Winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards, which were announced last night in New York City, are:
Fiction: Improvement by Joan Silber (Counterpoint)
Nonfiction: The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America by Frances FitzGerald (S&S)
Poetry: Whereas by Layli Long Soldier (Graywolf)
Biography: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (Metropolitan Books)
Autobiography: Nine Continents: A Memoir In and Out of China by Xiaolu Guo (Grove)
Criticism: You Play The Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Trainwrecks, & Other Mixed Messages by Carina Chocano (Mariner)
The John Leonard Prize was presented to Carmen Maria Machado for Her Body and Other Parties (Graywolf); the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing to Charles Finch; and the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award to John McPhee.
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The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals released shortlists for the Carnegie Medal (author of a book for children & young people) and Kate Greenaway Medal (illustrator). Winners will each receive £500 (about $700) worth of books to donate to their local library, a specially commissioned golden medal and a £5,000 (about $6,970) Colin Mears Award cash prize. The winners will be named June 18. This year's shortlisted titles are:
CILIP Carnegie
Wed Wabbit by Lissa
After the Fire by Will Hill
Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean
Rook by Anthony McGowan
Release by Patrick Ness
Saint Death by Marcus
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
CILIP Kate Greenaway
King of the Sky, illustrated by Laura Carlin and written by Nicola Davies
Night Shift, illustrated and written by Debi Gliori
A First Book of Animals, illustrated by Petr Horáček and written by Nicola Davies
The Song from Somewhere Else, illustrated by Levi Pinfold and written by A.F. Harrold
Town Is by the Sea, illustrated by Sydney Smith and written by Joanne Schwartz (Walker Books)
Thornhill, illustrated and written by Pam Smy
Under the Same Sky, illustrated and written by Britta Teckentrup (Little Tiger)
At the ceremony in June, one title from each shortlist will also be named the recipient of the Amnesty CILIP Honor, which is awarded "to the books that most distinctively illuminate, uphold or celebrate human rights." The honor aims to increase awareness of how great children's books encourage empathy and broaden horizons.