The city’s book-of-the-year will be penned by a woman, but chosen by you.
The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) on Monday launched the third annual "One Book, One New York" campaign, which asks New Yorkers to read five books with New York City themes and vote for their favorite. This year’s competition marks the first time that all of the finalist works were written by women authors: "A Place for Us" by Fatima Farheen Mirza, "Nilda" by Nicholasa Mohr, "Another Brooklyn" by Jacqueline Woodson, "Free Food for Millionaires" by Min Jin Lee, and "Just Kids" by Patti Smith.
The city, and partner BuzzFeed, consulted with experts at the New York Public Library and Brooklyn’s new Center for Fiction to assemble a list of books that fit the mission of the initiative, according to Anne del Castillo, the acting commissioner for MOME.
"Reflecting a variety of ethnicities, ages and life experiences, these books explore the complexities of family, the American identity and coming of age,” she said in a statement.
The city’s three major library systems will have extra copies of the five titles for New Yorkers to check out. Beginning April 1, readers can cast their votes at nyc.gov/onebook until the end of the month. The authors will host a special panel about their works on April 23, and the winner will be revealed on May 3.
