We are going to have a great night tonight. We are honoring literary liens, emma white will be honored, a big night for the Massive National Book Foundation for literature, culture, a big night for all of us. When i have the ability to stand in front of people i mention my mothers name jean christian. She is the reason i like to say about my mother i am the man that i am because she is the woman sheis or was. My mother was my first teacher. My mother graduated from college at the age of 17, the first person in her family to go to college. For me to be a wellknown literary advocate in this nation, a place where only a scant few generations ago it would have been illegal for me to read is no small thing. [applause] literature is the birthrightof every single one of us, no exception and if you can read in at least one language youare in my definition free. That is to say , no one can pull the wall over your eyes. No one can give you a set of what they want to call alternative facts and convince you that whatyou know to be true is in fact not true at all. If you can read in at least one language, you have the wherewithal to educate yourself. To be self educated, a learner for life. Literature and its place in civilization is unparalleled. It is the stories that we tell each other that define who we are. Why we are here. What our mission is in life. It is storytelling that holds our civilization together and were going to begin tonight by honoring the foundations Lifetime Achievement honorees and the first of these honorees is receiving the literary award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary community, a person which has given and proven a remarkable dedication to expanding the audience for books and for reading. Last year the foundation honored sloan foundations nor in web and past winners include maya angelou, dave eggers, sesame street joan dance tune and tonights honoree is no exception as well in his service to the Literary Community and to introduce him is the author of eight novels including state of wonder, commonwealth in the dutch house. She was the editor editor of the best american short stories series, i have an affinity for short stories hosting a podcast where iread a short story in every episode. Thank you. The importance of her voice came to my attention with bill 10 still a copy of which sits on the nightstand in los angeles in a stack of some of my favorite books. She is the winner of the many prizes including the penn falconer award, the orange prize for fiction, her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and shes been named one of the 100 most influential people in the planet by Time Magazine and in her spare time she is the coowner on of our nasa sports innashville tennessee and it gives me great pleasure to bring to the stage the inevitable , immensely talented anne heche. High. So i heard a lot of friends ask me why i was getting on another plane at the end of a very long book tour to fly back to the National Book awards and i tell them i was asked to present the literary and award for Outstanding Service to the Literary Community and that i would pretty much go anywhere to have the chance to say nice things about foreign considering all of the wonderful things he has done for me, considering all the things he has done for all of us. And every single friend i have said this to has nodded and in been quiet for a minute and then said who . Of course, this would not be true of emma straub, she would not have asked me this or did any of my book loving siblings. They know oren teicher like i do which is to say very well too many people in the industry he is the man behind the curtain at the American Booksellers Association. Hes been working on behalf of the independent bookstores for more than 25 years. Hes made us stronger, more practical, more united, more expensive and i would lay a that hes been in more bookstores in this country than any other person ever. And he treated us all equally. Hes fought for our rights as Small Business owners and as passionate lovers of literature. He fostered our community through his leadership. Every year at christmas he goes and he works in a bookstore. It worked out my bookstore, parnassus books and this is a guy who knowshow to sell a book. It pleases me to no end to find that oren got his start as a senior staffer in congress and went on to work for themarch of dimes before coming to books. This is the perfect Training Ground or someone who would lead booksellers as we are a weird combination of politics and bighearted charity. Oren has seen us through box stores, through amazon and kindle, through financial downturns and he never once gave up on us. Instead he helped us reinvent ourselves at times. He was one of the leaders for in the bound and the local first initiative, thank you verymuch. It was a time you would never have seen a bookseller served as a judge for an important literary award like this one even though booksellers read pretty much aroundtheclock and we have oren to thank for that as well. As he steps away from this job he is leaving us so much better and so much stronger then he found us and for this and for everything oren, i am so grateful. But i also want to say that there is a lesson in all of this tonight. If you dont know oren, you need to spend more time at your local independent booksellers and you need to spend more time with the American Booksellers Association and when you are called to service, answer the call because independent booksellers play an outsized role holding writers and publishing and they deserve our respect and support. And oren, if retirement doesnt suit you brother, open a bookstore. You would be so fantastic at it and if youre not ready to open your own bookstore, come and work at parnassus. We love you, i love you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, oren teicher. [applause] good evening. First of all, let me of course express my extraordinary thanks and appreciation to an packet for that incredible introduction. I told her just before you, you dont allow somebody to introduce you who you have already introduced at other events and its a good lesson to remember. Most of you in this room know and as one of the americas bestloved writers but those of us in the bookselling communityknow her as a colleague , asan intrepid advocate for bookstores , who just inspires us every day so i thank you ann for what you do and of course for being such a good friend to me and to in the bookstores across the country. Thank you so much. [applause] id like to thank the