Living Canon

Kirkus Prize 2024: Complete list of winners

The Kirkus Prize, one of the literary world’s most prestigious honors, has crowned its 2024 winners, and this year’s selections showcase the remarkable range of voices being celebrated in contemporary publishing. Percival Everett’s James claimed the fiction prize, a reimagining of Mark Twain’s classic that has already generated significant critical acclaim and conversation about how we revisit American literary canon. The win underscores the Kirkus Prize’s commitment to recognizing boundary-pushing storytelling that challenges readers to see familiar narratives anew.

Beyond fiction, Adam Higginbotham’s Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space earned the nonfiction award, bringing meticulous research and compelling narrative to one of America’s most tragic moments in space exploration. Meanwhile, Kenneth M. Cadow’s Gather received recognition in the Young Readers’ Literature category, highlighting the prize’s dedication to elevating children’s and young adult literature alongside adult works. These three winners represent the Kirkus Prize’s enduring mission to honor exceptional writing across genres, spotlighting books that have already begun shaping conversations in their respective fields.

Here are the full details on this year’s distinguished honorees:

Fiction

  • James by Percival Everett

Nonfiction

Young Readers’ Literature