Books Briefing: Pulitzer Prize Winners

May 5, 2020

Hi readers,

Here’s your weekly catch-up on everything you need to know going on in the book world.

The news:

Congratulations to this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners, including Colson Whitehead, Jericho Brown and Benjamin Moser. These are the 15 books that were winners or finalists.
Perhaps you’ve always wanted to read a Stephen King novel but haven’t known where to start. That’s where we come in: Here’s a guide to his essential books, suitable for thrill-seekers and scaredy cats alike.
Are you checking out what’s on celebrities’ bookshelves when they go on TV? You’re not the only one. We took a close look at Cate Blanchett’s, Paul Rudd’s and several others.
“Twilight” fans: “Midnight Sun,” told from the vampire Edward Cullen’s perspective, will go on sale in August. The announcement made the author Stephenie Meyer’s site crash.
Samanta Schweblin has long been considered one of the most innovative Spanish-language writers of her generation. But her new novel, “Little Eyes,” out today, may be her creepiest yet.
Elizabeth Acevedo is crushed that the pandemic is coinciding with the release of her new novel, “Clap When You Land.” “It’s the kind of book that I was looking forward to having conversations about, really being able to see the community that I was writing for,” she said.
Joy Harjo will serve a second term as U.S. poet laureate. The author of “An American Sunrise,” she is the first Native American to hold the position.
Percival Everett has always been a rule-breaking author, but his new novel, “Telephone,” takes it to a new level. “There are three different versions of this novel, they’re all published identically, and you can’t know which one you’re getting,” he said. “It’s going to piss a lot of people off, I’m afraid.”
On “Sugar Calling,” Cheryl Strayed spoke to Judy Blume about raising teens, losing religion and writing through it all.
Fiction out today: “Little Eyes,” by Samanta Schweblin; “All Adults Here,” by Emma Straub; “Telephone,” by Percival Everett; “The Index of Self-Destructive Acts,” by Christopher Beha; “The Book of V.,” by Anna Solomon; “Friend,” by Paek Nam-nyong.
Nonfiction out today: “Philosopher of the Heart,” by Clare Carlisle; “Dirt,” by Bill Buford; “Pelosi,” by Molly Ball; “Scandinavian Noir,” by Wendy Lesser; “And Then They Stopped Talking to Me,” by Judith Warner; “The Hilarious World of Depression,” by John Moe.

The critics:

Parul Sehgal reviews a new biography of Kierkegaard, Clare Carlisle’s “Philosopher of the Heart,” which shows the extent to which the philosopher desperately wanted to be of use.
And Jennifer Szalai writes about “Had I Known,” a new essay collection by Barbara Ehrenreich, which spans four decades in Ehrenreich’s varied career and shows that one commonality has been her tough, acerbic voice.

That’s all for now. Please stay in touch and let me know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We on the Books desk read all of it, and I’ll make every effort to write back. You can reach me at books@nytimes.com.

All my best,

Joumana Khatib

Books at The New York Times

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