HEAVY, HOW TO SLOWLY KILL YOURSELVES IN AMERICA, and LONG DIVISION author Kiese Laymon is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Foundation’s bio of Laymon reads: “Kiese Laymon is a writer bearing witness to the myriad forms of violence that mark the Black experience. Laymon’s writing across genres is grounded in radical honesty and his perspective as a Black Southern man. He exemplifies a commitment to revision in his writing practice and through his capacity for frank self-reflection.” Scribner published HEAVY on October 16, 2018, HOW TO SLOWLY KILL YOURSELVES AND OTHERS IN AMERICA on November 10, 2020, and LONG DIVISION on June 1, 2021.

AN IMMENSE WORLD by Ed Yong has been longlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The shortlist will be announced on November 15, and the winners will be announced on January 29. Random House published the book on June 21, 2022.

GOLDEN AX, Rio Cortez’s debut poetry collection, has been longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award in Poetry. The ten longlisted collections were selected by Kwame Dawes, Juan Felipe Herrera, Keetje Kuipers, January Gill O’Neil, and Mai Der Vang from a pool of 260 submissions. Finalists will be announced on October 4, and the winner will be announced on November 16. GOLDEN AX was also the headline title for The New Yorker’s announcement for the award. They write: “Rio Cortez’s 'Black Frasier Crane,' published this summer in The New Yorker, reimagines the famous sitcom character as a Black woman who is unable to shut off 'the mind’s / endless narration.' The poem, a rumination on race and class, appears in the collection GOLDEN AX, along with others that reimagine Cortez’s forebears as 'Afropioneers' who played a role in exploring the American West after Reconstruction. GOLDEN AX, which has been long-listed for this year’s National Book Award in Poetry, is one of several contenders that call on real or imagined ancestors.” Penguin Books published GOLDEN AX on August 30, 2022.

VIRTUE by Hermione Hoby has been shortlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, which “honors an exemplary work of fiction from the previous calendar year that speaks with an ‘American Voice’ about American experiences, much like Twain’s masterwork, ADVENURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN." The nominees will be read by a final panel of judges before the winner is announced in October, and the award will be presented to the winner at the American Voice Award Banquet on November 4 at The Mark Twain House & Museum. Riverhead Books published VIRTUE on July 20, 2021.

THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV by Dawnie Walton has been shortlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, which “honors an exemplary work of fiction from the previous calendar year that speaks with an ‘American Voice’ about American experiences, much like Twain’s masterwork, ADVENURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN." The nominees will be read by a final panel of judges before the winner is announced in October, and the award will be presented to the winner at the American Voice Award Banquet on November 4 at The Mark Twain House & Museum. 37 Ink published THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV on March 31, 2021.

THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV by Dawnie Walton is the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 2022 winner. The prize “honors an outstanding debut novel published in the preceding calendar year. Symbolized by a three-dimensional compass, the award is a tribute to writers who have navigated their way through the maze of imagination and delivered a great read, taking the reader someplace new.” Walton will participate in a reading and Q&A session about the book on November 10 at 7pm at the James Branch Cabell Library in Richmond, Virginia. The event will also be live streamed via Zoom. 37 Ink published THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV on March 30, 2021.

THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV by Dawnie Walton was longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, which “honors a work of fiction from the previous calendar year that speaks with an ‘American Voice’ about American experiences.” 37 Ink published the novel on March 30, 2021.

THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr. was longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, which “honors a work of fiction from the previous calendar year that speaks with an ‘American Voice’ about American experiences.” G.P. Putnam’s Sons published the book on January 5, 2021.

EVERYTHNG NOW by Rosecrans Baldwin is a Gold Medal winner for the 91st annual California Book Award in the California category. MCD published the hardcover edition on June 15, 2021, and Picador published the paperback on June 14, 2022.

HADES, ARGENTINA by Daniel Loedel is one of 3 finalists for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 2022. Riverhead Books published the novel on January 12, 2021.