Jesmyn Ward’s ‘Let Us Descend’ is among the finalists for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence

NEW YORK (AP) — Jesmyn Ward’s slave narrative “Let Us Descend” and Jake Bittle’s exploration of climate change’s impact “The Great Displacement” are among the finalists for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in fiction and nonfiction. Ward’s novel is a fiction nominee, along with Amanda Peters’ “The Berry Pickers” and the mixed media “Denison Avenue,” by author Christina Wong and illustrator Daniel Innes. Nonfiction finalists are “The Great Displacement,” Darrin Bell’s memoir “The Talk” and Roxana Robinson’s investigation into the foster system “We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America.” The medals are presented by the American Library Association, with winners in each category receiving $5,000. Finalists will be announced Jan. 20.