African, African American writers are LA Times Book Prize 2020 finalists.

The finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize 2020, featuring African, African American writers, were announced on March 2, 2021.

U.S. newspaper the Los Angeles Times has awarded book prizes in biography, current interest, fiction, first, history, mystery/thriller, poetry, science and technology (category added in 1989), and young adult fiction since 1980. Some previous winners of this prize from Africa include NoViolet Bulawayo, Dinaw Mengestu, Uzodinma Iweala, Namwali Serpell and Marlon James.

The African, African American finalists for the LA Times Book Awards are;

Biography

• Les Payne and Tamara Payne, The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X

Current interest

• Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Fiction

• David Diop (translator Anna Moschovakis), At Night All Blood is Black
• Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji

Mystery/thriller

• A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland
• Rachel Howzell Hall, And Now She’s Gone

Poetry

• Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, The Age of Phillis.
• Nikky Finney, Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry: Poems and Artifacts.

The Art Seidenbaum Award for first fiction

• Deesha Philyaw, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

The Ray Bradbury Prize for science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction

• Megan Giddings, Lakewood: A Novel
• K. Jemisin, The City We Became: A Novel

Young adult literature

• Dean Atta, The Black Flamingo.
• Tracy Deonn, Legendborn
• Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi, Punching the Air

The winners will be announced in a live-streamed virtual ceremony on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter on April 16.