The New York Historical (formerly the New-York Historical Society) has awarded the $10,000 2025 Children's History Book Prize to A Two-Placed Heart by Doan Phuong Nguyen (Lee & Low Books). The award is given annually to "the best American history book for middle readers ages 9-12, fiction or nonfiction."
The New York Historical described the book this way: "Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, 12-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember--a love letter in verse to sisterhood and places left behind. Using her father's old typewriter, Bom writes down everything she can remember from her early life in Vietnam, like when they were so hungry Bom couldn't walk well, and what it was like moving to Tennessee--from ESL classes and bullies to strange foods and new friendships--and how her family worked to keep their heritage alive."
Doan Phuong Nguyen said, "This year, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, and the echoes of the war and the loss of a homeland still haunts many immigrant families, including my own. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to share my family history and my experience as a girl caught between two countries and vastly different cultures, in this beautiful novel-in-verse."
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Winners have been selected for the James Tait Black Prizes in fiction and biography, which have been presented by the University of Edinburgh since 1919. My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison (published in the U.S. by Graywolf Press), has won the fiction prize, and My Great Arab Melancholy by Lamia Ziadé, translated by Emma Ramadan, has won the biography prize. The authors and translators share in the £10,000 (about $13,540) prize in each category. This is the first time that both prizes have been awarded to translated works and only the second time a writer and translator have been awarded a prize together in the history of the awards. The prizes were opened to translations in 2021.
Organizers said My Heavenly Favourite "charts a rural veterinarian's obsession with a young woman, in a dissection of taboos and social norms. The novel has been commended for its unique voice and uncompromising storytelling, confirming Rijneveld's reputation as one of the most original voices in contemporary Dutch literature."
About My Great Arab Melancholy, organizers commented: "A richly illustrated memoir intertwining personal narrative with the political and cultural history of the modern Arab world, the book reflects on tragedies which have impacted the region. Blending memoir, history and pop culture, My Great Arab Melancholy traces the lives of Arab intellectuals from the mid-20th century onward. Through lush visuals and personal reflection, Ziadé explores the cultural and political upheaval of the Arab world, capturing a sense of collective loss and longing."