Han Kang and Arundhati Roy among winners as US book critics hand out annual awards
Two literary giants–India's Arundhati Roy and Nobel laureate Han Kang–triumph at America's National Book Critics Circle awards, as Mother Mary Comes to Me and We Do Not Part claim top honours.
Indian Booker-winning novelist Arundhati Roy was awarded the United States National Book Critics Circle award for her memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, while South Korean Nobel laureate Han Kang won the fiction honour for her novel, We Do Not Part.
Best known for her 1997 novel, The God of Small Things, Roy’s new memoir has been steadily gaining recognition in the international book circuit. The American honour comes two days after her memoir, which chronicles the author’s tumultuous relationship with her mother, Mary Roy–the feminist educator who fought to secure equal property rights for Syrian Christian women–was shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction for books published in the United Kingdom. She had been previously shortlisted for The Kirkus Prize, the richest literary award in America.
Mother Mary Comes to Me has been published in the United States by Scribner (now a part of Simon & Schuster), which has a legacy of publishing literary giants such as Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, and Stephen King.
Kang, who in 2024 became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, has since won her share of laurels. Her novel “We Do Not Part,” translated from the Korean by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, revisits a 1948–49 uprising on Jeju island, south of the Korean mainland.
Heather Scott Partington, who chaired the fiction committee, described it as “a work of blinding melancholy, bleak weather, and murmuring syntax” that “lingers like an atmospheric and arresting dream.”
Karen Hao’s report on OpenAI and Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno
Karen Hao’s Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, and Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno. (Source: Created with help of AI)
Karen Hao, a journalist, took home the nonfiction prize for her investigation, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, which examines the company behind ChatGPT, whose reach and capabilities have been a subject of intense public debate around the globe, while Neige Sinno won the translation prize for Sad Tiger, which was rendered into English from the French by Natasha Lehrer.
The National Book Critics Circle, founded in New York in 1974, comprises more than 850 critics and editors and each year honours the best books published in the United States.
Story continues below this ad
Other winners include Alex Green for A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled (biography), Kevin Young for Night Watch (poetry), and Quinn Slobodian’s Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right (criticism).
Nicholas Boggs won the John Leonard Prize, given to the best debut book in any genre, for Baldwin: A Love Story, while the lifetime achievement award went to journalist and author Frances FitzGerald, whose 1972 book Fire in the Lake offered a prescient account of the Vietnam War.
The Toni Morrison Achievement Award
US non-profit media organisations NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) were jointly presented the Toni Morrison Achievement Award, which recognises institutions that have made significant contributions to book culture. “At a time when some question the value of public, service-minded media, we salute PBS and NPR for all you have done for both book culture and American democracy,” said Jacob M Appel, who chaired the selection process for the award.
In a nutshell
Category
Author
Book
Publisher
Fiction
Han Kang
We Do Not Part (tr. e. yaewon & Paige Aniyah Morris)
Aishwarya Khosla is a senior editorial figure at The Indian Express, where she spearheads the digital strategy and execution for the Books & Literature and Puzzles & Games sections. With over eight years of experience in high-stakes journalism, Aishwarya specializes in literary criticism, cultural commentary, and long-form features that explore the complex intersection of identity, politics, and social change.
Aishwarya’s analytical depth is anchored by her prestigious Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections. This intensive research fellowship in policy analysis and political communications informs her nuanced approach to cultural journalism, allowing her to provide readers with unique insights into how literature and media reflect broader political shifts.
As a trusted voice for the Indian Express audience, she authors the popular newsletters, Meanwhile, Back Home and Books 'n' Bits, and hosts the podcast series, Casually Obsessed.
Before her current role, Aishwarya spent several years at Hindustan Times, where she provided dedicated coverage of the Punjabi diaspora, theater, and national politics. Her career is defined by a commitment to intellectual rigor, making her a definitive authority on modern Indian culture and letters.
Areas of Expertise
Literary Criticism, Cultural Politics, Political Strategy, Long-form Investigative Features, and Newsletter Curation.
Write to her
You can reach her at aishwaryakhosla.ak@gmail.com or aishwarya.khosla@indianexpress.com. You can follow her on Instagram:
@aishwarya.khosla, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya.
Her stories can be read here. ... Read More
Karen Hao’s Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, and Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno. (Source: Created with help of AI)