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Sonora Jha wins 2024 Washington State Book Award for fiction
The New York Times described The Laughter as “a no-holds-barred comic achievement.”
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Sonora Jha. / Image - Seattle University
Indian-origin author Sonora Jha’s novel ‘The Laughter’ has won the 2024 Washington State Book Award for Fiction.
Selected from a shortlist of six finalists from the category, the novel was praised for its satirical yet poignant exploration of academia and American society during the 2016 presidential election. A panel of five judges, including authors, librarians, and independent booksellers, chose the winner.
Jha, who serves as the associate dean of Faculty Scholarship and Academic Community at Seattle University’s College of Arts and Sciences, expressed her gratitude for the recognition. “As someone who has made Washington my home and felt a tremendous sense of community here, I feel so grateful to have my work recognized and celebrated from among authors I deeply admire,” she said in a statement.
Honored to receive the Washington State Book Award for Fiction! So grateful to @WAStateLib for celebrating Washington state authors. My deepest thanks to the judges and to the other finalists, whose work I so admire! Bonus pic of a plum ripening in the sun as I wrote at a window. pic.twitter.com/xxjYfxZz0Q
— Sonora Jha (@ProfSonoraJha) September 25, 2024
“The Laughter satirizes, critiques and also turns a loving eye on our region and on America, so this award feels especially meaningful to me,” she further added.
The Washington State Book Awards, now in its 58th year, is managed by the Washington Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and administered by the Washington State Library.
Previously known as the Governor’s Writers Awards, the program honors exceptional works by authors from Washington. For 2024, 39 finalists were selected across seven categories for books published in 2023.
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