National Book foundation award, particularly my friends david steinberger, marcus stole, Carolyn Reedy and of course the incomparable lisa lucas for this extraordinary honor. When lisa called me some months ago to tell me my selection, i was in a word dumbfounded. As time has gone on i must say ive grown a little bit more used to being called a literary and, i kind of like the sound of it but for one moment, the impact of this extraordinary special recognition will never diminish. I am most grateful. Im humbled to be receiving this award tonight in the company of americas best writers. I congratulate all the nominees for tonights awards. Like all of you i am eagerly looking forward to the announcements of the winners, though in my book, each and every one of you is a winner for the remarkable craft you bring to your work. [applause] i want to acknowledge my many friends in the publishing and Distribution Community who are here tonight. Ive had the privilege of working with so many of you for so many years and while we may not always agree on everything, im in alternately convinced that the partnership between publishers and independent booksellers has forged a kind of stronger Book Community that has spread the joy of reading to millions of americans and i thank you for that. I want to also acknowledge tonight the presence of my kids, carrie, jesse and emily, zach and ann. Theyve been on this journey with me for virtually their entire lives. For some occasions like this, we know how much we miss someone whos not with us but i know that shes smilingdown on us tonight. I want to pack my bookselling family represented by president jamie yoko in flyleaf books, chapel hill north carolina, my two senior staff colleagues dan cullen and of course thefive booksellers who served on this years judging committees , javier, mark, john and kristin. We are very grateful to the National Book foundation for including booksellers on your panels. Working on behalf of india booksellers , these past 30 years has been a dream job. I have never ever not wanted to go to work. The creativity, ingenuity and resilience of booksellers is nothing less then remarkable. And though i know the National Book foundation has singled me out tonight for this award for which i am sincerely humbled, i accepted on behalf of the thousands of in the booksellers all across this country who every day thousands and thousands of times perform that special act of magic by placing the right book in a readers hands. That simple act whether it entertains, teaches or inspires makes the world a far, far better place and for me to have been associated with that magic has been the highlight of my professional life. I was asked recently about what it was about my job that i like the most and i knew the answer almost immediately. I responded by saying that because of my years at aba, i have a good friend in every town and city in america. Let alone around the world. In the words of the poet wbe 80 states think where mans glory most begins and ends and i say my glory was that i had such remarkable friends. Thank you for this honor. [applause] there is a metal that goes along with your honor here, oren and i dont want you to leave without it. [applause] the second Lifetime Achievement award we will be presenting is the metal for distinguished contribution to american letters. Previous winners of this award include stephen king, john adams, maxine hong kingston, tom wolfe and also the late great Toni Morrison whose work will live on in the dna of readers, writers and thinkers for generations, generations to come. This honor is given to a writer who has over the course of their career greatly enriched our literary heritage through their body of work and tonight honoree and in his books at an extraordinary impact on generations as well. As our dear departed madame morrison once said if you cant find the book you want to read, you must write it. Tonight honoree has been walking that talk, bringing literature to another group of americans had a normative eyes by america and to present to him is the author of the best title of which has to be mister know it all the tarnished wisdom of a filth elder. Hes a photographer and hes been shown all over the world. This man has made 16 films. There arestorytellers and then there are storytellers storytellers. Ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure to introduce to the stage onto her , genius , storyteller david waters. John, john waters. [applause] thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much, thank you. Well, distinguished contribution to american letters. Hes certainly done that and wait way more. Edmund white helped start the game is Health Crisis in 1982. Hes an aids activist, and aids survivor and he still loves sex. Hes written so many topnotch memoirs that my struggle seems stingy in the details department. Hes pissed off susan sontag and gore the doll in the world the better plate forest. Edmund is so well read its scary and hes written every genre except childrens books and who knows . Think of the wisdom he could share with kids. I mean, he explains to intellectuals everywhere in 1977 at the bias against the acyl is unreasonable. So maybe its time he translates this in a less threatening way for our next generation ofbudding young readers. It seems mister white as one and deserved more awards than meryl streep yet he never makes the public feel stupid unless they are lying in front of the tv not reading. Edmund white is self depreciating yet proud, optimistic when things seem disastrous and he reveals more in his books about his personal life that seems possible , sensible or a literary elite correct and my god, how has he kept his sanity . Weve read about his dysfunctional parents in his memoir and womens resiliency is aweinspiring these beat death several times but still looks today for love online. Hes lived long enough to know the difference between twinkie and chicken, yet accept the fact that we used to have sex with several different peoplea week and now we need seven lawyers to have even one person for a date. Hes an american writer. Hes an american who dared write the definitive biography of french literary icon jean jen a and still get rave reviews in the gallic press and am i the only one of his readers who likes his later work even more than his first . Give me 2003 fannie over the 1982 boys own story any day. I know a little about 1950s coming out but not a thing about the feminists in the early 1800s he wrote about here. Have you read unpunished vice published in 2018 . Good god, and exhausting booklist that extraordinarily reader consumed that will make you hungry to follow in his book prints and do the same. Reading is the perfect fetish when edmund white is your literary top. My favorite of all his books, my lives published in 2005. It even shocked me. Read the chapter my master oh my god. Too much information . No, its even better because theres not enough shame. Its amazing but what did your agent think when he first read it, i asked him . Joyce carol oates is your friend, what could she have thought about and the college kids at princeton, didnt they freak out after reading these details of their teachers kinkys affairs to mark he laughed and said my students never get around to reading my books, i wouldnt worry. Edmund white is beyond dignified and yes, hes over the top of distinguished as this award acknowledges but hes disreputable to yet remains delightful. This honor comes with a 10,000prize. You know hes going to spend it on books. Hes made an exceptional impact on the countrys literary heritage as the National Book foundation as stated but that sounds a little highfalutin for me. Im here to add hesdone the same for me and my ilk. Hes ratted book buying fans over the last seven years. 28 books and theyre all really good. This room is definitely not empty and we salute you edmund. I say you kid i used to say what you want, a metal . Here is a really great one, come up here and get it. [applause] writers love to complain about how difficult it is to write. Maybe they feel guilty about not having a fulltime job where they must beobsequious , commute, sit through endless meetings, forgo naps. Enjoy only two week vacations and stay sober at least during the day. In reality nothing could be as bad as altmans work so writers pretend in their paris review interviews to write eight hours a day. Whereas a half hour would bea lot. And they claim to slave over five drafts which is unbelievable. Only confusion and indecision could account for more than three drafts. Sandoval once remarked that writing fiction is not a fulltime job. Only writers as prolific as balzac and Joyce Carol Oates can claim it is. The best of us love other peoples books and write too many emails. How else to fill up the obligatory eight hours . Pornography, cooking and adultery are other ways. [applause] and of course, drinking. I once said so many writers are alcoholics because they can get away with it. Im not denying that i have my struggles. After shelving for gay novels i managed to get only the fifth published and that was through the intervention of the poet and translator Richard Hollings who convinced random house to take it after theyd already rejected it. In our culture we ignore beginning writers and honor the experience excessively. When i started submitting novels in the prestonewall 1960s, my gay subject matter was offensive, especially since i didnt write about hustlers or criminals or drag queens but rather about the middle class guy sharing an office with you. The surveyor is more threatening than the exotic. Years later various editors would tell me that they been moved by my submissions, but hadnt dared to accept them lest their colleagues think they themselves were gay. In fact my First Published novel forgetting alayna red gay only to someone with xray vision. My second nocturnes for the king of naples was damned in the New York Times book review for being too obviously gay, explicit according to that clinic critic had eclipsed whatever small talents i might have had. It was only my fifth published book that was favorably received. Harbors green magazine in england once declared me the mostmaligned man in america. Now that is no longer true if it ever was. Today i am happy to say that there are many brilliant gay writers at work. Andrew sean greer won the pulitzer. Peter cameron wrote a masterpiece which i read in manuscript. The hit play on broadway is the inheritor. Ellen hollinghurst won the booker and in my opinion is the best novelist in the uk. Even people who are gay are willing to write about gay men now everything is so confused that my forthcoming novel a saint from texas is about twin sisters, a nun and a barrenness who are only gay around the edges. When i first started getting published in the 1970s , writers oddly enough were the only gays visible. Now tv series and major films and celebrities are usually lesbian or gay or if they are up to speed, transgender or gender fluid. Gay subject matter is represented in every genre. There are gay mysteries,gay childrens books and if one is japanese, gay comics. There are still many unfilled slots. Larry kramer is rewriting American History and turning the Founding Fathers into the founding mothers. Where one wonders are our gay villains, gay mad scientists . Even the National Book award has seen fit to honor a gay novelist and for that i am grateful. To go from being the most maligned to a highly lauded writer in a mere halfcentury is astonishing indeed. I would like to thank the dedicate the of my next novel and the love of my life just happy, my husband of 25 years and always my first reader, michael carol. My sister margaret fleming, john waters for three decades of friendship and that hilarious introduction. My agent pinky urban, my publicist sarah mercurio, the great patron of the arts von rich sorry whos with us tonight and my wonderful editor lisa mayer, thank you. [applause] edward valentine, edmund valentine the third you all. [applause] valentine is his middle name. He was at the university ofmichigan class of 62. My daughter and my money both went tomichigan. I appreciate that. We will now break for dinner and for those of you watching the live stream of tonights ceremony on facebook live, stay tuned for the halftime show. I understand it will be kanye west and donald trump sitting willfully not reading. We will be back soon to announce the winners of the 70th National Bookawards. Enjoy the meal you all. [applause]. Chairman of the board of the National Book foundation. Here we are again. Im lisa lucas, executive director of the National Book foundation. And im david steinberger, chairman of the board. Tonight marks 70 years of the National Book awards which of course means this is the 70th time that publishers, authors, editors, leaders, librarians, booksellers, and a point involved in the magic making sharing and protecting books have gathered together with a very singular location. Of course we will all find out which ibooks will be added to the 70 year old a list. The first want to take a moment to think