Congratulations to the book winners of the 2022 Pulitzer Prizes:

Fiction:
The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen (New York Review Books). "A mordant, linguistically deft historical novel about the ambiguities of the Jewish-American experience, presenting ideas and disputes as volatile as its tightly-wound plot."

Fiction finalists: Monkey Boy by Francisco Goldman (Grove Press) and Palmares by Gayl Jones (Beacon Press)

History:
Covered with Night by Nicole Eustace (Liveright/Norton) "A gripping account of Indigenous justice in early America, and how the aftermath of a settler's murder led to the oldest continuously recognized treaty in the United States."

Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer (Scribner). "An original and compelling history, spanning five centuries, of the island that became an obsession for many presidents and policy makers, transforming how we think about the U.S. in Latin America, and Cuba in American society."

History finalist: Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction by Kate Masur (Norton)

Biography:
Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South, by the late Winfred Rembert as told to Erin I. Kelly (Bloomsbury). "A searing first-person illustrated account of an artist's life during the 1950s and 1960s in an unreconstructed corner of the deep South--an account of abuse, endurance, imagination, and aesthetic transformation."

Biography finalists: Pessoa: A Biography by Richard Zenith (Liveright/Norton) and The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura (Norton)

Poetry:
frank: sonnets by Diane Seuss (Graywolf Press). "A virtuosic collection that inventively expands the sonnet form to confront the messy contradictions of contemporary America, including the beauty and the difficulty of working-class life in the Rust Belt."

Poetry finalists: Refractive Africa: Ballet of the Forgotten by Will Alexander (New Directions) and Yellow Rain by Mai Der Vang (Graywolf Press)

General nonfiction:
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott (Random House). "An affecting, deeply reported account of a girl who comes of age during New York City's homeless crisis--a portrait of resilience amid institutional failure that successfully merges literary narrative with policy analysis."

General nonfiction finalists: Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism by Carla Power (One World/Random House) and The Family Roe: An American Story by Joshua Prager (Norton)

Drama:
Fat Ham by James Ijames. "A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty."

Drama finalists: Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord by Kristina Wong and Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury

Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers was one of several businesses vandalized in downtown Farmington, Maine, last week. The Sun Journal reported that police are investigating the incidents, which they believe occurred between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Bookstore owner Kenny Brechner said a ceramic-type ball, like a marble, had penetrated the storefront window and fallen to the ground. The glass was punctured but held together until a gust of wind knocked a portion out. The window was subsequently covered in plywood. "We so deeply appreciate the community's support at this time," he said. "It certainly makes for a heartening contrast to the vandalism itself."

The bookstore shared photos of the damage on its Facebook page Thursday, and posted an update Friday that noted: "We want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support yesterday. In particular I want to mention the wonderful group of customers who got together and sent us the lovely flowers pictured below. And the Homestead Bakery sent us lunch. So thoughtful! Many people have asked us how they can help. Compassion and shopping local are what helps the most. Right now Meg is outside painting our new plywood window. Stop by soon and behold her handiwork. Thanks everyone!"

On Independent Bookstore Day, April 30, children's bookstore Second Star to the Right opened in its "forever home" in Denver, Colo. The seven-year-old store is now located on South Pearl Street in the city's Platt Park neighborhood, in a building that features a brick patio in front and grassy backyard where owner Dea Lavoie and her team plan to host birthday parties, storytime sessions, classes and more.

"For the longest time, we were so focused on where the store would be and which location or which building felt right," Lavoie said. She initially looked at the South Pearl Street location as a temporary spot during construction, but she "fell in love right away and knew that this would be Second Star's forever home. Everything just felt right."

Opening celebrations on IBD included a Peter Pan storytime, a book signing with local authors Dow Phumiruk and Andrea Wang, children's yoga, face painting, games, prizes and more. There was also an after-party with cocktails, mocktails and live music by local musician Laurie Michelle.

Lavoie, a former elementary school educator, opened Second Star to the Right in November 2014.

Bel Canto Books and the Long Beach Public Library are partnering to host the inaugural Festival of Asian American & Pacific Islander Books. 

