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Finalists and honorees for the 46th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced Wednesday.

Writer-curator Ekow Eshun is among the biography finalists for “The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them,” which parses Black masculinity as embodied by various civil rights activists, philosophers and other visionaries. Contenders in the fiction categories ranged from seasoned novelists like Michael Connelly to breakouts including Saou Ichikawa, whose debut novel, “Hunchback,” was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize.

Many selected books evoke the greatest anxieties of our time, from government-sanctioned historical revisionism to the ongoing proliferation of AI.

“The Joy Luck Club” author Amy Tan will be honored with this year’s Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. Nonprofit We Need Diverse Books and novelist Adam Ross will receive the Innovator’s Award and Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, respectively.

Winners in the remaining categories will be revealed at the 46th L.A. Times Book Prizes on April 17 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. The ceremony is a prelude to the annual L.A. Times Festival of Books, which this year runs April 18-19.

The Oakland-born Tan will be given the marquee Robert Kirsch Award, which celebrates literature with regional and thematic connections to the Western United States, for her highly awarded body of work exploring multicultural identity and its complex effects on familial bonds.

“Throughout her extraordinary career, Amy Tan has transformed American literature by shining a light on the emotional complexities of family, identity and cultural inheritance,” said Times senior editor for Books Sophia Kercher. “Her work confronts the social and cultural legacies of the American West with rich details of the immigrant experience.”

Tan’s 1989 debut novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” which interweaves the stories of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters in San Francisco, is a staple of the modern literary canon and was previously a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. “The Joy Luck Club,” along with the essays, memoirs and novels Tan has since penned — most recently 2024’s “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” — have also led her to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and earned her a National Humanities Medal from President Biden.

We Need Diverse Books, a viral 2014 Twitter campaign turned nonprofit, is being honored with the Innovator’s Award for its efforts toward promoting diversity and inclusion in children’s and young adult publishing.

According to the WNDB website, upon the nonprofit’s launch more than a decade ago, only 8% of children’s books published in the U.S. were written by authors of color. In 2023, that figure rose to 47%, in no small part due to WNDB’s grants, library partnerships and other advocacy work, per the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“We Need Diverse Books has played an important role in publishing by championing stories that reflect our world, and opening doors for writers and readers,” said Times Executive Editor Terry Tang. “We are thrilled to recognize them with this year’s Innovator’s Award, honoring their unwavering commitment to access and representation in literature.”

Ross rounds out the L.A. Times Book Prize honorees as the winner of the Christopher Isherwood Prize for “Playworld,” a semi-autobiographical novel about a teen growing up in 1980s New York that is described as “less a bildungsroman than a story of miseducation.”

In addition to the achievement awards, the Book Prizes recognize titles in 13 categories: audiobooks, autobiographical prose (the Christopher Isherwood Prize), biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award), graphic novel/comics, history, mystery/thriller, poetry, science fiction, science and technology and young adult literature. Each category’s finalists and winners are chosen by panels of writers specializing in that genre.

For more information about the Book Prizes, including the complete list of finalists, visit latimes.com/BookPrizes.

Robert Kirsch Award

Amy Tan

Innovator’s Award

We Need Diverse Books

The Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose

Adam Ross, “Playworld: A Novel”

The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

Andy Anderegg, “Plum”

Krystelle Bamford, “Idle Grounds: A Novel”

Addie E. Citchens, “Dominion: A Novel”

Justin Haynes, “Ibis: A Novel”

Saou Ichikawa translated by Polly Barton, “Hunchback: A Novel”

Achievement in Audiobook Production, presented by Audible

Molly Jong-Fast (narrator), Matie Argiropoulos (producer); “How to Lose Your Mother”

Jason Mott, Ronald Peet, and JD Jackson (narrators), Diane McKiernan (producer); “People Like Us: A Novel”

James Aaron Oh (narrator), Linda Korn (producer); “The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel”

Imani Perry (narrator), Suzanne Mitchell (producer); “Black in Blues”

Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler, Steve West, and Jim Seybert (narrators), Kelly Gildea (producer); “The Correspondent: A Novel”

Biography

Joe Dunthorne, “Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance”

Ekow Eshun, “The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them”

Ruth Franklin, “The Many Lives of Anne Frank”

Beth Macy, “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America”

Amanda Vaill, “Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution”

Current Interest

Jeanne Carstensen, “A Greek Tragedy: One Day, a Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis”

Stefan Fatsis, “Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary”

Brian Goldstone, “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America”

Gardiner Harris, “No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson”

Jordan Thomas, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World”

