Kirkus Prize Jurors

FICTION
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

Rosa Hernandez

Rosa Hernandez is the marketing manager and a bookseller for Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington. She is a member of the American Booksellers Association committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion; a member of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association board of directors; and has served on the PNBA book awards committee.  

Michael Schaub

Michael Schaub is a correspondent and critic for Kirkus and a regular contributor to NPR Books. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe, and other publications. He lives near Austin, Texas, with his wife, three dogs, and two cats.

NONFICTION

Mark Athitakis

Mark Athitakis is a journalist and critic who has written on books for a variety of publications, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Humanities, and more. He has served on juries for the National Book Critics Circle and Southwest Books of the Year. He is the author of The New Midwest, an award-winning survey of contemporary fiction from the region. He lives in Arizona.

Anjali Enjeti

Anjali Enjeti is a former attorney, organizer, and journalist based near Atlanta. She is the author of Southbound: Essays on Identity, Inheritance, and Social Change and The Parted Earth. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles TimesBoston GlobeHarper’s BazaarOxford American, and elsewhere. A former board member of the National Book Critics Circle, she teaches creative writing in the MFA programs at Antioch University Los Angeles and Reinhardt University. Enjeti is the recipient of the 2022 Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel, a gold medal for Best Regional Nonfiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and is a finalist for the 2023 Townsend Prize for Fiction.

YOUNG READERS’ LITERATURE

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a two-time Newbery Honor recipient (Fighting WordsThe War That Saved My Life), No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, and former finalist for the Kirkus Prize. She and her husband live on a small farm in upper east Tennessee with two dogs, three horses, and too many cats, and are the parents of two exceedingly lovely adult children. Passionately believing that books save lives, she co-founded the nonprofit Appalachian Literacy Initiative to improve low-income Appalachian children’s access to books; last year she gave out over 40,000 new books. She has reviewed for Kirkus for more than 20 years.

Ayn Reyes Frazee

Ayn Reyes Frazee is a high school librarian with Portland (Oregon) Public Schools, and an advocate for inclusive library spaces. She has worked in elementary and middle school libraries, and in youth services at a public library branch. Frazee serves as president of the Oregon Association of School Libraries and was a 2019 ALSC Equity and Diversity Fellow. She previously served on the 2023 ALSC Children’s Literature Legacy Award Committee. She is also a children’s and YA book reviewer for Kirkus.

The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews

Featuring 325 reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and YA books; also in this issue: interviews with Colm Tóibín, Amy Tan, George Takei, and Bianca Xunise; and more

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  • The Kirkus Star

    One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

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  • The Kirkus Prize

    The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.

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