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This year鈥檚 National Book Award for fiction went to a writer with 鈥渁 voice as comic and original as any we have heard since Mark Twain,鈥� according to the event鈥檚 judges.

James McBride won the National Book Award for fiction for his novel, 鈥淭he Good Lord Bird,鈥� a satirical account of a cross-dressing slave who travels with abolitionist John Brown in pre-Civil War America.

McBride said he figured he wouldn鈥檛 need an acceptance speech for Wednesday night鈥檚 National Book Awards, so he didn鈥檛 write one.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 prepare a speech. I really didn鈥檛 think I was going to be up here,鈥� McBride said in his remarks.

He was among聽five finalists, including 鈥淕eorge Saunders, Jhumpa Lahiri, Thomas Pynchon, and Rachel Kushner.

鈥淭hey are fine writers,鈥� McBride said of his fellow finalists. 鈥淏ut this sure is nice.鈥�

George Packer picked up the non-fiction award for 鈥淭he Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America,鈥� that describes the breakdown of the US economy over the last 35 years from the perspective of a wide range of Americans.

Mary Szybist won the poetry prize for 鈥淚ncarnadine,鈥� and Cynthia Kadohata took the young people鈥檚 literature award for 鈥淭he Thing about Luck.鈥�

During remarks delivered at a lavish gala dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, McBride said the protagonist of 鈥淭he Good Lord Bird,鈥� 鈥楲ittle Onion,鈥� was his friend during a difficult part of his life when he lost his mother, his niece, and his marriage.

McBride, who is also a jazz musician, is best known for his bestselling memoir 鈥淭he Color of Water: A Black Man鈥檚 Tribute to His White Mother,鈥� as well as his first novel, 鈥淢iracle at St. Anna,鈥� which was adapted into a 2008 film by Spike Lee.

Two other awards were also presented at the dinner: Toni Morrison presented the Literarian Award for Outstanding Contribution to the American Literary Community to poet Maya Angelou, who said, 鈥淔or 40 years, I have tried to tell the truth as I know it,鈥� adding, 鈥淓asy reading is damn hard writing.鈥�

And The Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters was presented to novelist E.L. Doctorow, who warned that 鈥渇or every advantage of the Internet, there is a disadvantage.鈥�

Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淢orning Joe鈥� hosted the program, which she called 鈥渢he Oscars of the book world 鈥� but as Fran Lebowitz said, 鈥業t鈥檚 the Oscars without money.鈥欌��

The awards honor American writers for works published over the past year in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young people鈥檚 literature. Winners take home a bronze statue, $10,000, and a small boost in recognition 鈥� and perhaps sales.