Scheduled for Saturday, May 21, the book festival will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Billie Jean King Main Library and include author readings, discussions and book signings, along with cultural performances by Ryujin Taiko and Club Kaibigan. There will also be children's crafts and activities, and sweet treats and books will be available for purchase.

Jhoanna Belfer, owner of Bel Canto Books, reported that 16 AAPI authors, from children's to adult books, will be in attendance. Admission is free and registration highly encouraged. More information, including the full author list, can be found here.

Barnes & Noble is opening a bookstore in Flagstaff, Ariz., on May 9. Located inside the Flagstaff Mall, the space will be an interim store, while a new permanent location is being determined. B&N had closed its former Flagstaff store earlier this year after 23 years in business, citing a decision by the landlord to redevelop the site. The interim store "will be run by the experienced bookselling team" from the previous location, the company said.

"Barnes & Noble is very pleased to reopen our store here in Flagstaff so as to maintain our long tradition of bookselling in this city," said B&N CEO James Daunt. "I salute Paul Griffiths, our store manager, who has battled hard to find a new home for the bookstore. He and his team have worked exceptionally hard to create this new store. Bookselling in Flagstaff is safe in the hands of Paul and his team of booksellers." 

Griffiths commented: "My team and I could not be more excited to build our own store in the Flagstaff Mall. This is a team that loves the community and views the B&N presence as a place of culture, education and gathering. We bring literacy and a tangible book experience that would otherwise not be here and have been busy curating our bookstore with the Flagstaff guest in mind." 

Congratulations to McLean and Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich., which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. The News-Review reported that the "staple in the downtown Petoskey business community... first began due to a love of reading and retail. Over the years it has grown in size, in part, due to its loyal customers and dedicated staff."

Opened in 1992 by Julie Norcross, the bookstore is now owned by her son Matt and his wife, Jessilynn. Matt Norcross began working at the store as a teenager, then returned after college with plans to leave again to attend grad school. "I was going to look at grad schools and I met a girl that was working there and I didn't really want to leave town," he recalled.

Before moving to Petoskey, Jessilynn Norcross had been teaching elementary school in Detroit. She said she decided she needed a change and came to Petoskey intending to work at the store part-time and substitute teach: "That was my whole plan and very quickly (I) transitioned to full time, transitioned to salary, fell in love, got married, bought the store, just kind of weird progression that I hadn't expected."

The Norcrosses added that part of what sets McLean and Eakin apart is its passionate staff. The employees are all avid readers with a wide range of tastes and interests so there is always someone who can help a customer find what they are looking for.

While she is no longer involved in the store, Julie Norcross agreed: "I think that the people who work there are absolutely the tops. I've been in other good, independent bookstores and while they are independent, they couldn't reach the caliber of the people who are working at McLean and Eakin now. These people have got so much enthusiasm, so much intelligence, so much creativity. It's just wonderful."

"Fun moment at the bookstore today!" The Village Bookstore, Pleasantville, N.Y., had a well-known reader stop by yesterday and take time to pose with author Eric Rosswood, who posted on Facebook: "I was signing copies of STRONG at the Village Bookstore of Pleasantville, NY and look who came in! Bill Clinton said Pro Strongman Rob Kearney was inspiring and stories like STRONG could help change the world. I agree. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, Mr. Clinton. It was an honor to meet you."

Mary Joyce Perry has been promoted to senior digital marketing manager at Holiday House, Peachtree Publishing Company, and Pixel+Ink. She was formerly digital marketing manager.

peep by Danielle Blau (Waywiser Press), winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize.

Today:
CBS Mornings: Andy Dunn, author of Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind (Currency, $28, 9780593238264).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Emily Henderson, author of The New Design Rules: How to Decorate and Renovate, from Start to Finish: An Interior Design Book (Clarkson Potter, $32.50, 9781984826480).

Drew Barrymore Show: Molly Shannon, author of Hello, Molly!: A Memoir (Ecco, $27.99, 9780063056237).

