Women dominate this year's National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' honoree list
Congratulations are in order.
The National Book Foundation announced the honorees for its 2017 5 Under 35 list on Monday, shining a spotlight on the bright new talent that you should be reading. Each year, the honor is given to five authors, under the age of 35, who have published their first and only book of fiction within the last five years.
Notably, this year, the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 list is made up entirely of women: Lesley Nneka Arimah, Halle Butler, Zinzi Clemmons, Leopoldine Core, and Weike Wang.
"At a moment in which we are having the necessary conversations surrounding the underrepresentation of female voices, it's a thrill to see this list of tremendous women chosen organically by our selectors," said Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, in a press release. "These writers and their work represent an incredibly bright future for the world of literary fiction."
The 5 Under 35 program is a passing of the baton from one talented writer to another: each year, the list of honorees is selected by past National Book Award winners or finalists, and previous five Under 35 honorees.
This year, selectors include Sherman Alexie, who won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Angela Flournoy, a 5 Under 35 honoree in 2015 for her book The Turner House.
Check out the National Book Foundation's 2017 5 Under 35 honorees below.
Lesley Nneka Arimah, author of What It Means When A Man Falls from the Sky: Stories, selected by Chris Bachelder
Halley Butler, author of Jillian, selected by Lydia Millet
Zinzi Clemons, author of What We Lose, selected by Angela Flournoy
Leopoldine Core, author of When Watched: Stories, selected by Karan Mahajan
Weike Wang, author of Chemistry, selected by Sherman Alexie
Topics Books
