We are thrilled to announce that Penguin Random House author Patricia Evangelista has won the prestigious 2024 Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism for her book Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country. The award, presented by the New York Public Library, honors outstanding journalists whose books have brought clarity and public attention to important issues, events, or policies.
Some People Need Killing is a powerful and courageous collection of essays that chronicles the human toll of the brutal campaign against drug users and dealers in the Philippines, launched by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Evangelista, a journalist and filmmaker, gives voice to the victims, the survivors, the witnesses, and the perpetrators of the violence that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. She exposes the corruption, the impunity, the injustice, and the trauma that pervade the drug war, while also highlighting the resilience, the resistance, and the hope of the Filipino people.
Some People Need Killing has received widespread praise from critics, readers, and fellow writers for its compelling and compassionate storytelling, its rigorous and nuanced reporting, and its moral and ethical urgency. A few of the major US media outlets that have shared their praise for SPNK include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Time, NPR, and The Economist. The book has been hailed as a masterpiece of investigative journalism, a landmark work of human rights advocacy, and a literary tour de force.
We are immensely proud of Patricia Evangelista and her remarkable book, and we congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition. We are also grateful to the New York Public Library and the Helen Bernstein Award jury for honoring her work and bringing it to a wider audience. We thank all the readers, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, and educators who have supported and celebrated Some People Need Killing. We hope that this book will continue to inspire, inform, and challenge us to confront the truth and seek justice for the people who need it most.
