ALA unveils shortlist for 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) today announced six books shortlisted for the esteemed Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, awarded for the previous year's best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the United States. The two medal winners will be announced at the Reference and User Services Association's Book and Media Awards (BMAs) sponsored by NoveList, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Denver, Colorado, on Feb. 11, 2018.

2018 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include:

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction 2018 Shortlist

• "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner," by Daniel Ellsberg, published by Bloomsbury.

In a gripping mix of memoir and exposé, Ellsberg recounts with searing specificity long-hidden facts about the U.S. government's perilously inadequate control of nuclear weapons—an arsenal that endangers all life on Earth—and calls for the dismantling of this Doomsday Machine.

• "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," by David Grann, published by Doubleday.

Grann's true-crime history takes readers to early-1920s Oklahoma, where oil was discovered beneath the Osage territory and where members of the Osage Indian Nation were murdered, a riveting story that includes the accruing of power by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI.

• "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir," by Sherman Alexie, published by Little, Brown.

Alexie presents a courageous, enlightening, anguished, and funny memoir told in prose and poetry that pays tribute to his Spokane Indian mother and reveals many complex traumas and tragedies of reservation life, as well as his own struggles.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction 2018 Shortlist

• "Lincoln in the Bardo," by George Saunders, published by Random House.

Saunders' boldly imagined, exquisitely sensitive, and sharply funny historical and metaphysical drama pivots on President Lincoln's grief over the death of his young son, Willie, as the cemetery's dead tell their stories in a wild and wily improvisation on the afterlife.

• "Manhattan Beach," by Jennifer Egan, published by Scribner.

From New York mobsters to the first woman diver at the Brooklyn Naval Station during WWII to the archetypally motley crew of a merchant-marine ship in U-boat-infested waters, Egan's insightful and propulsive saga portrays complex and intriguing individuals navigating the rising tides of war.

• "Sing, Unburied, Sing," by Jesmyn Ward, published by Scribner.

In telling the story of a Mississippi family––brother and sister Jojo and Kayla and their troubled mother, Leonie, and their legacy of grief and spiritual gifts, Ward explores unresolved racial tensions and the many ways humans create cruelty and suffering. A novel that is, at once, down-to-earth and magical.

The Carnegie Medal winner announcements will take place during the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits, which now offer all ALA book and media award announcements in the same 24 hours, with the Book & Media Awards (BMA) preceding the ALA Youth Media Award (YMA) announcements. Carnegie Medal winners will each receive $5,000. All the finalists will be honored during a celebratory event at ALA's 2018 Annual Conference in New Orleans.

The awards, established in 2012, serve as a guide to help adults select quality reading material. They are the first single-book awards for adult books given by the American Library Association and reflect the expert judgment and insight of library professionals and booksellers who work closely with adult readers.

The Medals are made possible, in part, by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in recognition of Andrew Carnegie's deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world, and are co-sponsored by ALA's Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

Annotations and more information on the finalists and the awards can be found at
http://www.ala.org/carnegieadult. Also, book cover artwork is available for download at http://tinyurl.com/CarnegieMedalsArtwork

About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy. 

About Booklist
Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers' advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online includes a growing archive of 160,000+ reviews available to subscribers as well as a wealth of free content offering the latest news and views on books and media.

About Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is a member community engaged in advancing the practices of connecting people to resources, information services, and collections, building relationships among members from all types of libraries, encouraging openness, innovation, and idea sharing, and promoting excellence in library services and resources.

About ALA
Established in 1876, the American Library Association (ALA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to provide leadership in the transformation and the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services as well as the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

SOURCE American Library Association

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