICTION

Pulitzer Prize for History

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson

Pulitzer Prize for General NonFiction

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar

National Book Award in NonFiction

The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen

Kirkus Prize for NonFiction

The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea by Jack E. Davis

POETRY

Poet Laureate — Tracy K. Smith

As the nation’s official poet, the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. (www.loc.gov)

Life on Mars, Duende and more

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Olio by Tyehimba Jess

National Book Award in Poetry

Half-light: Collected Poems 1965–2016 by Frank Bidart

YOUTH LITERATURE

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. (www.ala.org)

Caldecott Medal Winner

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Caldecott Medal Honor

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol

Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford

Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. (ala.org)