Ta-Nehisi Coates wins National Book Award

Baltimore-born writer Ta-Nehisi Coates can add a National Book Award to a list of accomplishments that includes a MacArthur genius grant.

Coates' acclaimed book Between the World and Me won the coveted prize for non-fiction on Wednesday night. Written in the form of a letter to his son, the searing memoir about race and police violence became one of the most discussed and lauded books of the year.

Coates, a correspondent for The Atlantic, dedicated the award to his friend Prince Jones, who was shot to death by a police officer who mistook him for a criminal. “I can’t secure the safety of my son. I just don’t have that power," Coates said in his acceptance speech, according to The New York Times. "But what I do have the power to do is say, ‘You won’t enroll me in this lie. You won’t make me part of it.’"

Baltimore readers have the opportunity to see Coates tonight as he gives a talk and a Q&A at The Johns Hopkins University about his debut book The Beautiful Struggle. Be forewarned, the free event is sold out, but there is an overflow room where you can catch a live stream of the talk.

For more on Coates, Between the World and Me, and his life since writing the book, check out this Q&A we did with him this summer.