Overview
- Rabih Alameddine won Fiction for The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother); Omar El Akkad took Nonfiction for One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This; Patricia Smith won Poetry for The Intentions of Thunder.
- Gabriela Cabezón Cámara won Translated Literature for We Are Green and Trembling, translated by Robin Myers, and Daniel Nayeri won Young People’s Literature for The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story.
- The ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street featured host Jeff Hiller and performances by Corinne Bailey Rae, drawing hundreds of writers, publishers and industry figures.
- Political testimony marked the night, with Alameddine referencing an ICE detention video and a bombing at a Palestinian refugee camp, and El Akkad describing his book as a response to genocide in Gaza.
- Roxane Gay received the Literarian Award and George Saunders received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; the foundation reported 1,835 submissions this year, with $10,000 awarded to each winner.