Adult Fiction Winner:
Same Bed Different Dreams, written by Ed Park, and published by Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC, New York. 9780812998979.
A hypnotic blend of genres and timelines, this novel offers an immersive dive into Korea’s turbulent history, contemporary American culture, and our tech-obsessed lives. Park envisions a reality in which the Korean Provisional Government still exists and links an unfinished KPG manuscript in disparate hands. His masterful weaving of divergent lives and alternate histories culminates in a surreal conclusion that will astonish readers. This metafiction defies conventions and captures our zeitgeist splendidly.
Adult Fiction Honor:
Green Frog: Stories, written by Gina Chung, and published by Vintage, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 9780593469361.
Adult Non-Fiction Winner:
Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve, written by Drew Afualo, and published by AUWA Books, an imprint of MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 9780374614058.
Drew Afualo’s Loud seamlessly weaves stories of her life experiences and personal philosophies through a series of bold vignettes and anecdotes. Imbued with humor and feminist insights, her memoir brings together her proud identity as a Samoan woman, and the interplay between it and her family, career, and relationships.
Adult Non-Fiction Honor:
Tip of the Spear: Land, Labor, and US Settler Militarism in Guåhan, 1944–1962, written by Alfred Perado Flores, and published by Cornell University Press. 9781501771347.
Adult Non-Fiction Honor:
Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice, written by Eddie Ahn, and published by Ten Speed Graphic, an imprint of Ten Speed Press. 9781984862495.
Young Adult Winner:
Everything We Never Had, written by Randy Ribay, and published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. 9780593461419
Grounded in a century of historical events and climates in the Philippines and the United States, this intergenerational story is told from the perspectives of four generations of Filipino American teenage boys as they navigate their identities, dreams, and familial relationships. Through strong characterization and historical placement, Ribay tackles generational trauma, mental health, and toxic masculinity in families as well as interrogates structural issues of immigration, racism, and class to create a deeply powerful and emotional narrative of family and hope.
Young Adult Honor:
Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham and published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership. 9781250908261.
Young Adult Honor:
Dragonfruit, written by Makiia Lucier, and published by Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. 9780358272106.
Children’s Winner:
Continental Drifter, written by Kathy MacLeod, published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership. 9781250813749.
With a Thai mother and American father, Kathy belongs to two different worlds. Kathy and her family live in Bangkok, Thailand and are counting down the days until their summer vacation in her father’s home town in Maine. Kathy loves the idyllic beauty of Maine but she doesn’t look like the other kids at summer camp and has a hard time blending in. She misses parts of her life in Thailand. Kathy yearns to find a place to truly belong and isn’t sure if that’s in Thailand, Maine or simply anywhere. This heartfelt story tells the tale of a young girl searching for connections, identity and belonging while drifting and trying to find a home. Kathy’s struggles resonate with many of us caught between two worlds.
Children’s Honor:
Mabuhay!, written and illustrated by Zachary Sterling, and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. 9781338738605.
Children’s Honor:
Clairboyance, written by Kristiana Kahakauwila, and published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. 9780063045354.
Picture Book Winner:
Aloha Everything, written by Kaylin Melia George, illustrated by Mae Waite, and published by Red Comet Press. 9781636551128.
Through the medium of hula, a young girl learns the true meaning of aloha. Verses richly interspersed with the Hawaiian language and lush, eye-catching illustrations honor the beauty and vitality of the Hawaiian people, history, ecology, and folklore.
Picture Book Honor:
The Rock in My Throat, written by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Jiemei Lin and published by Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 9781728445687.