fiction

Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka holds his book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida at the Shaw Theatre in London on Oct. 14. On Monday, his novel won the 2022 Booker Prize. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Here's a sampling of books Code Switch readers recommended. Natalie Escobar/NPR hide caption

Christy Lefteri's novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo has won the third annual Aspen Words Literary Prize. Courtesy of the Aspen Words Literary Prize hide caption

Just five books have been named finalists for the 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize: Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn; Lost Children Archive, by Valeria Luiselli; Lot, by Bryan Washington; Opioid, Indiana, by Brian Allen Carr; and The Beekeeper of Aleppo, by Christy Lefteri. Courtesy of the Aspen Words Literary Prize hide caption

Winners of this year's National Book Awards each receive $10,000 along with their prize. Priscila Zambotto/Getty Images hide caption

The writer who wins next year's Aspen Words Literary Prize will join Tayari Jones and Mohsin Hamid on the list of winners of the young award. Erin Baiano hide caption

Twenty-five books remain in consideration for the five National Book Awards that will be doled out Nov. 20 in New York City. Among the names to be found on the 2019 shortlists: Marlon James, Susan Choi, Jason Reynolds, Carolyn Forche and Laila Lalami, among others. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images hide caption

Fifty books made the cut for the 2019 National Book Award longlists. Winners will be announced in November. elenaleonova/Getty Images hide caption

Clockwise from top left: Quichotte by Salman Rushdie; Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann; An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma; 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. Courtesy of the publishers hide caption

Tayari Jones speaks onstage at the Women In The World Summit earlier this year in in New York City. On Wednesday, Jones' novel An American Marriage won the prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction. Mike Coppola/Getty Images hide caption

Tayari Jones holds up her Aspen Words Literary Prize, which she won Thursday in New York City for her novel An American Marriage. Joe Carrotta/Courtesy of Aspen Words hide caption

The 2019 Aspen Words Literary Prize shortlist (clockwise from top left): There There, by Tommy Orange; Friday Black, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah; An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones; Brother, by David Chariandy; and Gun Love, by Jennifer Clement. Courtesy of the publisher/Photo illustration by NPR hide caption

The Aspen Words literary prize is given to works of fiction that address contemporary issues. Erin Baiano hide caption