Finalists have been named for the 45th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, which will be awarded April 25, on the eve of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. See the complete list of finalists here.
The Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, which recognizes a writer whose work focuses on the American West, will be presented to Pico Iyer, who was described by Ann Binney, Times associate director of events and book prizes administrator, as "a treasure. While he travels the world, he always finds his way back to California. I have known Pico for many years, and it is such an honor to recognize him with the Robert Kirsch Award. His beautiful words sharing his own experience of loss and recovery offer us welcome comfort, especially during this time as we recover from our recent devastating wildfires."
Poet Amanda Gorman will be honored with the Innovator's Award recognizing her work to "bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future." Times executive editor Terry Tang called Gorman "an eloquent voice for the next generation. Her skillful use of poetry to motivate, inspire and enact social change is incredibly powerful. We are thrilled to be honoring Gorman with this year's Innovator's Award and to shine a light on the work she has done--and continues to do--in promoting literacy to empower the youth to get involved."
Emily Witt will receive the Christopher Isherwood Prize for autobiographical prose for her memoir Health and Safety: A Breakdown. "Emily Witt exposes a country in the throes of ongoing trauma in a coming-of-age memoir--keenly observed, unapologetically told--that feels scarily emblematic of our life and times," the Isherwood Prize judges said.