Live with Kelly and Ryan: Ali Wentworth, author of Ali's Well That Ends Well: Tales of Desperation and a Little Inspiration (Harper, $26.99, 9780062980861).

The Disney+ TV series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on Rick Riordan's books, has completed casting of the three primary roles. Entertainment Weekly reported that after previously confirming Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) would play Percy, Disney has announced that Leah Sava Jeffries (Empire) will play Annabeth and Aryan Simhadri (Spin) will be Grover. 

When the Percy Jackson books were previously adapted into movies (2010's The Lightning Thief and 2013's Sea of Monsters), the three roles were played by Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, and Brandon T. Jackson, respectively.

No release date has yet been announced for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The pilot will be written by Riordan and Jon Steinberg (Black Sails), and directed by James Bobin (The Muppets). Steinberg will also oversee the series with his producing partner Dan Shotz.

The Royal Society of Literature has released a shortlist for the 2022 Encore Award, celebrating outstanding achievements in second novels. The winner, who will be named May 24, receives £10,000 (about $12,715), with each of the other four shortlisted authors getting £500 (about $635). This year's shortlisted titles are:

The High House by Jessie Greengrass 
Maxwell's Demon by Steven Hall 
The Giant Dark by Sarvat Hasin 
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford 
Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic 

Lidia Yuknavitch's Thrust is a complex novel of great imagination, outside of time but very much concerned with it. At its center is Laisvė, also known as the Water Girl. In the late 21st century, she and her father hide away from what is left of society in a submerged New York City where only the tip of Lady Liberty's torch is visible at low tide. Laisvė has a fascination with curious objects and an unusual set of skills. "She knew not to be afraid to go to water, because time slips and moves forward and backward, just as objects and stories do." Laisvė is a carrier, who can move not only objects but people, through time as well as space. In Yuknavitch's lovely, weird prose, Laisvė will eventually connect Frédéric, the French sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, and his captivating, beloved cousin Aurora; a violent, abused boy and the social worker--the daughter of a war criminal--who hopes to save him; and a tight-knit crew of three men and one woman who help build the Statue, and who represent "an ocean of laborers."

Yuknavitch (The Misfit's Manifesto; Verge; Dora: A Headcase) moves between worlds as her chapters follow different characters in turn. Some are labeled ethnographies, and form an ode to unrecognized workers, immigrants and misfits. "The story of workers is buried under the weight of every monument to progress or power. Our labor never reaches the height of the sacred. No one ever tells the story of how beautiful we were. How the body of us moved. How we lifted entire epochs." Characters come from all over the world, speak a range of languages and concern themselves variously with history, the arts, social welfare and the body. Their stories are intertwined and connected by Laisvė's travels. Laisvė "wants the words to rearrange, to locate differently, the way language itself could if you loosened it from human hubris and let it flow freely again as a sign system, as the land and water did, as species of plants and animals did, everything in existence suddenly again in flux, everything again possible."

Yuknavitch's writing style is recognizable to readers familiar with her lyricism, coined words, love of the downtrodden, and water as an emphatic theme. Thrust is many things: a speculative history of the United States, a recognition of forgotten classes, a fluid song about the power of love, a celebration of the power of language and storytelling. It is an intricate novel in its interconnections, plotlines twisting away and back together again, but readers' attention will be well rewarded by profound, thought-provoking and deeply beautiful observations about humanity in an ever-changing world. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: A remarkable girl moves through past and future timelines to connect disparate, marginalized characters in Lidia Yuknavitch's imaginative otherworld.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. Fading Shadows (Shadows Landing Book 8) by Kathleen Brooks
2. The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
3. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter
4. The Promise of Psychedelics by Peter Silverstone
5. Andrew by Kris Michaels
6. Real Freedom by Gregory Mohr
7. The American Girl by Rachael English
8. The Hob and Hound Pub (Sam Quinn Book 4) by Seana Kelly
9. Always You (The Adair Family Series Book 3) by Samantha Young
10. Free Fall (Brotherhood Protectors Colorado Book 7) by Elle James

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]