Fiction

Tod Goldberg, “Only Way Out: A Novel”

Stephen Graham Jones, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”

Mia McKenzie, “These Heathens: A Novel”

Andrés Felipe Solano translated by Will Vanderhyden, “Gloria: A Novel”

Bryan Washington, “Palaver: A Novel”

Graphic Novel/Comics

Eagle Valiant Brosi, “Black Cohosh”

Jaime Hernandez, “Life Drawing: A Love and Rockets Collection”

Michael D. Kennedy, “Milk White Steed”

Lee Lai, “Cannon”

Carol Tyler, “The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief”

History

Char Adams, “Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore”

Bench Ansfield, “Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City”

Jennifer Clapp, “Titans of Industrial Agriculture: How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters”

Eli Erlick, “Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850-1950”

Aaron G. Fountain Jr., “High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America”

Mystery/Thriller

Megan Abbott, “El Dorado Drive”

Ace Atkins, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World: A Novel”

Lou Berney, “Crooks: A Novel About Crime and Family”

Michael Connelly, “The Proving Ground: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel”

S.A. Cosby, “King of Ashes: A Novel”

Poetry

Gabrielle Calvocoressi, “The New Economy”

Chet’la Sebree, “Blue Opening: Poems”

Richard Siken, “I Do Know Some Things”

Devon Walker-Figueroa, “Lazarus Species: Poems”

Allison Benis White, “A Magnificent Loneliness”

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction

Stephen Graham Jones, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”

Jordan Kurella, “The Death of Mountains”

Nnedi Okorafor, “Death of the Author: A Novel”

Adam Oyebanji, “Esperance”

Silvia Park, “Luminous: A Novel”

Science & Technology

Mariah Blake, “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals”

Peter Brannen, “The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World”

Karen Hao, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI”

Laura Poppick, “Strata: Stories from Deep Time”

Jordan Thomas, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World”

Young Adult Literature

K. Ancrum, “The Corruption of Hollis Brown”

Idris Goodwin, “King of the Neuro Verse”

Jamie Jo Hoang, “My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser”

Trung Le Nguyen, “Angelica and the Bear Prince”

Hannah V. Sawyerr, “Truth Is: A Novel in Verse”

GORDON Ramsay is seen fighting back tears during his daughter Holly Ramsay’s engagement party in scenes from his new Netflix show.

The emotional moment came just hours before a bitter family fallout broke out between Holly’s now-husband Adam Peaty’s parents and the Ramsay clan.

In the six-part series, Being Gordon Ramsay, swimming champ Adam and his fiancée Holly are seen throwing a lavish bash with Adam’s mum Caroline in attendance.

Holly and Adam’s engagement party is caught on film – with both the Ramsay and Peaty families in attendance.

During the evening, Holly thanks her fiancé Adam for his constant love and support.

And while she gives the speech, Gordon is seen holding back tears while watching on with his wife Tana.

MOVING ON

Brooklyn Beckham unfollows another Ramsay family member after being sent warning

PEATY’S PREDICTION

Adam Peaty ‘predicts’ family feud without realising in Gordon Ramsay doc

Elsewhere during the evening, Gordon was filmed saying: “The most important family is the one you create and she [Holly] comes from an incredible family so its now her time to create her own family. It is quite a moment.”

The party marked one of the last times that the Ramsay family were with the Peaty clan before their public feud imploded.

Despite Gordon having a close relationship with his son-in-law, Adam’s parents have publicly blasted the family after they weren’t invited to Holly’s hen do and were later uninvited to the wedding.

Holly’s mum Tana and close family friend Victoria Beckham were invited on the hen do, but Caroline was left off the guest list.

The family have since been in a war of words during their very bitter feud.

Gordon addressed the fallout for the first time earlier this month ahead of his Netflix show launching, saying: “It’s just upsetting.

“It’s all self-inflicted from their side, because we’ve done nothing – none of what you’ve read: no rudeness, no ignorance – we welcomed them.”

He added to the MailOnline: “We sent a chauffeur-driven car for them to come to the engagement party and treated them like royalty.

“So to get that barrage of press was very hurtful. Tana took it very seriously.”

All episodes of Being Gordon Ramsay are available now on Netflix.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes teams are tanking more aggressively than in recent years and is considering many possible remedies to ensure real competition, from taking away draft picks to making wholesale changes to the draft and the lottery.

Silver immediately addressed the hottest topic in NBA circles Saturday in his annual address during All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome, making it clear the NBA will do almost anything to make sure its teams earnestly compete.

