Late last night the National Book Awards were announced. Jesmyn Ward (right in photo) took top fiction honors for “Salvage the Bones,” about a Mississippi family’s struggle during Hurricane Katrina. The nonfiction prize went to Stephen Greenblatt (left) for his work “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” which analyzes the effects of certain influential thinkers and trends on civilization since the 1500’s. Ward appears to be quite young; I think it’s exciting that she’s earning substantial recognition at this age.
Shira S.