Kevin Sharp is an author in Palo Alto, California, who has taught creative writing programs to after school students in Mountain View and Sunnyvale. After relocating to Palo Alto, Kevin Sharp gained experienced as a book reviewer and writer for Bookmarks Magazine.
In the literary world, a glowing or scathing review can be hugely influential in regards to the success or failure of a book. Sometimes, critics can have an even more direct impact on a book’s reputation, such as when it comes to prestigious accolades like the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC). A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, NBCC is comprised of nearly 600 critics, authors, online writers, and other professionals in the publishing industry.
Every year, the NBCC recognizes exceptional writing in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and criticism, among other categories, through the NBCC awards program. In 2016, winners included LaRose by Louise Erdrich in fiction, Matt Desmond’s Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City for non-fiction, and Ishion Hutchinson’s collection of poems, House of Lords and Commons.
The 2016 Critic’s Circle award for criticism, meanwhile, went to White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson. Expanding on a well received op-ed in The Washington Post, White Rage examines today’s cultural and racial landscape through the lens of transformative past events. The NBCC awards date back to 1975, when winners included E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime and The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell.
