Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Book Awards: A Very White Longlist










UPDATE 09/14/2015: And an Even Whiter Shortlist 
 The NBA finalists were announced this morning. They are: 
  • The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
  • Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin
  • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
  • Nimona by Noelle Stevenson


Kate B. said...

Thanks for the reminder that the NBA is a paid-submission award--I keep forgetting that when engaging in discussion about the longlist, shortlist, and winners. I read ALL-AMERICAN BOYS last night and, had someone asked, I'd've paid $135 myself to make sure it was on the table. (The finalist money is something else, though... what an effective way to reinforce all kinds of privilege in writing and publishing!)

I'm less a fan of EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING for spoilery reasons discussed in this Disability in Kid Lit review: http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/09/04/review-everything-everything-by-nicola-yoon/

mclicious said...

I swear I saw an entirely different list, but I guess I was looking at a different longlist...maybe BGHB?

Oh! Kirkus Prize.I can see how an entry fee can ask people to be more serious about what they think a book's chances are and to not overtax the judges, but that further fee is astonishing and reeks of privilege and oppression.

Then again, NBF is known for not caring much about the marginalized for the past ten years since someone in particular became in charge of things.

Debbie Reese said...

What I've seen in three separate years in their books:
REVOLUTION has Indians who "moved" to Oklahoma.
PICTURE ME GONE has "Indian squaw."
And this year, Carson's.... grave robbing Indians.

I was glad to see MY NAME IS NOT EASY on there in 2011.

Thanks for all that info, KT. I didn't know about all the fees.

K T Horning said...

Thanks for the link to the review, Kate (and the spoiler warning!). EVERYTHING EVERYTHING is on top of my reading pile right now -- I've been eager to read it since it was #1 on the NYT Best Sellers list a few weeks ago, which is pretty amazing for a debut novel by an African-American author.

And NBA hasn't had the best track record when it comes to books about characters with disabilities.

Zetta said...

Everything, Everything is a packaged book. Do you think those should be eligible for awards when an author of color is hired to write a story developed by others (generally white)?

K T Horning said...

It was one of the books NBA paelist Greg Neri included on his list of Top 25 Nominees, so it must have been considered eligible.

Monica Edinger said...

My impression was that Everything Everything was conceived and written by its author. Can you point us to information about its packaging?

Unknown said...

I, too, noticed that EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING was a packaged book. Alloy Media, the same company that did SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, is listed as co-copyright holder.

Monica Edinger said...

Thanks for that clarification. I had no idea.

Sam Bloom said...

So, not to derail the conversation surrounding the NBAs, but is this a common thing, the packaged book? I had no idea either, Monica. And Jonathan, are you saying the same was true for the Traveling Pants series? Weird.

Here's a question, maybe for K T, maybe for anyone: when the NBA judges ask for a book to be submitted, do publishers ever decline? Let's say I'm from a publishing company and I have Jacqueline Woodson's book ready to send in to the NBA judges, but they ask for another book; could the publisher decline that book and yet still send the unsolicited Woodson book? Sorry if this is confusing, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the whole process.

Lyn Miller-Lachmann said...

Yes, publishers can and do decline.

Unknown said...

Sam, yes, SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS was packaged. Check out the copyright. :-)

My sense is that once the publishers submit then the judges can see what's missing and request. I don't think a publisher would have one book ready to submit and change their mind based on a request--unless it was a small press that didn't have the budget.

Kate B. said...

[Packaging Derail Continued!: Sam, this post from Kelly Jensen at Stacked a couple of years ago does a good job of laying out the land of YA book packaging: http://stackedbooks.org/2013/10/on-book-packagers-and-literary.html . The book "Dark Pointe" that's discussed near the end became TINY PRETTY THINGS.]

K T Horning said...

I just saw the "should" in your comment, Zetta. I read the article about packaging that Kate B. supplied the link for below (thanks, Kate B!) but I still don't feel I know enough about the creative process involved with contemporary packagers, and I think that might have an impact on how I feel about award eligibility.

What does "conceptualize" mean here, and how much creative freedom does the author have? I know, for example, that writers of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and other books in the Stratemeyer Syndicate were given stock characters and outlines to work with, and they were basically fleshing out the outlines with very little to no creative freedom. they got paid a flat fee and didn't get credit for their work. Most didn't want credit, either. For example, Upton Sinclair used to write for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, but he didn't publicize that. He just wanted to pay his rent.

One question I have is that if a packaged book won the National Book Award, who would get the $10,000 prize money?

Sam Bloom said...

Thanks, Lyn. The cynic in me wonders how often an author of color has been on the short end of that situation.

And Kate B., thank you for that link; mind blown.

Anonymous said...

I share your concerns about the whiteness of this list, especially when so many fabulous diverse books are available.

I do want to point out, only because you mention Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda as "a book about a gay kid," that Nimona is arguably also about a gay couple. Nimona herself isn't part of that relationship, but Ballister is as major a character as Nimona - a sort of co-protagonist - and he is gay. So the book is diverse in that way, and valuable in that it features a positive, no-big-deal portrayal of a gay relationship.

Unknown said...

Totally with you in general -- but I just want to say that if you decide not to read Most Dangerous because it's on the Even Whiter Shortlist, you will be missing a remarkable book about a formative, crucial time in American history. It not only synthesizes an amazing amount of information into a clear and compelling narrative, it also asks important ethical questions (about government, truth and lies, etc.) that kids and teens (and adults!) need to think about.

Marjorie said...

So glad to see the comment from Unknown on Oct 24. Nimona absolutely blew me away -- I found it sui generis and utterly groundbreaking. I fear that saying WHY will spoil the story. But yes, it is super-LGBT positive, super-body/size-positive, and super-thoughtful about young women's RAGE. It fully utilizes the graphic novel medium; I find a lot of graphic novels well-intentioned but visually static. This, no way. Also it is sound on women in science, thoughtful about women in positions of corporate power, and very pointed about older women being underestimated and dismissed. One of the main characters has dark skin, but in context I'm not sure what race she's supposed to be.

MsJess said...

A pity Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda make it through to the shortlist since it was a very delightful book and full of diversity

MsJess said...

Well the main character in Simon is now a person of color there are several poc supporting characters.