This week, the longlists were released for the 2016 National Book Awards. There are four major categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. While there aren’t any current Kentucky writers on the list this year, there are some fun connections to the Bluegrass State.
Read on to see who once got a few hundred bucks from the Kentucky Historical Society and what a seedy (though fictitious) Florida hotel sign has to do with the commonwealth.
Donika Kelly is the author of “Bestiary,” which is on the NBA longlist for poetry. That same title was selected by Nikky Finney for the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Therein lies the Kentucky connection. Finney was the Guy Davenport Endowed Professor of English at the University of Kentucky for 20 years (and won a National Book Award herself).
Rita Dove has a few ties to the commonwealth. In 1985, her collection of short stories, “Fifth Sunday” was published by the University of Kentucky Press.
She also once wrote a poem called “Kentucky 1833.” It begins like this:
Her “Collected Poems 1974–2004” is on the longlist for poetry.
Kate DiCamillo probably has my favorite connection to Kentucky. The “Because of Winn Dixie” author wrote another charming young adult book called “Tiger Rising.” In it, a 12-year-old boy and his father move to Florida shortly after his mother dies from cancer. They move into the Kentucky Star Motel, which has a sign that features a “yellow neon star that rose and fell over a piece of blue neon in the shape of the state of Kentucky.”
DiCamillo’s book “Raymie Nightingale” is on the longlist for young people’s literature.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a military historian and writer whose book, “America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History,” is on the NBA longlist for nonfiction. Bacevich contributed to the textbook “The Obligation of Empire: United States' Grand Strategy for a New Century” which was published by the University of Kentucky Press in 2004.
Ibram X. Kendi is on the NBA longlist for nonfiction thanks to his book “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” But -- fun fact to take to the bank -- Kendi once received a research fellowship from the Kentucky Historical Society for $375.
Garth Greenwell was born in Louisville. He studied at Washington University in St. Louis and then went on to Harvard for his MA in English and American Literature. Eventually, Greenwell moved to Bulgaria to teach at American College of Sofia, the oldest American university outside the states.
His novel “What Belongs to You” draws on his time there. Greenwell tells the story of an American expat in Sofia who struggles with the complicated, often dark, feelings associated with navigating life and intimacy in a foreign culture.
Paulette Jiles’ “News of the World” -- which is on the longlist for fiction -- takes place right after the Civil War. It follows Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd who is tasked with returning a young orphan, Joanna, to her family after having been kidnapped and raised by a band of Kiowa raiders. But when Kidd and Joanna reach her home, it’s evident the reunion is neither warm nor welcome. It’s a gripping piece of historical fiction that I absolutely recommend giving a read.
As for a Kentucky connection, dig just a little deeper in Jiles’ bibliography.
In 2009, Jiles released “The Color of Lightning.” Also set post-Civil War, it follows former Kentucky slave Britt Johnson as he ventures west into unknown territory with his wife, Mary, and their three children, searching for a life and a future. But their dreams are abruptly shattered by a brutal Indian raid upon the Johnsons’ settlement.
Jacqueline Woodson’s book “Another Brooklyn” is on the longlist for fiction, but her past work for children and young adults has been especially popular in Kentucky. Her picture book “Each Kindness” was a 2014 Kentucky Bluegrass Award nominee, “Brown Girl Dreaming” was a 2016 Kentucky Bluegrass Award nominee, and her young adult title, “Beneath a Meth Moon” was also a 2014 Kentucky Bluegrass Award nominee.
More information about the awards and the nominees can be found here.