Yesterday as a National Book Critics Circle voting member I

submitted my ballot on which I nominated six first books for

NBCC’s John Leonard Prize for a First Book. Any book published

in 2020 that is its author’s first published book is eligible. This

year I read 36 first books of varying genres, but all six books I

nominated are debut novels (in previous years I’ve also nominated

poetry, short story, and essay collections for the Leonard Prize). Here

are my picks in alphabetical order by author’s surname: 

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card

Little Gods by Meng Jin

Luster by Raven Leilani

Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey

Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata