Michelle Zauner, Gayl Jones receive American Book Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — “Crying In H Mart” memoirist Michelle Zauner, novelist Gayl Jones and author-journalist Francisco Goldman are among the winners of the 43rd annual American Book Awards, presented by Ishmael Reed’s Before Columbus Foundation. The awards, which Reed helped found in 1979, honor “outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community.” Zauner’s memoir, a word-of-mouth bestseller in 2021-2022, was cited by the Foundation, along with Goldman’s novel “Monkey Boy” and Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl: A Novel,” a fictionalized take on the publishing industry. Jones, known for such novels as “Corregidora” and “Eva’s Man,” was honored for lifetime achievement.