Announcing this year's Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist!

Also this week: Nikki Haley, Lindy West, critics' picks and more [Aspen Words Literary Prize]( Caroline Tory/Aspen Words We're proud to announce the longlist for this year's Aspen Words Literary Prize -- awarded by the Aspen Words organization, in partnership with NPR, to books that grapple with tough issues in today's headlines, like racial injustice, family separation and opioid addiction. In a statement shared with NPR, Aspen Words executive director Adrienne Brodeur says this year's nominees "are also stories of triumph and hope — a reckoning with colonial history, a reclamation of the American Dream, a reflection of human resiliency and a celebration of so many voices left out of conventional literature." [Our full coverage is here]( -- with links to interviews and reviews of the nominated books. The shortlist will be announced Feb. 19, and the prize itself given out at a ceremony in New York City in April. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [With All Due Respect, by Nikki Haley]( "This fall's cornucopia of political books features two kinds: campaign-style autobiographies from people running for president and personal memoirs from former topsiders in the Trump administration," [says NPR Politics' Ron Elving](. "The latest entry, Nikki Haley's With All Due Respect, bids fair to be both." Haley herself spoke to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the book -- she told Kelly she will be campaigning for Trump's reelection in 2020 and has no political plans beyond that. But, she added: "I'm too young to stop fighting." You can [hear that conversation here](. [The Witches Are Coming, by Lindy West]( "For a long time, a certain set of men have called women like me 'witches' to silence and discredit us," says author Lindy West. And in her new book, The Witches Are Coming, West says [she aims to reclaim that term](. "We socialize girls to be nice, and compliant, and to be caregivers," she tells NPR's Noel King. "Women's anger is stigmatized; it's caricatured ... People respond very, very negatively to women's anger, and there are a lot of negative consequences for showing your anger." In the book, she writes that it "took me two decades to become brave enough to become angry." [Women on Food, edited by Charlotte Druckman]( Women on Food editor Charlotte Druckman asked her writers what words or phrases they wished people would stop using to describe women in food. There were a lot of answers -- and one emerged as a lightning rod: "badass." "Calling a woman ... 'badass' is a way to signify that she's cool or relevant because she's acting like a man," [Druckman tells NPR](. "She can't possibly be taken seriously or even close to equal unless she's aping male behavior." Finally this week, critic Jason Heller says Kacen Callender's [Caribbean-inspired revenge tale Queen of the Conquered]( is "a refreshing break from the stereotypical, pseudo-European setting of most epic fantasy." The characters in Nona Fernandez' Space Invaders uses the framework of that classic video game to understand what's happening to them under Chile's dictatorship -- critic Lily Meyer says [the book is as fast and addictive as the game](. And if you've ever wondered what happens to your old stuff once you donate it or throw it out, Adam Minter's Secondhand digs deep into the billion-dollar global used goods industry. Critic Gabino Iglesias says [you should absolutely buy the book now]( instead of waiting for it to show up at a secondhand store. [Queen of the Conquered, by Kacen Callender]( [Space Invaders, by Nona Fernandez]( [Secondhand, by Adam Minter]( — Happy reading! --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [books@npr.org](mailto:books@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Pop Culture, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Books emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](