MOTT STREET, an American Library Association (ALA) Notable book of 2024, wins the 2024 CALA Best Book Award for Adult Nonfiction! It shares the honor with Fae Myenne Eng’s searing memoir ORPHAN BACHELORS.

Ava and the whole team feel so much gratitude for the Chinese American Librarians Association and the ALA for showing MOTT STREET so much love. The work that librarians do across the country is instrumental to adding diverse stories to the national conversation. As Ava told a certain radio host last year, “Where else but in books can you learn about the valuable experiences of folks who don’t necessarily look like you?” Ava has had a library card since she was 9 years old and the books that she read as a child were a formative part of her education. Here’s to our nation’s librarians!

In other good news, MOTT STREET was named a Best Book of 2023 by TIME, the San Francisco Chronicle, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews, and is a PEOPLE magazine top book by AAPI authors.