about what all of these decades of recognizing great literature meant both for books writ large and for readers all around the country. Over the years the National Book awards has become a true tradition. We gather at the ceremony year after year to elevate literatur literature, recognizing the importance of powerful writing, talented authors and many readers whose lives are touched by the books we celebrate. But tonight is not only a moment to look back in 70 years of the awards. Its a moment to think about where we are and who we are right now. By being here tonight or by joining us to our live stream you are helping as to further in real time the mission of the National Book Foundation Come with , which im not going ri because lisa knows i love the mission. Cant get enough of the nation. The mission of the National Book foundation is to celebrate the best literature in america, to expand its audience, and to ensure that books have a prominent place in american culture. How about a hand for the mission . Wasnt that great . [applause] the mission. The National Book foundation is most wellknown for these awards for this night but the Foundation Works yearround through its education and Public Programs with the awards at the Power Sources said of this work to build readers and to start conversations. I think its obvious the year since 1950 1950 have been truly transformational for the awards. Leading up to this anniversary year we took his crazy deep dive into archives looking at pictures and videos and looking at all the past winners. Even just looking at the photos alone from the 50s and the 70s and the 90s, you can see how much has changed in the literary world since we began this work. One thing that is not change, the National Book awards has always stood for excellence but what was once insular is now unifying. What was once exclusive is now inclusive. And the work we do today allows us to showcase the true depth and breadth of the american experience, the world at large and reminds us of our shared humanity. Tonight we celebrate literatures potential to transform readers and to start, and the start of next the news which will is the future which the transformative work of literature is happening everywhere every day and reaching everyone. Lisa and i will be back in a moment, but for now were going her from just a few of the many authors, judges and partners who have been part of this work. Video time. Will great writing, requires you to be an athlete of the heart. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in the art of words. Awards in general can bring attention to books that we may not know of or brings attention to books that we may have just missed. Im astonished. Theres so much the nominee enjoys every minute of this fleeting but at the same time permanent acknowledgment of your very incredible gift. When we were thinking about books, we have to remember, opportunity at options. The National Book foundation is constantly bringing writers out to communities where people might be dreaming of writing but not daring to write. Might be dreaming of reading but not daring to ask for books. Seeing the medallion on the books signals this is a book that is meant and vetted by very smart group of people and i should really read it. I think every time a book is recognized in some broadway its the moment may be tardy on the sleep of summit is not a habitual reader. That can elevate people and change society. This is not just about entertainment. Reading is about educating citizens. Its a civics lesson as well. If you will have an enduring civilization you need to have an enduring commitment to books. Storytelling is part of our dna. Its part of our destiny. Its contributing a great deal to our society especially in these strange and sometimes dangerous times. There is a reader in every single nook and cranny of this country, and our mission is to celebrate the best literature in america, to widen its audience and to make sure books remain culturally relevant. The National Book foundation wasnt just that one awards night. Its like a yearlong party for a book, in terms of developing programs around that it did, the Educational Programs which all sorts of different audiences. We work with young people in our program. We work with young people and families living in Public Housing communities across 25 states and we work with Publishing Partners to secure large quantities of donated books that are able to go directly into the homes of children and families. Anything that is protecting books that is emphasizing the viscount of stories itself is we need books, we need stories, we need literature. I can see a transformation in children, those have benefited from the program. The work the foundation had been doing and getting books out there to people who might not otherwise pick them up is most important work that it does. People recognize how important how literature is how reading is. There always nessie understand how much work it takes to keep them alive. I think the National Book foundation will exist 70 years about but it will evolve and as people over the past 70 years. I hope we have somebody is to keep on strengthening our community and keep supporting authors had to keep reminding everybody no matter where theyre situated that books are for them. [applause] the foundations work is based on a very simple premise, that books and recognition matter. The reality is that doing this work is an enormous undertaking powered by so many people whom we are grateful it would like to take a moment now to thank some of them. I want to start by thanking the mellon foundation, the art for Justice Justice on, the National Endowment for the arts, the new York State Council of the arts and the new York City Department of cultural affairs. Also work with an enormous number of Program Partners around the country and to then we are very thankful. And, of course, everything here looks pretty nice, yes . So we are really grateful to our designers, to argue team and are absolutely amazing long Time Printing sponsor to make the invitations and the programs that you see at coral graphics who are sitting over there. [applause] we are enormously grateful for the continued support of our sponsors and could not do this without our sponsors, a special thank you to barnes noble, Penguin Random house, apple, amazon literary partnership, facebook, linkedin my Book Publishing papers, division of Central National and, google, harpercollins, thank you all for your support. [applause] we are also embedded to our dinner