Authors of fiction, poetry and nonfiction receive $10,000 prizes for blending art and science

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NEW YORK (AP) — Books about a family's exploration of the natural world, the challenges of parenthood during a time of climate crisis and how animals perceive the planet have won $10,000 prizes for their exemplary blends of art and science.

The fourth annual Science + Literature awards recipients were announced Wednesday by the National Book Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Ramona Ausbel's novel “The Last Animal,” in which teenage sisters accompany their mother on scientific expeditions, was among the honorees, along with Claire Wahmanholm’s “Meltwater,” poems about parenting and the dread of environmental disaster, and Ed Yong’s nonfiction “An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us.”

“The Science + Literature program, now in its fourth year, highlights diverse voices in scientific writing and honors innovative works that expand our understanding of science, technology, and our universe,” Ruth Dickey, executive director of the National Book Foundation, said in a statement.

“We are delighted to join the National Book Foundation in recognizing these three powerful and unique writers engaging with scientific themes and characters across poetry, fiction, and nonfiction,” Doron Weber, vice president and program director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, said in a 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 and our existence on this planet."

The National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and otherwise promotes a wide variety of literary programs. The Sloan Foundation has a long history of supporting books on science, notably Kai Bird's and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winner “American Prometheus,” the basis for the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer,” and Margot Lee Shetterly's “Hidden Figures," adapted into an acclaimed movie of the same name.

Previous winners of the Science + Literature award include Brandon Taylor's “Real Life" and Linda Hogan's “The Radiant Life of Animals.”