National Book Foundation Announces Winners, Honors Judy Blume

The 55th annual National Book Awards ceremony was held at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on Wednesday, November 17. Over 700 people attended the black-tie ceremony and dinner, which benefited the National Book Foundation, the sponsor of the awards. Among this year's finalists were some unexpected choices, including nonfiction finalist The 9/11 Commission (The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States -- Authorized Edition, Norton) and the roster of fiction finalists, all relatively obscure New York women.

Lily Tuck

Lily Tuck, who took home the Fiction award for The News From Paraguay (HarperCollins), gamely noted the controversy surrounding the fiction nominees and said, "I'd like to acknowledge my fellow unknown finalists." She explained to the audience how the five women bonded in the face of well-publicized criticism about their selection as finalists. "We all agreed how allied we are and how very supportive we feel of each other. I want to say how much I admire their work." Tuck admitted that she has never visited Paraguay, adding, "Nor do I intend to go." She explained that she enjoys writing about subjects most people know little about.

Following the ceremony, Tuck told BTW that she "truly loved all the other books" and that they were all "beautifully written."

Kevin Boyle

The Nonfiction winner was Kevin Boyle for Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age (Holt). Jean Valentine (Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003, Wesleyan Univ. Press) won in the Poetry category, and Pete Hautman, author of Godless (S&S Books for Young Readers), took the prize for Young People's Literature.

Boyle, whose title was chosen from 449 nonfiction submissions, gave his "deepest thanks" to the selection committee, his editor, and his family, and said, "I shake my head that I've even been considered among the extraordinary company of the other nominees." Boyle talked briefly about the subject of his book, the violent racism an African-American family, the Sweets, experienced when, in the 1920s, they moved into an all-white neighborhood in Detroit. The title, Boyle said, was derived from a quote of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Boyle noted, however, "the system of segregation is still in place, not just in Detroit, but all across America, including the city we're in."

Jean Valentine and daughters

Boyle traveled to the ceremony from Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and two daughters. One of his daughters, 11-year-old Abby, was invited on stage early on in the ceremony to read a passage from Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume, who was presented the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation.

When Jean Valentine's name was read as the winner for Poetry, a large section of the audience burst into loud applause. She recognized her fellow nominees and expressed "boundless gratitude for their work and for being in their company." She also thanked her daughters who were in the audience. At the post-ceremony reception, Valentine said, "I feel wonderful. I'm just so surprised I can hardly take it all in."

Pete Hautman

Young People's Literature winner Hautman expressed his thanks to the National Book Foundation "for once again recognizing that teen books are an important part of American literature." Among the people he acknowledged was his editor, David Gale.

In addition to the $10,000 prize, the winners received a bronze statue of a rolled sheaf of pages. Host Garrison Keillor, who kept the audience laughing most of the night, called the statues "handsome projectiles" and said that "if you hit someone with it, they'll go down and stay down."

Deborah E. Wiley, chairperson of the board of the National Book Foundation, introduced Blume, calling her an "artist and an artisan." When Blume ascended the stage, the full house exploded in applause, giving her a standing ovation. While thanking the crowd, she fought tears, and dedicated the National Book Awards medal to YA authors, especially the ones who inspired her early on -- Beverly Cleary, Elaine Konigsburg, and Louise Fitzhugh.

Blume also discussed attempts to censor her books. "I never dreamed my books would become targets of censorship," she explained. "It makes me sad and very angry that encouraging people to think for themselves is subversive." Blume then recognized four individuals who are fighting for First Amendment rights. Dubbing them the "fab four" and asking each to stand, Blume acknowledged American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression President Chris Finan; Joan Bertin of the National Coalition Against Censorship; Pat Scales, a teacher, librarian, and activist; and Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom. Blume noted that those interested in protecting the First Amendment are "going to be busier in the next four years.... The urge to ban [books] spreads like wild fire...." She encouraged people to become involved because "censors hate publicity."

Harold Augenbraum found a fitting tone for the book industry's big night. He discussed the controversy regarding some of the selections including that of the 9/11 Committee, which he said was a somewhat difficult finalist to recognize given that it was a "group of former members of a former commission," but he explained that the 9/11 Report was "very well written" and noted that all government documents should be written in such a way that encourages the public to read them. He also commented on the controversy surrounding the fiction finalists and said that whatever the grumbling reactions of some, the "National Book Awards plays a role in the exciting maelstrom of the grand literary tradition of argument." --Karen Schechner with reporting by Nomi Schwartz