The National Book Award Winners were announced last week.  Actress Cynthia Nixon, who was the emcee for the Awards Ceremony, commented that great writing can be a window into others' lives, especially in this polarized and divisive political moment.  She added that it can also be a "welcome escape into another world.  Books matter."  Take a look at this year's winners: 

Fiction:  Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Poetry:  Half-Light: Collected Poems 1965 - 2016 by Frank Bidart

Nonfiction: The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia by Masha Gessen

Young Adult Literature:  Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

Here's a more complete list of all the finalists with a link to the complete ceremony.  Of special interest: many are calling Annie Proulx's speech one of the best in National Book Awards history. 

~ cpi