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Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Press publication by poet, essayist and translator Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, has won the prestigious 2024 National Book Award for Poetry.

The award was announced by the , a nonprofit organization that manages the National Book Awards, which are annual American literary prizes in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and children’s literature.

This is the second time the University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress has had a title named as a finalist, and the first time one of the Press’ publications was selected for a National Book Award, distinguishing it as among the most esteemed publishers of poetry in the nation.

"Winning the National Book Award in Poetry is a great honor for Lena Khalaf Tuffaha and for the University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress. Our ability to publish at the highest level reflects well on our staff and on the Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKand University communities that support and sustain us," said Dr. Jon Miller, University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress director and a professor of English at Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK (UA).

Khalaf Tuffaha’s “Something About Living” also won the 2022 Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPoetry Prize. She is the author of “Water & Salt” (Red Hen), which won the 2018 Washington State Book Award, and “Kaan & Her Sisters” (Trio House Press), finalist for the Firecracker Award. She was the translator and curator of the 2022 series “Poems from Palestine” at The Baffler magazine. She is currently curating a series on Palestinian writers for Words Without Borders titled “Against Silence.” For more about her work, visit .

“I am tremendously grateful to the National Book Foundation judges for their recognition of ‘Something About Living,’ not only because Khalaf Tuffaha’s work is so poignant and timely, but also because this acknowledgment recognizes the vital and excellent work of university presses,” said Dr. Mary Biddinger, a UA professor of English who teaches graduate and undergraduate creative writing courses, serves as chair of the English Department and director of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, and has been the editor of the Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKSeries in Poetry since 2008.

Other University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress and UA contributors to the production of “Something About Living” include Amy Freels, University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress senior editorial, design and production manager, who designed the cover based on Soraya Farha’s artwork “Los Troncones,” Brittany LaPointe, University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress marketing and sales manager, Julia Gammon, professor emerita of bibliography and marketing volunteer, and student employees and interns.

Media outlets interested in a review copy of “Something About Living” may contact LaPointe at 330-972-4732 or blapointe@uakron.edu.

The book is for available for sale through all major booksellers as well as the University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress website.

University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress

Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Press is a small publisher of scholarly, literary and general interest books. Since 1988, the Press has published compelling works with regional and national significance. The Press is committed to the idea of scholarship as a public good and works collaboratively with its authors to produce books that meet the highest editorial and design standards. The Press is overseen by an editorial board of University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKfaculty. The first University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress book to be a finalist for a National Book Award was Leslie Harrison’s 2017 collection “The Book of Endings.” Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Press is a member of the Association of University Presses. 

 University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKPress contact: Brittany LaPointe, 330.972.4732 or blapointe@uakron.edu
University of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKmedia contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd@uakron.edu