McBride, Wilkerson among nominees for Kirkus Prize

NEW YORK — Elena Ferrante, James McBride and Isabel Wilkerson are among the nominees for the Kirkus Prize, a $50,000 honour for the best fiction, nonfiction and children’s books.

The nominees, six each in the three categories, were chosen by panels of writers, critics, booksellers and librarians. They were announced Wednesday by the trade publication Kirkus Reviews.

In fiction, Ferrante was cited for her novel “The Lying Life of Adults,” translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, and McBride for “Deacon King Kong,” an Oprah Winfrey book club pick. Other nominees were Tola Rotimi’s “Black Sunday,” Juliana Delgado Lopera’s “Fiebre Tropical,” Douglas Stuart’s “Shuggie Bain” and Raven Leilani’s “Lustre.”

Wilkerson is a nonfiction finalist for another Winfrey pick, her study of racism in the U.S., “Caste.” Also nominated were Eric Jay Dolin’s “A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes,” Rebecca Giggs’ “Fathoms: The World in the Whale,” Deirdre Mask’s “The Address Book,” Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s “World of Wonders” and Mychal Denzel Smith’s “Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream.”

In young people’s literature, nominees include Ibram X. Kendi’s and Jason Reynolds’ “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” a “remix” of Kendi’s award-winning study of race, “Stamped from the Beginning.” The other nominees Derrick Barnes’ “I Am Every Good Thing,” illustrated by Gordon C. James; Carole Lindstrom’s “We Are Water Protectors,” illustrated by Michaela Goade; Hanna Alkaf’s “The Girl and the Ghost,” Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s “Fighting Words” and Elizabeth Acevedo’s “Clap When You Land.”

The winners will be announced Nov. 5.

The Associated Press