Last Thursday, the league issued a $500,000 fine to the Utah Jazz and a $100,000 penalty to the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players, believing their apparent tanking actions compromised the league’s competitive integrity.

“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view,” Silver said. “Which was what led to those those fines, and not just those fines, but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”

Silver knows strong words and six-figure fines might not be nearly enough to compel struggling teams to commit to real competition instead of improving their odds in what’s expected to be one of the deepest drafts in recent history — and that’s why the NBA is looking at stronger solutions.

“The league is 80 years old, it’s time to take a fresh look at this and to see whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it,” Silver said of draft process. “Ultimately, we need a system to fairly distribute players. It’s in the players’ interest as well as the teams’ that you have a level of parity around the league. There’s only so many jobs and so many cities, but we’ve got to look at some fresh thinking here. I mean, what we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now, is not working.”

The NBA’s competition committee is reexamining the structure of the draft lottery for ways to minimize the upside of tanking, Silver said. The commissioner also acknowledged the fines could be followed by the revocation of draft picks from tanking teams.

“There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior,” Silver said.

Yet Silver also acknowledged the essential dilemma at the heart of this problem, one that has bedeviled the league since the 1960s: A team’s draft position is significantly tied to its chances of building a winner.

“It’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned,” Silver said. “My caveat is, and this is where teams are in a difficult place … that the worst place to be, for example, is a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then [being bad] will help you with the draft. In many cases, you have fans of those teams, it’s not what they want to pay for, to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams, in some cases, to be bad to improve their draft chances.”

But Silver intends to remind every team that tanking is a betrayal of its relationship with fans, both in their home cities and around the world.

In other topics covered by Silver on Saturday:

Expansion grows closer

The NBA still expects to make decisions on expansion this year, starting with more discussions at the Board of Governors meeting next month. The league won’t vote on expansion then, but Silver expects to know whether the league will move on to talk with potential owners.

Silver acknowledged Seattle and Las Vegas are the obvious candidates for expansion and said the league wants to make a decision soon: “I don’t want to tease cities or mislead anyone.”

Clippers investigation

Silver said he has been told the Clippers have been cooperative with the external investigation into their possible circumvention of the salary cap through a suspicious endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard with a now-bankrupt company.

Silver firmly stated that the investigation and its findings were not purposely delayed while the Clippers host All-Star weekend. Wachtell Lipton, the Manhattan law firm conducting the investigation, has no deadline to produce its findings.

Prediction markets

The NBA is “paying an enormous amount of attention” to the rise of prediction markets, particularly after Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo sparked concern with his investment in Kalshi. Silver didn’t find fault with Antetokounmpo — whose shares are a “minuscule” position, according to Silver — but acknowledged the looming specter of the gambling industry without suggesting a solution.

“It concerns me in the totality of all this betting that we need a better handle, no pun intended, on all the different activity that’s happening out there,” Silver said.

Silver also acknowledged the overwhelming size of this task, given that roughly 80 countries allow betting on the NBA while billions more are wagered illegally.

Europe calling

The NBA’s desire to open a European league in partnership with FIBA remains strong, and it still would love to start in October 2027, but Silver acknowledged many hurdles remain.

The league still is working with the players union to determine whether active players will be allowed to invest in NBA Europe franchises — something that would be welcomed by many top players, including Antetokounmpo.

“If there’s an opportunity that comes across my desk to be an owner in sports, I would consider it 100%,” the Greek star said Saturday. “In the real NBA, I don’t know if I have that type of money … but I love basketball, and anywhere that I can be involved with it, I would love it.”

OLYMPIAN Adam Peaty uses a new Netflix show to gush about having his family at his engagement party — despite later barring them from his wedding ceremony.

In the six-part series, the swimming champ and his fiancée Holly Ramsay, daughter of TV chef Gordon, are seen throwing a lavish bash with Peaty’s mum Caroline in attendance.

But Caroline was later barred from the wedding after an argument over not being invited on Holly’s hen do.

Talking ahead of next week’s release of Being Gordon Ramsay, Peaty, 31, says: “I honestly loved walking into that room because it was full of people from all areas of our lives, all there to fully enjoy and to celebrate.”

The documentary was filmed early last year.

But by the time of Peaty’s wedding to Holly, 26, in December, he had fallen out with his family and they were barred from the ceremony.

STICKING TOGETHER

Adam Peaty’s estranged mum shares gushing tribute to her ‘rock’ amid feud

FAMILY HEARTACHE

Gordon Ramsay says addict brother ‘begged’ to play gig at Holly’s wedding

They have decided they do not want to feature in the documentary, which was filmed early last year.

