In 2021, few in the publishing industry worried that no one cared about books anymore.

One of the year’s most anticipated debut novels is now an Oprah Winfrey book club pick.

(Random House Books for Young Readers/Roaring Brook Press/Nancy Paulsen Books via AP)NEW YORK – Illustrator Michaela Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture story, cited for “We Are Water Protectors," a celebration of nature and condemnation of the “black snake” Dakota Access Pipeline. "I am really honored and proud," the 30-year-old Goade told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The Newbery medal was established in 1922, the Caldecott in 1937. Goade, whose other books include “Encounter,” is the first Native American to win in either category. The Stonewall Book Award for best LGBT literature was given to Archaa Shrivastav for “We Are Little Feminists: Families."

In this undated photo provided by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers poses for a photo in Montgomery, Ala. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the fellowships Tuesday Oct. 6, 2020. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the fellowships Tuesday. Writers, sociologists, scientists, a documentary filmmaker, a legal scholar and an environmental health advocate are among the luminaries named this year. The Chicago-based foundation has awarded the “genius grants” every year since 1981 to help further the pursuits of people with outstanding talent.