The finalists for the 45th Los Angeles Times Book Prize were just announced Wednesday. The list is 61 nominees long and includes all manner of screenwriters, award-winning authors, and, yes, actors. The Audiobook Production category was just introduced to the awards last year, and this year, its inclusion means a whole slew of actors have been nominated—Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, and Andrew Garfield are nominated for their performances in Audible’s George Orwell’s 1984; while Matt Bomer is listed for his work narrating Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.
Other nominees include authors of the most popular books of 2024, such as Percival Everett for James, Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Message, Liz Moore for The God of the Woods, and Attica Locke for Guide Me Home.
The awards ceremony announcing the winners will take place on April 25th at the USC Campus, right before The L.A. Times Festival of Books.
Below is a sampling of those nominated.
Innovator’s Award
Amanda Gorman
The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
Jiaming Tang, Cinema Love
‘Pemi Aguda, Ghostroots: Stories
Joseph Earl Thomas, God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer
Jessica Elisheva Emerson, Olive Days
Julian Zabalbeascoa, What We Tried to Bury Grows Here
Achievement in Audiobook Production, presented by Audible
Matt Bomer (narrator), Kelly Gildea (director, co-producer), Lauren Klein (producer); Giovanni’s Room
Narrators: Clare Brown, Ayanna Dookie, Korey Jackson, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Brittany Pressley, Emana Rachelle, Malika Samuel, Heather Alicia Simms, Diana Bustelo, Tyla Collier, Alejandra Reynoso, David Sadzin, André Santana, Shaun Taylor-Corbett; Producer: Allison Light; New Nigeria County
Narrators: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, Chukwudi Iwuji, Romesh Ranganathan, Natasia Demetriou, Francesca Mills, Alex Lawther, Katie Leung; Producers: Chris Jones, Mariele Runacre-Temple, Robin Morgan-Bentley, Nathan Freeman; George Orwell’s 1984: An Audible Original adaptation
Dominic Hoffman (narrator), Linda Korn (producer), James
Michele Norris With a Full Cast (narrator), Mike Noble (producer); Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity
Current Interest
Jonathan Blitzer, Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Message
Jesse Katz, The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA
Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Wright Thompson, The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi
Fiction
Rita Bullwinkel, Headshot
Jennine Capó Crucet, Say Hello to My Little Friend
Percival Everett, James
Yuri Herrera translated by Lisa Dillman, Season of the Swamp
Miranda July, All Fours
Graphic Novel/Comics
Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes, Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 2: The Cursed Hermit
Taiyo Matsumoto, Tokyo These Days, Vol. 1
Bhanu Pratap, Cutting Season
Miroslav Sekulic-Struja translated by Jenna Allen, Petar & Liza
Ram V and Filipe Andrade, Rare Flavours
Mystery/Thriller
Christopher Bollen, Havoc
Michael Connelly, The Waiting: A Ballard and Bosch Novel
Attica Locke, Guide Me Home: A Highway 59 Novel
Liz Moore, The God of the Woods
Danielle Trussoni, The Puzzle Box
Young Adult Literature
Traci Chee, Kindling
K.A. Cobell, Looking for Smoke
Safia Elhillo, Bright Red Fruit
Carolina Ixta, Shut Up, This Is Serious
Kim Johnson, The Color of a Lie
For the full list of 15 categories, visit The L.A. Times.
Check out more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
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