In the series, Peaty talks about Holly’s family, including Gordon and his wife Tana, saying: “I’ve seen obviously how her family works and I think when you’re marrying someone, you’re also marrying into the family.”

In the doc, Gordon is also heard saying: “Adam is so grounded, he’s not walking around as Olympic champion with his head up his arse. He’s my type of guy.”

But at no point in the documentary does Holly reciprocate the sentiment — and the rift between Adam and his family is brushed over.

GORDON Ramsay has slammed rumours he took a swipe at Adam Peaty’s estranged family in his wedding speech at his daughter Holly’s nuptials.

Speaking for the first time about the family feud that the Ramsays have found themselves caught up in, Gordon addressed speculation he took a pop at Adam’s parents on the big day.

Gordon reportedly took aim at Adam’s mum Caroline in his speech, making an unfavourable comparison to his wife Tana.

He is said to have quipped to Adam: “Look at Tana and that’s what you have to look forward to.” 

And in a sly dig at Adam’s absent parents, he allegedly Holly, 25: “Shame you don’t have the same.” 

But in an interview with Daily Mail, Gordon claimed he didn’t say anything rude.

read more on Gordon Ramsay

‘UPSETTING’

Ramsays break silence on Peaty family feud insisting ‘we’ve done nothing wrong’

BOWING OUT?

Gordon Ramsay ‘ready to retire’ from 40 year cooking career

‘NOTHING INAPPROPRIATE’

 “I was told we were accused of saying inappropriate things,” Gordon said. “Nothing at all was said that was ­inappropriate, I promise you.

“I was very warm, very witty. I talked about when they first met. I was nervous, hearing the words no father would ever want to hear, ‘Your daughter’s gone on a date with the world’s best breast- stroker.’ We knew something big was going on when she came home and all we could smell was chlorine.’”

Gordon went on to share a cheeky dad joke he penned himself.

“They were the bits I really worked on, ” he recalled. “I paid tribute to Holly, then welcomed Adam into the family: ‘I know you’ll give Holly all the love she deserves, but be aware that her twin, Jack, is a Royal Marine. I know you can swim fast, but he has a boat with a big f****** gun on it!’ Light-hearted stuff like that.”

It comes as Gordon also addressed the feud directly elsewhere in the interview.

He insisted he and his wife had “done nothing wrong”.

We sent a chauffer-driven car for them to tome to the engagement party and treated them like royalty.”

Gordon Ramsay

Gordon said: “It’s just upsetting. It’s all self-inflicted from their side, because we’ve done nothing – none of what you’ve read: no rudeness, no ignorance – we welcomed them.

“We sent a chauffeur-driven car for them to come to the engagement party and treated them like royalty.

“So to get that barrage of press was very hurtful. Tana took it very seriously.”

ENDING THE FEUD?

Talking of a potential reconciliation, he added: “I would like to go up to Nottingham with Tana and see them and draw a line in the sand.”

“It was Adam and Holly’s wishes for them not to attend and so we had to respect that. There’s stuff they need to sort out as parents.

“That’s nothing to do with Tana and me.

“But we are very mindful we want to move on and allow Holly and Adam to continue starting their lives together.”

Adam’s feud with his mum Caroline, 60, exploded In November after she was not invited to Holly’s hen do. 

And a source close to the Peatys recently told The Sun they had given up home of mending bridges.

An insider close to Adam’s parents said: “It’s been a really emotional time for them as a family.

“They’re coming to terms with what has happened and that Adam has picked his side.

“It’s dashed any hope of reconciliation in the near future.”

Countryfile shared a clip of presenter, Adam Henson, suffering a painful sheep accident as he attempted to check on his Romney Rams

Countryfile fans were all quick to say the same thing after presenter Adam Henson suffered a painful sheep accident.

In a clip uploaded to the hit BBC One show’s Instagram account, it showed Adam, 60, attempting to check on his Romney Rams before letting them out into the field with the ewes.

In the caption, Countryfile explained: “Respect for this sheep’s attitude. Checking his Romney Rams over before letting them out into the field with the ewes is an essential part of their care and involves catching them!

“But that can be a little tricker than expected as @Adamhenson_ found out! Both the rams and Adam were absolutely unharmed and the rams were pleased to eventually get out into the field after their check up…”

In the clip, it sees Adam explain: “I’ve got to check the boys over first and the Romney, oh my word, as you can see are powerful sheep!” to which one of the sheep charges at the presenter.

