They just have kept it to themselves. To can be completely honest when i was listening to the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing i was thinking a lot about these women. When women dont tell their stories a narrative is visited upon them, one of blame and shame. You did something wrong. You should have known better. I think that to me is the most resonant message from this book, to take back the narrative, the stigma, have to normalize it. One of four women terminate a pregnancy in the course of her lifetime. Putting a face to that instead of casting women as selfish and evil is important in a way to take the narrative back. Host you observe actual abortions. What was that like . Guest we shouldnt talk about abortion and euphemism. Interrupting life process even if you are prochoice you have to recognize that and he feels we should acknowledge that and what was being done during the termination. Invited me into the room to observe a 5week abortion and an 8 week abortion and a 16 week
First fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book award in the fiction category. So welcome deesha. Thanks for joining us. We also have steven sparks whos the cone coowner of point reyes books out in california. Hes worked at green apple books and the dalke archive and he is on the boards of dorothy a publishing project open letter books and the center for the art of translation. Thank you stephen for joining us. And last we have john shear whos the director of the university of North Carolina, press it is the oldest Scholarly Publishing house in the south. I am as a bookseller. Im compelled to say as well that john is a former bookseller at olsons in washington dc. Oh, im sorry, washington. Not dc. So, thank you everyone. I am going to start out with a question for you d shop. You have as i said had an incredibly successful university, press book. So what brought you to West Virginia up . Why did you just what pulled you in that direction instead of looking forward or d
First fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book award in the fiction category. So welcome deesha. Thanks for joining us. We also have steven sparks whos the cone coowner of point reyes books out in california. Hes worked at green apple books and the dalke archive and he is on the boards of dorothy a publishing project open letter books and the center for the art of translation. Thank you stephen for joining us. And last we have john shear whos the director of the university of North Carolina, press it is the oldest Scholarly Publishing house in the south. I am as a bookseller. Im compelled to say as well that john is a former bookseller at olsons in washington dc. Oh, im sorry, washington. Not dc. So, thank you everyone. I am going to start out with a question for you d shop. You have as i said had an incredibly successful university, press book. So what brought you to West Virginia up . Why did you just what pulled you in that direction instead of looking forward or d
[applause] the National Book awards are a huge part of that mission, and it is a thrill to be here with everyone tonight recognizing exceptional literature and increasing the visibility of books which are among the most powerful weapons we have against what has lately felt like an often hostile world. I think this past year has felt overwhelming and disheartening to many people. Its also felt exhausting for women, for people of color, for immigrants, for muslims, for the lgbtq community, for so many groups. To remain on the defensive in nearly every waking hour takes its toll. For some of us, books provide a welcome escape into someone elses world. For others they serve as a valuable resource for arming ourselves with indispensabling knowledge of history. But all books offer something we need so desperately right now; broadened perspective. Books allow us to view circumstances through the eyes of someone else. They cultivate empathy. They inspire action. They make us feel less alone an
Everyone to the 68 National Book award. [applause] like most people here tonight i have always been an avid reader and i come from a family of avid readers and i have birthed at least one avid reader, the jury is still out on the younger ones. As an only child and the daughter of two only children it wasnt uncommon in our house to find everyone in separate corners, each of us buried in a book. Huge nerds, you might have called us. Its a privilege to be in his room full of huge nerds. I feel right at home. My mothers father was a rare book dealer in chicago so the nerd gene goes back even farther in my family. One year there was a terrible fire and my grandfather store and the fire itself didnt reach the volume the fire hoses did. Water, water, everywhere. His whole inventory ruins and my grandfather felt he had no choice but to close up shop. My grandparents packed up and moved to the ozarks in the heart of missouri where my grandmother was from and they both were effectively retired a