Brooklyn Public Library and the Brooklyn Eagles are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023 BPL Book Prize.
Each year Brooklyn Public Library, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Eagles, honors outstanding works of nonfiction and fiction with a prize given in the fall. Selected by librarians and library staff, who draw on their broad knowledge of literature and the many populations they serve, the BPL Book Prize recognizes writing that captures the spirit of Brooklyn, one of the most socially and culturally diverse communities in the country. The winners receive a $5,000 prize during an awards ceremony.
2023 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize Longlist
Fiction Longlist
Boulder by Eva Baltasar; translated by Julia Sanches (And Other Stories)
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (Scribner)
All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce (Berkley)
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (Tor Books)
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah (Algonquin)
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (William Morrow)
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey (FSG)
When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff (Harper)
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (MCD)
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb (Anchor)
We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White (Astra Publishing)
Nonfiction Longlist
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Drawn and Quarterly)
Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen (BOA Editions, LTD)
A Living Remedy: A Memoir by Nicole Chung (Ecco)
On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Dodds Pennock (Knopf)
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (The Dial Press)
Muse Found in a Colonized Body by Yesenia Montilla (Four Way Books)
The New Yorkers: 31 Remarkable People, 400 Years, and the Untold Biography of the World’s Greatest City by Sam Roberts (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Above Ground by Clint Smith (Little, Brown and Company)
Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation by Linda Villarosa (Anchor)
Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life by Alice Wong (Vintage)
Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright (Hachette Books)
From From: Poems by Monica Youn (Graywolf)
The Prize Has a New Name!
This Prize has always stood for breaking down barriers and honoring innovative and inventive books. “Literary” is a term that has come to represent an elitist view that may lead to missing out on some amazing titles. In light of this, we are proud to announce that the "Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize" is now the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. We hope the new name removes the implication that librarians are arbiters of quality and taste, and instead allows us to celebrate books that mean something to our community.
The Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize was established in 2015 by the Brooklyn Eagles, a group of young and engaged Brooklynites who are passionate about Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and work to engage new patrons, promote the Library as a cultural center, and build a vibrant community around the resources the library offers.
The Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize presented by the Brooklyn Eagles is generously underwritten by the Peck Stacpoole Foundation
Staff Picks
- 2023 Longlist
- 2022 Nonfiction Longlist
- 2022 Fiction Longlist
BoulderEva Baltasar
Big SwissJen Beagin
All the blood we share : a novel of the bloody Benders of KansasCamilla Bruce
The book eatersSunyi Dean
If I survive youJonathan Escoffery
Calling for a blanket danceOscar Hokeah
YellowfaceR F Kuang
Biography of XCatherine Lacey
When we were bright and beautifulJillian Medoff
The mountain in the seaRay Nayler
Symphony of secretsBrendan Slocumb
We are a hauntingTyriek White
Ducks : Two years in the oil sandsKate Beaton
Your emergency contact has experienced an emergencyChen Chen
A living remedy : a memoirNicole Chung
Hijab butch blues : a memoirLamya H
Muse found in a colonized body : poemsYesenia Montilla
On savage shores : how indigenous Americans discovered EuropeCaroline Dodds Pennock
The New Yorkers : 31 remarkable people, 400 years, and the untold biography of the world's greatest citySam Roberts
Above ground : poemsClint Smith
Under the skin : the hidden toll of racism on American lives and on the health of our nationLinda Villarosa
The year of the tiger : an activist's lifeAlice Wong
Madame Restell : the life, death, and resurrection of old New York's most fabulous, fearless, and infamous abortionistJennifer Wright
From from : poemsMonica Youn
The Trayvon generationElizabeth Alexander
How the word is passed : a reckoning with the history of slavery across AmericaClint Smith
Customs : poemsSolmaz Sharif
¡Hola Papi! : how to come out in a Walmart parking lot and other life lessonsJohn Paul Brammer
Taste makers : seven immigrant women who revolutionized food in AmericaMayukh Sen
Warmth : coming of age at the end of the worldDaniel Sherrell
Fearlessly different : an autistic actor's journey to Broadway's biggest stageMickey Rowe
The hurting kind : poemsAda Limón
Punks : new & selected poemsJohn Keene
Invisible child : poverty, survival & hope in an American cityAndrea Elliott
Cost of living : essaysEmily Maloney
Antiman : a hybrid memoirRajiv Mohabir
KaikeyiVaishnavi Patel
My heart is a chainsawStephen Graham Jones
My volcanoJohn Elizabeth Stintzi
Olga dies dreamingXochitl Gonzalez
Las biuty queensIván Monalisa Ojeda
A psalm for the wild-builtBecky Chambers
PanpocalypseCarley Moore
Sea of TranquilityEmily St John Mandel
Siren queenNghi Vo
When women were dragonsKelly Regan Barnhill
What storm, what thunderMyriam J A Chancy
The Lincoln highwayAmor Towles