Fiction Prize Awarded to Kaveh Akbar for Martyr!
Nonfiction Prize Awarded to Blair LM Kelley for Black Folk
Brooklyn—Brooklyn Public Library announced the winners of the 2024 Book Prize today, awarding the fiction prize to Kaveh Akbar for his debut novel Martyr! Blair LM Kelley received the nonfiction prize for Black Folk.
“Both of the 2024 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize winners have crafted affecting and deeply personal works. Kaveh Akbar’s brilliant debut novel Martyr! poetically explores grief, immigration and addiction. While Dr. Blair LM Kelley’s poignant narrative Black Folk thoughtful traces the history of Black labor and her own family’s story,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library. “Congratulations to the winners, all of the nominees, and the librarians who defend stories of all types and champion the freedom to read every day.”
In Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar’s page-turning novel we meet Cyrus Shams, an addict and poet, who is struggling with loss and obsessing over martyrs, eventually landing in Brooklyn where he discovers a painting suggesting that his mother may not have been who or what she seemed.
“I grew up in libraries, the book takes place largely in Brooklyn and it just seems like the nexus of such a serendipitous moment to be recognized in this way, by this organization, by these librarians,” said Akbar. “Few things could mean more to me sincerely, hand on my heart.”
Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class by award-winning historian, Dr. Blair LM Kelley, spans more than 200 years, starting with Kelley’s own ancestor, an enslaved blacksmith and leading up to the Amazon processing centers of today. Expertly examining the intimate communities and networks formed as Black workers dared to dream of a better future, Kelly introduces us to her great grandfather, a sharecropper, and her grandmother, a domestic maid, along with the laundresses, Pullman porters, and postal workers whose voices have long been obscured by discussion of the white working class.
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2024 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize for Nonfiction for Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class. For me, libraries have always been spaces for learning, community, and radical possibility, where people connect with the narratives that can reshape our world. This recognition from the Brooklyn Public Library is a powerful reminder of the importance of libraries in keeping our history, voices, and stories alive. In a time when history is under attack, thank you for championing the books that help us understand who we are and allow us to imagine who we can become,” said Dr. Kelly.
Nearly 80 books were nominated for the Brooklyn Library Book Prize this year which celebrates writing that captures the spirit of Brooklyn. They included stories of newlyweds and neighbors, refugees and revolutionaries, grandmothers and ghosts, all representing the diverse communities and stories that make up Brooklyn.
“Each year, librarians and library staff looks for books that truly capture the spirit of Brooklyn to award the BPL Book Prize. This year, we are thrilled to honor Martyr! and Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class. In Martyr!, Akbar explores themes of identity, grief, art, and martyrdom in ways both compelling and wryly humorous. In Black Folk, Kelley asks readers to consider the untold history of the Black working class through the portraits of everyday workers. Both of these books are beautifully written, thought-provoking works that ask big questions about legacy and history. Everyone in Brooklyn should read these two magnificent books,” said Librarian Jess Harwick, who chairs the Book Prize committee.
The Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize is generously underwritten by the Peck Stacpoole Foundation.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. Providing innovative library service for over 125 years, we support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We are a global leader in the fight for the freedom to read through our Books Unbanned initiative, offering teens across the US access to the library’s online catalog. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.