Adam continues: “Let me just bring them back out here… now listen, steady, steady, steady, steady…” to which the sheep powerfully charge into Adam, knocking him into the silver fence as he swears in pain.

He exclaims: “Oh! The Romney are powerful sheep… the way to control a sheep is to hold them under the chin, but he got the better of me!”

Taking to the comments section, fans were quick to all say the same thing as they pointed out it was rare to hear Adam swear.

One person said: “The fact that @adamhenson_ swore has made my day” to which another follower replied: “was literally thinking the same thing” with laughing emojis.

Elsewhere, a different account put: “I don’t think we’ve heard Adam swear before!!”

It comes as Countryfile fans were left delighted as Adam made a huge announcement on social media. The 60-year-old farmer joined the popular BBC show in 2001, and has since become a household name.

His television credits extend beyond Countryfile to include Countryfile Summer Diaries and Inside Out. Thanks to his wealth of agricultural expertise, Adam has also contributed to BBC Radio 4’s On Your Farm and Farming Today, whilst co-presenting Lambing Live alongside Kate Humble.

When he’s not filming for Countryfile, Adam manages his own farming enterprise from Bemborough Farm in Gloucestershire. The site doubles as the Cotswolds Farm Park, welcoming thousands of visitors annually.

The popular presenter turned to Instagram on Sunday (February 1) to reveal some thrilling news after 14 piglets were born at his farm with his followers quick to share their support over the announcement.

Countryfile is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website

Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid eye Adam Wharton deal, Manchester United could move for Jean-Philippe Mateta and Sandro Tonali, Leeds keeper Illan Meslier looks to be heading to Turkey.

Liverpool could rival Manchester United and Real Madrid for the £80m signing of Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, 21, in the summer. (Mirror), external

Manchester United could make a move for long-term striker target Jean-Philippe Mateta, 28, in the summer after the Frenchman’s proposed deadline-day transfer from Crystal Palace to AC Milan fell through. (Mirror), external

AC Milan, Chelsea and Newcastle are all interested in Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic, 26, on a summer free transfer, even though he has recently returned to Juventus to complete his rehabilitation from an abductor injury. (Football Italia), external

Manchester United are also looking to bolster their midfield and Newcastle‘s Italy international Sandro Tonali, 25, is of interest. (Metro), external

Everton will be open to new offers for English winger Dwight McNeil, 26, after his deadline-day move to Crystal Palace collapsed. (Football Insider), external

Newcastle will resurrect a move for highly rated Reims’ Ivorian midfielder Patrick Zabi, 19, in the coming months. (The i – subscription required), external

Leeds United‘s French goalkeeper Illan Meslier, 25, could be set for a move away from Elland Road, with Turkish club Besiktas holding talks. (Teamtalk), external

Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka, 30, who is out of contract at Bayern Munich in the summer, could be on his way to Arsenal on a free transfer. (Bayern Insider), external

West Ham can dismiss head coach Nuno Espirito Santo without paying compensation if they are relegated to the Championship. (Athletic – subscription required), external

The family of David Adam Williams, better known as YouTube personality Adam the Woo, has shared his cause of death. The travel vlogger’s father revealed in a Monday Facebook post that his son died of natural causes.

“Our beloved Son … your beloved friend … died, in essence, of a heart attack in his sleep from health issues he probably never knew he had,” wrote Jim Williams, who said he had received his son’s medical examiner’s report earlier that day. “Now, we can all stop guessing. Be grateful the Lord allowed him to die at home and not in a foreign country. Be grateful he was found by friends (as hard as that was) and not some nameless stranger.”

Jim Williams shared that Adam Williams’ official cause of death was atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with obesity as a contributory factor. According to the American Heart Assn., atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is caused by plaque buildup on arterial walls. Hypertensive heart disease is related to high blood pressure.

Williams, known for his theme park and urban exploration videos, was found dead in his Celebration, Fla., home on Dec. 22. He was 51.

A self-described “‘80s pop culture nerd with a desire to travel and video what I see,” he had posted more than 4,000 videos about his adventures at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks, pop culture conventions, movie filming locations, abandoned cities and more since 2009 across two YouTube channels. Combined, his channels had more than 1 million subscribers.

“If you never met Adam, I want you to know, that how you saw him on video, that was our son,” Jim Williams said in a Jan. 11 YouTube video about his son. “That was how Adam lived his life. He was always courteous, he was always kind, he was always patient with people. He was always gentle, even when he had to correct people. … He would stop and talk to everybody.”

Williams, who had addressed his Facebook message to Adam’s friends and fans, concluded his post with gratitude: “Thank you for loving Adam.”