Three Authors Awarded $10,000 for Fusing Science with Literary Artistry
Three distinguished authors have been honoured with $10,000 prizes for their exceptional ability to weave scientific research into works of profound literary grace. The awards recognise a unique fusion of empirical inquiry and narrative beauty.
Fifth Annual Science + Literature Awards Celebrate Diverse Voices
On Wednesday, the National Book Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation jointly announced the winners of their fifth annual Science + Literature awards. This prestigious initiative continues to highlight authors who bridge the gap between scientific disciplines and humanistic storytelling.
The 2026 laureates represent a remarkable diversity of genres and perspectives:
- Kimberly Blaeser for her poetry collection "Ancient Light," which draws inspiration from the environmental devastation affecting Indigenous communities
- Anna North for her novel "Bug Queen," featuring a forensic anthropologist and a two-thousand-year-old Celtic druid
- Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian for her nonfiction work "Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature"
Foundation Leaders Praise Award-Winning Contributions
Doron Weber, vice president and program director at the Sloan Foundation, emphasised the significance of these works in an official statement. "These gifted storytellers shine a scientific and poetic light on the beauties and terrors of nature and what they reveal to us about our deepest selves, our humanity, and our existence on this planet," Weber remarked.
Ruth Dickey, executive director of the National Book Foundation, highlighted how the new winners advance the awards' mission to amplify "diverse voices in science writing that ... enlighten, challenge, and engage readers everywhere."
Prestigious Literary Heritage and Contemporary Relevance
The National Book Foundation is renowned for presenting the National Book Awards, among the literary world's most coveted honours. Meanwhile, the Sloan Foundation boasts a substantial history of supporting publications that unite scientific inquiry with humanistic perspectives.
This tradition includes backing Kai Bird's and Martin J. Sherwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "American Prometheus," which director Christopher Nolan later adapted into the Oscar-winning film "Oppenheimer."
Elevating Science Through Literature in Challenging Times
Daisy Hernández, this year's chair of the awards committee and a 2022 Science + Literature honoree, addressed the contemporary importance of such literary endeavours. "At a time when science is under attack, it has become more urgent to elevate books that bring together the art of literature with the wonders of science," Hernández stated.
The awards underscore a growing recognition that scientific understanding and literary expression are not opposing forces but complementary approaches to exploring human experience and natural phenomena.
