6 PRH Titles Recognized at Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
On April 25, the Los Angeles Times announced the winners of the 45th annual Book Prizes in a ceremony at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium. The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes recognize 13 categories of outstanding literary achievements, published in the previous year, and celebrate the highest quality of writing from authors at all stages of their careers. This year, Penguin Random House had 6 winners!
Achievement in Audiobook Production (presented by Audible)
JAMES: A Novel by Percival Everett, Narrated by Dominic Hoffman and Produced by Linda Korn (Random House Audio)
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.
PRH Audio producer Linda Korn said, “After many years devoted to the audiobook world, winning The LA Times Book Prize, with Narrator Dominic Hoffman, for Audiobook Achievement for JAMES by Percival Everett, feels both broadly relevant and uniquely personal. This recognition celebrates the essence of audiobooks; the simplicity and influence of a single voice telling a powerful story. JAMES is about the cost and suffering of having to hide one’s true voice in order to survive- this honor belongs to every voice that has ever been oppressed, but deserves to be heard and never erased.”
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
CINEMA LOVE: A Novel by Jiaming Tang (Dutton)
A staggering, tender epic about gay men in rural China and the women who marry them.
Senior Editor Pilar Garcia-Brown said, “CINEMA LOVE is one of those novels that not only rewires your brain but also expands your heart. Following gay men in rural China and the women who marry them, this book explores questions of desire, secrets, grief, how we care for one another, and how we survive. It’s been an absolute pleasure, and honor, to work with Jiaming on his incredible novel, and I am thrilled to see his work being recognized in this significant way by the LA Times Book Prize.”
Mystery/Thriller
THE PUZZLE BOX: A Novel by Danielle Trussoni (Random House)
Two sisters. A lost imperial treasure. The world’s greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the most dangerous mystery of his life . . . or die trying. It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan, to open the legendary Dragon Box.
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction
THE BOOK OF LOVE: A Novel by Kelly Link (Random House)
In the acclaimed first novel from short story virtuoso and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle. The BOOK OF LOVE showcases Kelly Link at the height of her powers, channeling potent magic and attuned to all varieties of love—from friendship to romance to abiding family ties—with her trademark compassion, wit, and literary derring-do. Readers will find joy (and a little terror) and an affirmation that love goes on, even when we cannot.
Science & Technology
OUR MOON: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolutions, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle (Random House)
Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes readers on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
Young Adult Literature
THE COLOR OF A LIE by Kim Johnson (Random House Books for Young Readers)
In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a “Whites Only” town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of THIS IS MY AMERICA!
Random House Books for Young Readers Associate Publisher Caroline Abbey said, “Working with Kim Johnson is like assembling a brilliant puzzle. She starts with a story about being Black in America, and then weaves a mystery around it, adding layer after layer, deepening her characters, and the historical context of her story with every draft.”
Congratulations to our PRH winners and their teams!