The US National Book Awards have honoured both longtime writers and new authors.

Fifty-eight-year-old Louise Erdrich was honoured for The Round House. It’s her first National Book Award after nearly 30 years as a writer. The novel tells the story of an Ojibwe boy and his quest to avenge his mother’s rape. Erdrich is part Ojibwe. In accepting the award, she spoke in her tribal tongue and then switched to English as she dedicated her fiction award to “the grace and endurance of native people.”

Catherine Boo was also honoured for her debut work of non-fiction, Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, a story of a young boy in Mumbai who learns the consequences of crime.

The winners are chosen by panels of their peers. They each receive $10,000. Judges looked through nearly 1,300 books.