committee, incredible board of directors big thank you to my great colleagues on the board, our esteemed 2019 National Book awards judges, the after party committee, are amazing host levar burton and to all of you here tonight and watching from home. Thank you, all of you. [applause] and finally thank you to our extraordinary Foundation Staff and our entire list and inspiring later, lisa lucas, thank you, lisa. Thank you, david. [applause] every single year, its true, there are just nine of us, nine of us that work at the National Book foundation. Not a single bit of this would be possible without their phenomenal efforts, howland, time, passion, for for giving me regulate so thank you for jordan smith that was a joke jordan spieth, emily, natalie, and a special thank you to the awards team, and especially, especially, especially to ann patchett. If you had a table change give it up to and the docket. [applause] together with produced these awards and abroad National Book award authors to 49 different Free Committee events this year, visited readers in 37 different states and reached our goal of distributing 1 million come over 1 million free books to children and families living in Public Housing. [applause] the National Book award is not only an award show. It is the single largest annual source of income for the National Book foundation. On the night a special and climb renacci its easy to forget the National Book foundation is a Nonprofit Organization with the budget of less than 2 million, all of which powers an extraordinary amount of work. Tonight goal is to raise 1 million for the foundation and weve already raised more than 900,000, which is great. [applause] but thats not a million. Thats right. Right, exactly. Do the math. We are here to ask for more. To bridge the gap to help ensure 70 more years of this work, in your program this evening you will find a contribution envelope. Lees take a moment to locate it. We can wait. Did you find it . These envelopes have always been in your program. We always ask for people to consider filling from the out d us money. Last year we got a grand total of one envelope pixel i would like to thank that person. Personapplause. [laughing] and id like to invite the 799 of the people to reconsider. We have bigger goal tonight than just one, as you might hope. 70 years, 70 envelopes. Do you think we could to 70 envelopes tonight . Maybe. [applause] how many of you, your job paid for you to be here tonight . If everybody gave a 70 in the total rent that would be over 50,000 and that would cover the shipping for every single book that we sent it to Public Housing this year. Thats it, 50,000. And it would get us halfway to this evening school. There are thousands watching online and with the power of everybody combine we could probably surpass our goal. So if you are watching online you can visit National Book. Org donate, to support the work. For those of you here tonight, if you dont have a checkbook or credit card handy, no problem. Just write your name, email and pledge amount, any amount in the foundation will be in contact with you shortly with gratitude. Swiftly. Knowledges about to begin circulating throughout the room to collector envelopes. Theres a box in the back. You can stop on your way out. So now we done with that. Consider the envelopes. A few to all of you joining us here in new york and to all of you watching online. One more huge congratulations to our 2019 finalists. Im now back back to five who sows, levar burton who will gen with our show. [applause] lisa and david, give them a hand if they work and credibly hard to make this evening a success. [applause] for me the awards are particular exciting because intel the moment that the title of the winter leaves the judges mouth, no one but the five person panel of judges knows the decision, not the foundation board, not its staff. The judges who make their final decisions only earlier today, so everyone, we are all hearing it here at the same time for the first time. As you know winners in each category will be announced by the chair of the respective category and they are presented in reverse alphabetical order. We could not do this in hollywood. No one spells that well. [laughing] these categories are young peoples literature, translated to literature, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. To present the National Book award for young peoples literature is an na whose book a step from heaven was a finalist for the National Book award for young peoples literature and it one the friends award. Her books for young people have received numerous awards in recognition including the International Reading Association Award and the Parents Choice award. It gives me great pleasure to welcome to the stage, the very talented, extremely lovely an na. [cheers and applause] all right. So the young peoples category has the fortunate but daunting task of reading across all genres from poetry to nonfiction, picture books to novels. We had over 300 entries, and thank goodness that was part of a brilliant committee that helped each other down when the welcome first floors of books turned into an avalanche on my doorstep. My dog berkeley and ups driver, best friends. It was an honor and privilege to serve with such a passionate and dedicated and empathetic group. Please help me thank my fellow judges, [applause] i think were all together to today because we believe in the transformative power of story and words. It was well a quay state, when our children have books that act as mirrors and windows into the own and others experiences, we see the humanity in one another. Our distinguished finalists have written powerful books, and when these kinds of books are placed in the hands of young people who are stepping forward more and more to play pivotal, central roles in our changing political and social landscape, and very active reading and writing becomes revolutionary. This years fabulous five are make me a world, Penguin Random house. Period jason reynolds, look both ways. Simon schuster. Randy patron saints of methane. Lower ruby, 13 doorway. And Martin Sandler, 1919, thank you that changed america. And the National Book award goes to Martin Sandler 1919 the year that changed america. [applause] ive got three minutes and i can tell that children in an hour. But i want to thank you so, so much. After a lifetime of doing this, this is such an incredible, incredible honor. Im particularly honored to be in the company of my four fellow nominees. I will tell you that as the eldest statesman of that group, i am so