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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
The Kirkus Prize Winners
I have been overwhelmed by awards season announcements and almost missed out on the Kirkus Prize winners. The Kirkus Prize awards a whopping $50,000 to authors of outstanding, Kirkus-starred works in the categories of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. This year’s winners are: The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Fiction), King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson (Nonfiction), Everybelly by Thao Lam (Young Readers’ Literature). The Slip is a chunky debut novel exploring “issues of race, class, sex, and gender through a wildly inventive group of characters and events,” King of Kings dives into a meaty topic that remains relevant today, and my belly-obsessed toddlers can expect to find Lam’s delightful picture book celebrating different body sizes and shapes underneath the Christmas tree this year.
Steven Universe and Moomin Fans, Get in Formation!
Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar is bringing Moomins to U.S. big screens. Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomins are characters from a series of Swedish-Finn books and comics featuring the lovable trolls of Moominvalley. Variety reports that this will be the first Moomin film produced in the U.S. Considering how poignant and similarly beloved Steven Universe has become to so many, I can now imagine no one but the multi-talented Sugar entrusted with the writing and directing of this film. The animated movie will be based on the Moomins books, which have been translated into more languages than I can list, and will be produced by Julia Pistor (The Spongebob Squarepants movie). I predict packed theaters on premiere day, which has yet to be announced.
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Tommy Orange is a 2025 MacArthur Fellow
Tommy Orange, you genius, you. The author of the highly-praised and widely-read novels There, There and, most recently, Wandering Stars is one of this year’s 22 MacArthur Fellows, commonly known as the “Genius Grant.” This means he’ll receive an $800,000, no-strings-attached award serving as “an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.” Fellows are chosen based on three criteria: exceptional creativity; promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments which could be enabled by the Foundation’s support; and, potential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. Jeff and I discussed Orange’s win for an upcoming Book Riot pod episode, including how he still feels like a relatively fresh writer. That makes sense for this award, which sets out to cultivate impactful talent, and boy has he made an impact in short time. What a deserved win.
Be an Informed Pro-Library, Pro-Literary Voter Now
Banned Books Week is coming to a close, but it’s more important than ever to stay vigilant and informed about book banning efforts year-round. There are many ways to stay actively involved in the fight against censorship, and to defend access to books for all by showing up to the polls and spreading the word when libraries are on the ballot. Looking for in-depth guidance? Find it here.
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