LA Times Book Awards celebrate Boo, Fountain, Atwood

Ten category winners and two lifetime achievement awards in the LA Times Book Awards were announced over the weekend, with Katherine Boo's portrayal of Mumbai slum living in "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," Ben Fountain's fictional satire "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and Margaret Atwood among those upheld.

Updated on: Apr 23, 2013, 11:56:40 IST

AFP | By HT Correspondent

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Ten category winners and two lifetime achievement awards in the LA Times Book Awards were announced over the weekend, with Katherine Boo's portrayal of Mumbai slum living in "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," Ben Fountain's fictional satire "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and Margaret Atwood among those upheld.

Readers on the lookout for the next big thing should check out wedding weekend tale "Seating Arrangements" by Maggie Shipstead, which added the LA Times' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction to its growing list of honors, and A.S. King is on the rise as "Ask the Passengers" won the Young Adult run-off.

Also emerging as category winners were titles such as Robert Caro's epic presidential biography "The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson," police procedural and psychological thriller "Broken Harbor" by Tana French, graphic novel triumph "Everything Together: Collected Stories" by Sammy Harkham and Louise Glück's "Poems 1962-2012."

With "The Passage of Power" winner of the Biography category, the path was cleared for Fergus Bordewich to receive the History award for "America's Great Debate," recounting critical 19th century moments for the US, and Florence Williams's mammarian narrative, "Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History," was elected best of Science & Technology.

And where Margaret Atwood was recipient of the 2012 Innovator's Award, with "The Handmaid's Tale," "Surfacing," "Positron," Wattpad collaboration "The Happy Zombie Survival Home" and upcoming "MaddAddam" particular highlights, USC professor Kevin Starr was given the Kirsch Award for his material on the American West, in particular the series "Americans and the Californian Dream."

Explore the latest Books News, author interviews, book reviews, literary events and new releases. Discover recommendations, reading lists and updates from the world of literature on Hindustan Times.