confident of the future of young peoples literature. [applause] and and i want to kill all of tm how much i admire their work. Nobody in this country or the world knows better than the people in this room that no book is the result of the author itself. And ive had people at bloomsbury who know that this book is as much theirs as it isnt mine, particularly mary kate and susan. Thank you so much. [applause] i have written 60 books. I intend to write at least 60 more. [applause] and i hope im back in again to celebrate it with you. Thank you so very, very much. Thank you. [applause] lets give marty another hand. [applause] group Proof Positive that if you keep typing [laughing] good shit happens. [laughing] to present the National Book award for translated literature is the awardwinning author of the novel, those who knew and ways to disappear. She is the translator of the passion according to and leaning against this, it gives me great pleasure to bring to the stage idra novey. [applause] this is exciting. 20 years ago a number of publishers in this country willing to take a risk on a writer who was new to readers in english was a short enough list that every translator i knew could recite them in under a minute. To be a judge for this award, to behold the number of publishers now championing books by the authors translated into english has been astonishing. And it is also been a welcome rebuke to the crimes being created daily by this administration. [applause] its been exhilarating to read fellow writers around the world who are responding to this ever more alarming era we are in, and the number of superb translators at work and the United States right now is breathtaking. Thank you all. [applause] and ive learned a tremendous amount from my insightful passionate fellow judges, thank you. [applause] and here are the finals for this years translated literature prize. Death of hard work. [applause] this is translated by lori. The next is homecoming from new directions translated by [applause] the barefoot woman translated by jordan stump. [applause] and the Memory Police translated by steven snyder. [applause] and translated by david axton. [applause] and this years National Book award for translated literature goes to laszlo krasznahorkai. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to stand here before you. Thank you. I would like to thank, to my translator. I would also like to thank my american readers and my publisher, barbara. [applause] and everyone working at new directions. [applause] thanks i would be especially grateful to my fellow wonderful finalists. If they will forgive me. I implore their forgiveness. I asked them not to hate me. Not today. And tomorrow, why would they . And last but not least i would like to thank for opening up this category once again. It is a tremendous joy that through our translators we get close with we can be at home in the United States of america. And finally i give my thanks to for leaving me here among all of you here thanks. [applause] thank you so much. The author of this book, he answered all my patient with incredible grace and kindness. My profound thanks, and i get my profound thanks to the jury and to all of you, too, for caring so much about the translated word when it seems every day more barriers are being erected. The translated word is a sign, however slight, it might seemf the kind of freedom, human eccentric wayward and in printed with another beauty. Thank you all. [applause] and you should take a statute. Which one would you like . [laughing] [applause] those are heavy. Just one. You only get one, yall. Only one to a customer. [laughing] to present the National Book award for poetry [applause] all the people who could rhyme are in that part of the room. To present we have an awardwinning poet whose accolades include the priceless collection the lambda literary award for his collection, the anchorage. The director of the writing seminars graduate writing program. It gives me great good pleasure to welcome to the stage the very wonderful mark wunderlich. [applause] first, i want to recognize the dedication and hard work done by my fellow judges on this panel, josh charles, john evans, francis who sadly is unable to be with us tonight, and kathy. [applause] im also very grateful to the National Book foundation for the needy opportunity to consider these books and to work with my fellow panelists. The great with max beerbohm wrote that the most difficult thing about being a poet was deciding what to do with the other 23 and half hours of the day. [laughing] but i can tell you that the greatest difficulty poets face is having to withstand the pointless public and private arguments about poetry is relevance to our culture. Poetry is an essential human activity, like dancing or making music. And as long as the moon rises in the night sky, or people love each other or break each others heart, poetry will matter. [applause] thanks. Having read a very large crosssection of it this past year, i can tell you that poetry is essential to our national character. And in our country with its righteousness, its vulgarity and stupidity, we are also a nation capable of great sensitivity, refinement and generosity of spirit. And these best qualities are possessed but our nations poets who show us what we all might be capable of feeling and knowing and saying. America is a nation of great poets, and it is important for us to see them as the treasure that they are. [applause] some of those great poets are among the finalists here, and they are jericho brown. [cheers and applause] their tradition, published by Copper Canyon press. [applause] toy new and selected poems published by the university of pittsburg press. Ilya kaminsky. [applause] death republic. Carmen smith. [applause] and arthur sze, sight lines published by Copper Canyon press. [applause] and this years National Book award for poetry goes to arthur sze, sight lines. [cheers and applause] wow. Im amazed and grateful for this honor and recognition of my work. Ive been writing for so many years, and and i want to take s opportunity to also say my fellow finalists writing exceptional, necessary and courageous poems. We need poetry now more than ever. I loved your introduction, mark. [applause] i believe poetry is an essential language. It helps us slow down, see clearly, feel deeply and envision what truly matters. I think my wife, carol. We have written poems alongside each other for years. [applause] and her love has just grown and strengthened over time through the challenges of life. I think my