National Book Foundation names 3 winners of Science + Literature award

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The National Book Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced the first titles to win the Science + Literature program, created to elevate the diversity of voices and understanding in the fields of science and technology.

The books are The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernández; The Radiant Lives of Animals by Linda Hogan; and In the Field by Rachel Pastan.

"These three titles contemplate gaps in the U.S. healthcare system, humans' relationships to the natural world, and the legacy of a scientist ahead of her time," Ruth Dickey, executive director of the National Book Foundation, said in a statement.

"We are thrilled to celebrate these diverse perspectives and inspire conversations around the role of science and technology in our everyday lives."

In The Kissing Bug, Hernandez merged family memoir with investigative journalism, inspired by the disease that killed her aunt. Hernandez interviewed doctors, epidemiologists and patients in the United States and abroad to uncover the history of Chagas, a deadly infectious disease that disproportionately affects low-income Latinx communities.

For The Radiant Lives of Animals, Hogan drew from Native nations' traditions to weave together poetry and prose about her relationship to animals from her remote home in Colorado.

Pastan examined the life of Nobel-winning cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock in the book In the Field. It highlights how McClintock attempted to make her mark in the mid-20th-century through the highs and lows of scientific discoveries, closeted sexuality, love and discrimination in a male-dominated field.

Each author received a $10,000 cash prize, the National Book Foundation said. A ceremony for the winners will be held at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York on March 3.