Héctor Tobar Wins the 2024 Zócalo Book Prize

Our Migrant Souls Is an Essential Exploration of ‘Latino’ Identity

Héctor Tobar is the winner of the 2024 Zócalo Public Square Book Prize for Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino.”

Zócalo has awarded the $10,000 prize yearly since 2011 to the nonfiction book that best enhances our understanding of community and the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness and social cohesion. The 13 previous Zócalo Public Square Book Prize recipients include Heather McGhee, Michael Ignatieff, Danielle Allen, Jonathan Haidt, and most recently, Michelle Wilde Anderson.

Tobar is the author of six books, a …

Interview by Sarah Rothbard | May 4, 2024

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Melanie Almeder Wins the 2024 Zócalo Poetry Prize

‘Coyote Hour’ Tracks a Summer in Southern Maine

Interview by Sarah Rothbard | May 3, 2024

Melanie Almeder is the winner of the 2024 Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize for “Coyote Hour.” The poem tracks the rhythms of summer in a part of coastal New England …

The 2024 Zócalo Book Prize Winner Is Coming Soon

In the Meantime, Check Out Five Fantastic Shortlist Titles

March 1, 2024

The 2024 election season has barely begun and you already might be torn: tired of headlines about political polarization’s threat to democracy in America and abroad, but also feeling like …

The 2024 Zócalo Book Prize Honors Nonfiction on Connectedness and Social Cohesion

Recognizing Authors Whose Work Enhances Our Understanding of Community

September 8, 2023

Zócalo Public Square’s annual book prize honors the U.S.-published nonfiction book that best enhances our understanding of community and the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness and social cohesion. …

The 2024 Zócalo Poetry Prize Recognizes Poems About Place

No-Fee Contest Submissions Accepted November 2023–January 2024