The American Library Association announced on April 7 the six books shortlisted for the 2014 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The medals are awarded for the best fiction and nonfiction books written for adults in the previous year and published in the United States.
The two winning titles (one fiction, one nonfiction) will be announced at a popular celebratory event on Saturday, June 28, at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The medals and $5,000 checks will be presented, attendees will hear from finalist and winning authors, and a dessert and drinks reception will follow. Ticket information is at http://ala14.ala.org/ticketed-events#RUSA
The 2014 shortlisted titles are:
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Shortlist
On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand Year History, by Nicholas A. Basbanes. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House. Combining crisp technical explanations with vivid historical and contemporary profiles, Basbanes unfolds the 2,000-year-old story of paper, revealing in the process that paper is nothing less than an embodiment of humanity.
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, by Sheri Fink. Published by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. As the floodwaters rose after Hurricane Katrina, patients, staff, and families who sheltered in New Orleans’ Memorial Hospital faced a crisis far worse than the storm itself. Fink’s breathtaking account of the storm and what happened at Memorial offers a fascinating look at how people behave in times of crisis.
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Published by Simon & Schuster. This masterful study examines the complex relationship between two presidents, Roosevelt and Taft, who played major roles in the Progressive movement of the early 20th century. Acclaimed historian Goodwin offers a superb recreation of a period when many politicians, journalists, and citizens of differing political affiliations viewed government as a force for public good.
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Shortlist:
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House. To the women in the hair-braiding salon, Ifemelu seems to have everything a Nigerian immigrant in America could desire, but the culture shock, hardships, and racism she’s endured have left her feeling like she has “cement in her soul.” Americanah is a courageous novel of independence, integrity, community, and love.
Claire of the Sea Light, by Edwidge Danticat. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House. In interlocking stories moving back and forth in time, Danticat weaves a beautifully rendered portrait of longing in the small fishing town of Ville Rose in Haiti. The stories flow seamlessly one into another and are distinguished by Danticat’s luminous prose.
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. Published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group. In the wake of his nefarious father’s abandonment, Theo, a smart, 13-year-old Manhattanite, is extremely close to his vivacious mother—until an act of terrorism catapults him into a dizzying world bereft of gravity, certainty, or love. Tartt writes from Theo’s point of view with fierce exactitude and magnetic emotion.
The two winning titles (one fiction, one nonfiction) will be announced at a popular celebratory event on Saturday, June 28 at 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas. The medals and $5,000 checks will be presented, attendees will hear from finalist and winning authors, and a dessert and drinks reception will follow. Ticket information is at http://ala14.ala.org/ticketed-events#RUSA
More information on the finalists and the awards can be found at http://www.ala.org/carnegieadult.