editor, michael. [applause] we joint Copper Canyon press in 1994, so weve so weve been together for 25 years. Michael has published after book of mine. I want to say hes a visionary editor willing to take risks, and his commitment and passion for poetry has just been amazing. Quickly, i know the time is short, i want to thank joseph, george, laura, emily, john, elena, the designer valerie caldwell, the rest of the staff and board of Copper Canyon press. Thank you so much. [cheers and applause] well, yall, the National Book award for nonfiction will be presented by a bestselling author. He is an editor at large and a contributor to number of other periodicals including g2, for which his story on lgbtq life in russia won a National Magazine award. Please bring to the stage at this time the and memorable jeff sharlet. [applause] thank you, lavar, and thanks, we should think again lisa lucas and the National Book Foundation Nine as i think of them would do so much to keep books alive in these dangerous times. And thank you dear publishers for splintering my bookshelves with six or nonfiction titles this year. Nonfiction such a funny word, and negative definition i prefer mary ends definition for her genre in her notorious 1919 poem poetry, which she spent the rest of her life reletting. Imaginary gardens, imaginary gardens of nonfiction are the arguments and the narratives, the stories nonfiction writers held using the real toads of existence, the facts, strange, beautiful actual facts and not the alternative ones. Such gardens grow under many headings, history and memoir in the essay, lyric and otherwise. To sift through this, the National Book foundation this year brought together a brilliant and adventurous panel with which i count myself lucky to have spent many months of reading. Carolyn kellogg, a critic and an editor. Mark, an independent bookseller, Erica Armstrong dunbar, historian and pass National Book Award Finalist herself. Me, im a reporter so im glad tonight to get to bring you the news of this years winner. But first, all of our astonishing sarah broom. [applause] carolyn for shea, what you have heard is true, and memoir of witness and resistance, wrote press. [applause] david troyer, the heartbeat of wounded knee, native america from 1890 to the present. Penguin random house. And albert would fox with leslie george, solidarity, wrote press. [applause] it thrills me to build signatures National Book award for nonfiction goes to sarah broom for the yellow house. The magnitude of feeling in this room just reminds me being here of the distance i have come. Standing in front of you here now alone, but accompanied by some for in this room now, and some who are not, some whose name i i know to call, others whose names i cannot. In this room the Grove Atlantic team led by the indomitable, unstoppable morgan. [applause] morgan and his Incredible Team who believed from the first, who shepherded me safely through, suzanne, my agent. [applause] michael, judy, marie brown. In this room tonight, my mother, a a poet in her own right. [applause] how as a child i watched her every move, seeing her eyes all upon every word anywhere encountered in the grocery store, on a bus, pamphlets, the package labels my high school textbooks. She was always wolfing downwards insatiable, which is how i learned the ways in which words were a kind of sustenance, to be a beautiful relief or a greatest assault, how i learn that words with the best map, make me knw my mother was always saying in between raising 12 humans. I am in this room, and so is my mother. [applause] in this room my big sister left the yellow house when she was only 19, which then felt like a lurching mission to planet unknown. In this room tonight my love, a fellow artist, the most inspired accompaniment of my life. And the course, my siblings not here but whose voices exist in mind, carl, michael, karen, darryl, byron, troy, 80, deborah, thank you for telling me the stories in the first place and for trusting me to make something of them come for allowing me to call your names because, because it is no small thing to recover the names here that are of the names of my family who told me the history of myself, some of whom died before this book was finished and in the world. These absent presences, my auntie, my mother is only sister, my uncle joe in january of this year, and in the swiftest bloke up my oldest brother simon junior who died the day after this book appeared in the world. And yet and some out and still in the interests of time i have listened a million times two is hesitant voice on the recordings that we made so that i might make this book, hissing you grew up on wilson avenue in east, baby. You can handle anything. And on the recording he is also telling me that sometimes i talk too much, which is what im doing right now. But i just want to say, somehow and still, even with and through it all, the work stands. Nothing can stand in for it. I have learned because the work is the work is the work, and this honorable boy me as i make the next one. Thank you. [cheers and applause] that was worth getting out of bed for her, seriously. I have good news. 78 envelopes, yall. 78. Better than last years one, but im certain that this room of wellheeled men and women of letters can do better than 78. Right . Come on. Dig in, dig deep. This is for National Book foundation, yall. For literature, for the people. Heres another envelope. God bless you. Theres another envelope. Thank you. To present the National Book award for fiction, theres an author five critically acclaimed books of both fiction and nonfiction including her awardwinning first novel, easier, not my life story. And her most recent novel new people selected as new times audible book, nobody left when levar burton said caucasian is not his life story. [laughing] you did. I love you, sir. Her book the new people have with slick as new times notable book and one of Time Magazines best novels of the year. Ladies welcome to the stage, the winner of the fighting award for literature, a professor at university of southern california, my alma mater, please bring to the stage danzy senna. [cheers and applause] so im thrilled to be a tonight at the end of a long, arduous journey, but he was deeply rewarding. I have to admit that i agree to judge this prize for partly selfish reasons. I wanted an excuse to shut out the news and to block out the increasingly insane chatter of social media. I had a romantic notion that through reading, prolonged, excessive reading, i might return to a younger, preelection