Library of Congress Awards American Fiction Prize to James McBride

NEW YORK (AP) — The Library of Congress has given a lifetime achievement award to James McBride, creator of acclaimed novels including “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” “Deacon King Kong” and “The Good Lord Bird.”

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Thursday that McBride, whose stories range from abolitionist John Brown’s crusades to Nineteen Sixties Brooklyn, is that this yr’s winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The award, previously given to Marilynne Robinson and Don DeLillo, honors an American creator who distinguishes himself as a prose stylist and artistic thinker.

“I am honored to present the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction to a writer of James McBride’s ingenuity and wisdom,” Hayden said in an announcement. “McBride has a profound understanding of the American soul, reflecting our struggles and triumphs in his fiction, with which so many readers have developed a close bond. I, too, am one of his enthusiastic readers.”

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McBride, 66, said in an announcement that he wished his mother were alive to hear about his award. He then joked: “Does that mean I get to use the Library? If so, I’m doubly excited.”

McBride has been among the many nation’s most honored authors lately, winning the National Book Award for “Good Lord Bird,” the Kirkus Prize for “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” and the Carnegie Medal for “Deacon King Kong,” which Oprah Winfrey chosen for her book club. In 2016, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal.

On August 24, he’ll deliver a speech on “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” on the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Library of Congress.