Percival Everett’s new novel, “James,” a retelling of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of Huck’s enslaved companion, won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday. Critics have called Everett’s retelling “a slyly funny masterpiece.”The National Book Award is the latest in a string of accolades for the 67-year-old author, who has dozens of books and short stories under his belt. One of Everett’s books, “Erasure,” was adapted in 2023 into a film, “American Fiction,” starring Jeffrey Wright. The National Book Foundation awarded Jason De León’s “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” in the nonfiction category. In response, National Book Foundation executive director Ruth Dickey has said Coates was being honored for his body of work rather than any individual publication.

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Persons: Percival Everett’s, “ James, ”, Huckleberry Finn ”, “ James ”, Mark Twain, Jim, Everett, ” Everett, “, Huck Finn, James ”, Booker, Jeffrey Wright, Jason De León’s, Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Coates, Critics, Coates, Ruth Dickey Organizations: BBC, Foundation, Black Classic Press, Book Foundation Locations: America