One of the most exciting moments of the 2018 Flint Literary Festival was when the authors of the two most prominent books on the Flint Water Crisis–Anna Clark and Dr. Hanna-Attisha–took the stage together for the first time as featured readers.
Since their time on the Flint Literary Festival stage, both writers have gone on to win a number of prestigious awards for their work.
The week after the Flint Literary Festival concluded, Dr. Hanna-Attisha, or “Dr. Mona” as she is affectionately known among her young patients, was appointed co-chair of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s transition team. Her memoir about the water crisis, What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, has been honored across the literary world, including:
- one of the 100 Notable Books of 2018 by the New York Times,
- a Best Science Book of 2018 by NPR Science Today
- a Best Book of 2018 by BookRiot
- a 2019 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan
- a Michigan Favorite book of 2018 by MLive
- the 2019 Great Michigan Read from the Michigan Humanities Council
- the 2019 Reading Across Rhode Island Book
- a Top 3 Finalist for the Maryland Center of the Book
- 2019 LA Times Book Award for Science and Technology
Anna Clark appeared at the festival in connection with her book about the crisis, The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy, which has also earned a number of accolades including:
- the 2019 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
- the 2019 Bernstein Shortlist
- a 2019 Michigan Notable Book
- a Planetzen Top Ten Urban Planning Book of 2018
- a Kirkus Review Best Nonfiction Book of 2018
- a San Francisco Chronicle Best Nonfiction Book of 2018
- Rider’s 2019-20 Shared Read program
It was thrilling to welcome these two great writers to the stage at the 2018 Flint Literary Festival, and we share in their ongoing successes over the last year!