By Michael Cavna
The Washington Post
Rep. John Lewis is among the 10 authors on the “longlist” for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the National Book Foundation announced Monday.
Lewis’ recognized work is his civil-rights memoir “March: Book Three” (Top Shelf/IDW), the final installment in his graphic-novel trilogy that has his 1965 Selma March as its dramatic centerpiece his 1965 Selma march.
The powerful “March” trilogy — co-authored by Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell — continues to attract a raft of honors, from the RFK Book Award to the Eisner Award in July.
“I am pleased and grateful that ‘March’ has struck such a chord in America,” Lewis, D-Ga., said. “This is a high honor.
“As I travel around the country, over and over I hear from people who have been reading ‘March,’ ” Lewis continues. “I think people are getting it, and we are bringing the story of the movement to more people than ever before.”
“March” has been embraced by school systems, universities and comics fans, with Lewis cosplaying as his 25-year-old self to lead a march of students through Comic-Con International in San Diego.
“After years of work, this means more to me than I can possibly put into words,” Aydin told The Post. “I probably need Nate to draw it for me. I am deeply, deeply grateful to the judges, and honored to be on the list with so many powerful and important works.”
Other works longlisted include Kwame Alexander’s “Booked”; Kate DiCamillo’s “Raymie Nightingale”; Grace Lin’s “When the Sea Turned to Silver”; Meg Medina’s “Burn Baby Burn”; Jason Reynolds’s “Ghost”; and Nicola Yoon’s “The Sun Is Also a Star.”
“It’s so moving to find such a widespread embrace of this living history, and (it’s) my honor to help bring it to life in the beloved medium of comics,” Powell said of Monday’s “March” recognition. “Here’s to making a better future from its lessons, and to further illuminate some of the other great comics work being published out there.”
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