The 65th National Book Awards

On Wednesday, November 19, 2014, I attended the 65th National Book Awards Ceremony at Cipriani (55 Wall Street, NYC). Winners were announced in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature.


The winners were:

Fiction: Phil Klay, Redeployment (The Penguin Press/ Penguin Group (USA)
Nonfiction: Evan Osnos, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Poetry: Louise Glück, Faithful and Virtuous Night (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Young People’s Literature: Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming (Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Group (USA))

The ceremony was hosted by the popular children’s author Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket. The evening honored Ursula K. Le Guin, a celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer, with the 2014 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She said, "We will need writers who can remember freedom." The evening also honored Kyle Zimmer, the founder of First Book, a nonprofit that provides low-cost or free books to children. Ms. Zimmer said, "There's power in words."

I also had the opportunity to meet my mentor, Ms. Jacqueline Woodson, who won the Award for Young People's Literature. I haven't seen her in years, but we have corresponded via email. Back in 2005, when I was a participant of a summer writer's workshop, she always told me if I ever come to a place when I can't write, it's maybe I'm not being truthful. "Be true with who you are, and everything else will come." Over the course of the years, and as I developed CSJ Media Publishing and its mission, I realize how crucial it is to maintain integrity with oneself, especially in a world that tries to define who I am. Congrats, Jacqueline!

For more photos from the evening, visit my FACEBOOK PAGE. Don't forget to like my pages.