About the Program
Book TV presents the 62nd annual National Book Awards from New York City. Finalists in the non-fiction category are Deborah Baker, The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism, Mary Gabriel, Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution, Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, and Lauren Redniss, Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. The National Book Foundation presents The Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to poet John Ashbery and The Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community to Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books bookstore. Prior to the awards ceremony, BookTV interviews several of the evening's participants, including the non-fiction finalists. The event is hosted by John Lithgow at Cipriani in New York City.