The 77th awards, presented by The Commonwealth Club, were announced Tuesday. Themes ranging from history to families to Native Americans to landscape photography are among the topics covered in the winning titles.
“This year’s winners demonstrate the rich tradition of California authors, who draw on disparate and shared heritage, as well as the state’s beauty and power, to create literary works deserving of honor and celebration,” said Commonwealth Club Literary Director Gina Baleria, who organizes the competition.
Winners will be honored at a special program and reception at the Commonwealth Club offices at 595 Market St., San Francisco on June 5 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10; call (415) 597-6705.
Here’s the list of winners:
Fiction: “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins), “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Books)
First Fiction: “Sons & Other Flammable Objects” by Porochista Khakpour (Grove Press)
Nonfiction: “Ralph Ellison: A Biography” by Arnold Rampersad (Knopf), “What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848” by Daniel Walker Howe (Oxford)
Californiana: “Reinventing Los Angeles” by Robert Gottlieb (MIT Press)
Poetry: “Chinese Apples” by W.S. Di Piero ( Knopf)
Young Adult: “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher (Penguin Young Readers), “Revolution is Not a Dinner Party” by Ying Chang Compestine (Henry Holt)
Juvenile: “Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal” by Paul Fleischman (Henry Hold)
Contribution to Publishing: “Impressions of the East” by Deborah Rudolph (Heyday Books)
Special Recognition: “The Book of Psalms” translated by Robert Alter



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