2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals

The 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were awarded today. The Carnegie Medal winners each receive $5,000. The fiction medalist is of genre interest.

2022 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin (Little, Brown and Company)

Orphaned young, Ming Tsu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is raised by the notorious leader of a California crime syndicate, who trains him to be his deadly enforcer. But when Ming falls in love with Ada, the daughter of a powerful railroad magnate, and the two elope, he seizes the opportunity to escape to a different life. Soon after, in a violent raid, the tycoon’s henchmen kidnap Ada and conscript Ming into service for the Central Pacific Railroad.

Battered, heartbroken, and yet defiant, Ming partners with a blind clairvoyant known only as the prophet. Together the two set out to rescue his wife and to exact revenge on the men who destroyed Ming, aided by a troupe of magic-show performers, some with supernatural powers, whom they meet on the journey. Ming blazes his way across the West, settling old scores with a single-minded devotion that culminates in an explosive and unexpected finale.

2022 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House)

Blending pop-culture essays, memoir and poetry, Abdurraqib delves into the many iterations of Black artistic expression through an often deeply personal lens. Whether pondering the dynamic life and contributions of Josephine Baker (to whom the book is dedicated) or meditating on his own various performances, the author’s ruminations are an invitation to think deeply about Black performance on both cultural and individual levels. Startling, layered and timely, this is an essential, illuminating collection.