Living Canon

Kirkus Prize 2023: Complete list of winners

The 2023 Kirkus Prize winners have arrived, and this year’s selections showcase the kind of literary range that keeps the Kirkus Prize so vital in America’s awards landscape. Kirkus, the legendary trade publication that’s been reviewing books for nearly a century, uses its annual prize to honor exceptional works across fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature—categories that together represent the full spectrum of contemporary publishing. This year’s honorees include James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store in fiction, a novel that demonstrates McBride’s signature blend of historical depth and human warmth, alongside two other standout selections that reflect serious literary achievement.

Héctor Tobar’s Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” earned the nonfiction honor for its deeply personal exploration of Latino identity in America, while Ariel Aberg-Riger’s America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History captured the young readers’ literature award with its innovative approach to American history through visual narrative. What’s particularly striking about this year’s Kirkus Prize winners is their shared commitment to exploring American identity through different lenses—whether through family saga, cultural meditation, or graphic storytelling. The Kirkus Prize, known for its critical rigor and independent judging, once again demonstrates why it remains one of the most respected honors in publishing.

Below, you’ll find the complete details on each 2023 Kirkus Prize winner, including judges’ citations and what makes these books essential reads across their respective categories.

Fiction

Nonfiction

  • Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar

Young Readers’ Literature