The 2022 California Book Awards honors 11 outstanding books by California authors.

The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105 
Contact: John Zipperer, VP Media & Editorial
415.597.6715 or jzipperer@commonwealthclub.org

The Archer, by Shruti Swamy, Algonquin Books, an imprint of Workman Publishing, Hachette Book Group

Skinship, by Yoon Choi, Alfred A. Knopf

Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, by Lizzie Johnson, Crown

Wishes,  by Mượn Thị Văn and Victo Ngai, Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc

Home Is Not a Country, by Safia Elhillo, Make Me a World

Refractive Africa,  by Will Alexander, New Directions

Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles, by Rosecrans Baldwin, MCD, an imprint of Farrer, Straus & Giroux

A Rebel’s Outcry,  by Naomi Hirahara, Little Tokyo Historical Society

The Committed, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Grove Atlantic

City of a Thousand Gates,  by Rebecca Sacks, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Light on Fire: The Art and Life of Sam Francis,  by Gabrielle Selz, University of California Press

SAN FRANCISCO (May 12, 2022) — The Commonwealth Club of California has announced the winners of the 91st annual California Book Awards. A virtual awards ceremony to recognize the winners will be held on June 6th, at 6 p.m. For tickets: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2022-06-06/91st-annual-california-book-awards

“The California Book Awards jury is proud to announce our 2022 medalists,” says Peter Fish, chair of the awards jury. “This year marks our 91st anniversary: for more than nine decades we’ve honored the enormous creativity and energy of California writers and publishers.

“This year’s winning titles are ambitious, challenging and surprising. Our gold medal in fiction goes to Shruti Swamy’s lyrical chronicle of a dancer’s search for artistic and personal fulfillment in 1970s India, The Archer; the fiction silver medal goes to Viet Thanh Nguyen for his propulsive political novel The Committed. The first fiction gold medal goes to Yoon Choi for Skinship, her subtly powerful, moving story collection focusing on the lives of first- and second-generation Korean American families; Rebecca Sacks wins the first fiction silver medal for City of a Thousand Gates, a character-rich portrait of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In nonfiction, Lizzie Johnson wins the gold medal for her harrowing, deeply reported Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire.

“The nonfiction silver medal goes to Gabrielle Selz for Light on Fire: The Art and Life of Sam Francis, a superbly written biography of California abstract expressionist painter Sam Francis. The juvenile gold medal is awarded to Mượn Thị Văn and Victo Ngai for Wishes, a touching, nuanced story of a Vietnamese family’s search for a new home. The winner of the young adult gold medal is Safia Elhillo for Home Is Not a Country, a novel-in-poems that pulls us into the life of a 14-year-old Muslim-American girl. Will Alexander wins our gold medal in poetry for Refractive Africa, which tackles the devastating effects of colonialism and celebrates the brilliance of Africa and the African diaspora. Our Californiana award goes to Rosecrans Baldwin for his deliberately provocative, entertaining Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles. Finally, our contribution to publishing award goes to the Little Tokyo Historical Society for A Rebel’s Outcry, a beautifully crafted biography of Issei Civil Rights leader Sei Fujii.”

Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers. Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books from around the state in search of the very best in literary achievement.  Eligible books must be written while the author is a resident in California, and they must be published during the year under consideration.

Over its 91 years, the California Book Awards have honored the writers who have come to define California to the world. Among them are John Steinbeck, Wallace Stegner, MFK Fisher, Thom Gunn, Richard Rodriquez, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joan Didion, Ishmael Reed, and Amy Tan. Recent award winners include C Pam Zhang, Hector Tobar, Susan Orlean, Rachel Kushner, Rachel Khong, Tommy Orange, Morgan Parker and Steph Cha.

Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum. The Club hosts speeches, debates and discussions on topics of regional, national and international interest. Its radio program—the nation's oldest continuing radio show—airs on about 230 stations nationwide, and its podcasts and videos reach millions of people each year. More at commonwealthclub.org.

###