The National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced the inaugural selected titles for the Science + Literature program; the author of each book will receive a $10,000 cash prize. The initiative, guided by a committee of five scientific and literary experts also announced today, identifies three books annually that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology. Science + Literature is made possible by a three-year, $525,000 grant from the Sloan Foundation, and focuses on elevating the diversity of voices in contemporary science and technology writing through the prize and associated public programs.

From a New York Times story by Elizabeth A. Harris headlined “Jason Mott Wins National Book Award for ‘Hell of a Book'”:

Jason Mott won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday for his novel “Hell of a Book,” an account of a Black author’s book tour intertwined with one focused on a Black boy in the rural South and a third character, The Kid, who may be imaginary.

Mr. Mott, who said that his agent had picked his work out of the unsolicited “slush” pile 10 years ago, is a poet and the author of three novels in addition to “Hell of a Book.”