On the other coast, the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes announced finalists and honorees last month. Among those named are Boston writer Jordan Thomas for his book “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World,” in the current interest category, and Western Mass. author Mia McKenzie for “These Heathens,” in the fiction group. Maine-based writer Laura Poppick’s “Strata: Stories from Deep Time,” and Cambridge author Peter Brannen’s “The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World” are both finalists in the science and technology category. Additionally, Connecticut native Molly Jong-Fast’s self-narrated “How to Lose Your Mother,” Harvard alumna and professor Imani Perry’s self-narrated “Black and Blues,” and Mass.-based poet Ocean Vuong’s novel “The Emperor of Gladness,” were recognized in the achievement in audio production category. The 46th annual LA Times Book Prizes ceremony will take place on April 17, prior to the LA Times Festival of Books.
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More recently, the Cleveland Foundation announced the 11 finalists of the 2026 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which recognize “literature that contributes to our understanding of race and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures,” according to the awards’ website. Among them are Harvard alumna A’Lelia Bundles for her book “Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance,” UMass Amherst professor Martín Espada for his poetry collection “Jailbreak of Sparrows,” and Yale alumna and lecturer Susan Choi for her novel “Flashlight.” The winners will be announced on April 15.
Annie Sarlin can be reached at annie.sarlin@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @anniesarlinjournalism.
