Colson Whitehead Among Kirkus Prize Finalists

FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2017 file photo, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Colson Whitehead speaks during the presentation of the Italian edition of his novel “The Underground Railroad” at the Argentina Theatre in Rome. Whitehead’s novel “The Nickel Boys” and Kwame Alexander’s picture story “The Undefeated” are among the finalists for the Kirkus Prize, a $50,000 honor given for the year’s outstanding fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ books. Saeed Jones’ memoir “How We Fight for Our Lives” also was a nominee announced Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, by Kirkus Reviews, the trade publication. Each category has six finalists. Winners will be announced Oct. 24. (Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Colson Whitehead’s novel “The Nickel Boys” and Kwame Alexander’s picture story “The Undefeated” are among the finalists for the Kirkus Prize, a $50,000 honor given for the year’s outstanding fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ books.

Saeed Jones’ memoir “How We Fight for Our Lives” also was a nominee announced Tuesday by Kirkus Reviews, the trade publication. Each category has six finalists.

Besides “The Nickel Boys,” fiction nominees include immigrant stories such as Laila Lalami’s “The Other Americans,” Valeria Luiselli’s “Lost Children Archive” and Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” Nonfiction finalists include Patrick Radden Keefe’s “Say Nothing” and Rachel Louise Snyder’s “No Visible Bruises.” Angie Thomas’ “On the Come Up” and Jerry Craft’s “New Kid” were among the young readers’ nominees.

Winners will be announced Oct. 24.