The National Book Awards for 2015 were announced last night, with Ta-Nehisi Coates among the four winners. The Atlantic national correspondent won the nonfiction award for his book Between The World And Me.
The other three winners are Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles for fiction; Robin Conte Lewis’ Voyage of the Sable Venus for poetry; and Neal Shusterman’s Challenger Deep for Young People’s Literature. James Patterson was also presented with the Literarian Award to recognize his philanthropic efforts to keep independent bookstores alive and to promote reading in public schools.
Between The World And Me is a look at the experiences of being a black man in America and was published during a summer when race was at the center of discussion.
“Every day you turn on the TV and see some kind of violence being directed at black people,” Coates said last night, reports The New York Times. “Over and over and over again. And it keeps happening.”
Coates has also become known for his extensive reporting for The Atlantic. He was also recently hired by Marvel Comics to write the new Black Panther series.
The National Book Award began in 1950 and is only open to American authors. The ceremony was held last night at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan.