The Stacks Pack is The Stacks community on Patreon. They are the most ardent fans of the show, and they believe in putting their money behind this little indie book podcast. I am forever grateful for this generous community. This year, as all the book awards and best of lists were coming out, The Stacks Pack was not into what they were seeing. There were lively debates happening on The Stacks discord channel, and one TSP member decided we should have our own awards. And thus, The Stackies were born.
Before I get to the awards themselves I have to say thank you to Elisah who put together the form and ran ran all the rounds of voting. She is a rock star and I am so grateful she took the reins when I simply could not.
The nominations and voting was open only to members of The Stacks Pack. There was one round of nominations, one round of general voting, and one round for finalists. Then we arrived at the below winners. I have included the winners and the finalists in each category. The winners are in bold. They are also all hyperlinked to bookshop.org so you can shop while you read.
If you want to join all the fun of The Stacks Pack please head to patreon.com/thestacks to join in. You earn awesome perks (bonus episodes, the aforementioned discord, virtual book club, reading tracker, and more) and you get to know your money (only $5 a month) is going toward a Black woman run independent book podcast. C’mon, that’s five dollars well spent.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the first ever The Stackies.
Best Debut
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
Best Literary/Contemporary Fiction
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Best Nonfiction
Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
Shine Bright by Danyel Smith
South to America by Imani Perry
The Viral Underclass by Steven W. Thrasher
Best Memoir
Finding Me by Viola Davis
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy
Solito by Javier Zamora
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Best Romance
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Babel by R. F. Kuang
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Best Short Story Collection
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana
Best Essay Collection
How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo
Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
Best Young Adult
Bitter by Alkwaeke Emezi
Kings of B’More by R. Eric Thomas
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Best Graphic Memoir or Novel
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings by Will Betke-Brunswick
Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin
Ducks by Kate Beaton
Best Cover
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
Shine Bright by Danyel Smith
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Best Main Character
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deon
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Best Representation
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela
Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Best The Stacks Book Club Book
Passing by Nella Larsen
Shine Bright by Danyel Smith
The Trees by Percival Everett
Best Bookstore
Green Apple Books – San Francisco, CA
Loyalty Bookstores – Washington DC
Reparations Club – Los Angeles, CA
Uncle Bobbie’s – Philadelphia, PA
Funniest Book
Allow Me to Retort by Elie Mystal
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
I Was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein
Book That Made You The Angriest
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
The Viral Underclass by Steven W. Thrasher
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Most Hated Book
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
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