self. What i didnt bargain for was that there were only so many hours in the day, so certain elements of my life with neglected such as my children. But theres always time to fix that mess. [laughing] i live in los angeles, a land dominated by that other industry, and being a writer fiction can sometimes make you feel like a relic or an amish person. But the process of reading these books affirmed my belief that the boldest and most original stories are emerging not from five minute pitch meetings, from the solitary writer sitting alone at a desk day after day, month after month writing through their distractions and ambivalence and uncertainty, following their idiosyncratic obsessions, growing complicated where others go simple. Thank you to all of these authors for doing this fearless and often lonely work. I also wanted to say thank you to my superb fellow judges, Dorothy Allison, ruth dickie, javier ramirez, and jeff vandermeer. [applause] we read on trains and on airplanes, in our kitchens and bed, and sometimes in the dim light of bars. So thank you for your intelligence, your passion, for the written word and for debating these works together with me. It was such a sphere of openmindedness. I will not say there were not moments of tension, like the time i challenged jeff to a rap battle but thankfully we both backed down and decided it wasnt worth the humiliation. Thank you to lisa lucas for running this ship, and for year after year doing the quietly radical work of reinvigorating literature and reminded us of its relevance, diversity and power. So now for the finalists, five distinct books which crossed genres and continents and styles, each of them united as Dorothy Allison put it at lunch today, a common grace of language and complexity. Each of these books thrilled and disarmed us in the best possible way. The five finalists for fiction are susan choi, trust exercise. [applause] macmillan publishers. Sabrina and one world. Marlon james, red wolf. The other americans, pantheon books. [applause] julia phillips, disappearing earth. [applause] now i am honored and delighted to announce this years National Book award for fiction to susan choi, trust exercise. [cheers and applause] i was told my hair was statically. Im actually really surprised. Thank you. Thank you so much to the judges and my fellow finalists. Such an honor to share this with you. Thank you to last years award winner who told me i had to write something down. I did, only because she told me to, so thank god she did. This book was a collaboration as they all are but much more so i think that any of the book i have ever written. Thank you for being the difference between this book existing and not pick i dont think this book would have existed if you have not come along and told me that it should be a book. Thank you to Barbara Jones whos the difference between this book existing and being a hell of a lot better than it was when you first saw it. So thank you, barbara. Thanks to everyone ruby, jason and everyone else at the publishing house. And thank you to alexander and andrew wylie and everyone else at the white agency. You guys have taken really good care of me. The longer i do this, write books and also teach writing for a living, the more i am struck by how its really its own reward, given what we are all facing today and what many people are facing in an even more intense system. I really find it an astonishing privilege that this is what i get to do for a living and i get to do with people like you. Thank you. When i was a little kid and writing my first very derivative action, and when i was 20 and working at a Cash Register at aa health food store, even when i was 30 and had published one book, i never thought that i would one day be able to actually lead a a life that was centered on books and writing, that that would be what i did. And i would be able to bring other people into that world through my work, so im so grateful for that. Thank you. [applause] and enormous congratulations to all of tonight spineless, are winners, the judges, attendee, our viewers at home on facebook live, and, of course, the National Book awards would not be possible without the wonderful support of readers everywhere. Never forget that what you do is essential to humanity. Reading and literacy are a birthright of all of us. And reading is indeed a radical act of humanity. Thank you all for coming. Theres an after Party Upstairs so you can get some Literary Group on. Thank you all for coming out to the National Book award 70th edition. [applause] booktv recently spoke to republican congressman Steve Scalise about his recovery from gunshot wounds he suffered during a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. Pretty powerful weapon obviously. The 762 caliber bullet that hit me, you could take a bear down with that, and when i saw the size of the bullet later they showed me, i said how am i alive . It really does make you wonder, but to get a lot of miracles that day and that was one that i detailed in the book. Whatever your faith is, i have a strong faith and it helped me get through it. The prayers help me get to it but i chronicle some very specific things happen on the ball field that even if you dont have the same kind of faith, he might say the first one or two is a coincidence but by the time you get to the fifth and sixth, clearly there was a larger presence on that ball field, and got to take care of us. What of those is that brad onestroke usually did not stay winstrol. You know has a meeting about 8 00 and so he leaves closer to seven, before seven to go and show and get ready and go to the office. That morning he found out his meeting was canceled, so we decided to stay for extra batting practice and use in the batting cage which is down to first base line. The shooter was hiding out in the thirdbase dugout. Red was out of the light the fire but he could see everything was happening. And again his skills took over and you knew as soon as the shooter without he had to come and check on me to see just what it happened to see if he could do something to help me here again i wouldnt be if he wasnt there that day, but most days he would not have been there because his schedule would have brought them somewhere else. One of the many miracles. His book is called back in the game. You can watch the rest of this in in a device visiting our website at booktv. Org. Type his name or the title of the book in the search box at the type of the the top of the page. All of you probably know ryan kill me hosting fox and friends. [a