Patti Smith wins National Book Award

Punk godmother Patti Smith has won the acclaimed National Book Award for non-fiction in the US for Just Kids, her memoir of her bohemian days in the Chelsea Hotel with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The book is published by HarperCollins imprint Ecco. The National Book Foundation describes the book thusly:

In Just Kids, Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies. An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her formidable body of work--from her influential 1975 album Horses to her visual art and poetry.

The 65 year old artist is planning to release her 11th album next year. You can check out footage of Smith reading from Just Kids and performing "Because The Night" in London by clicking below. We've also included a video of Smith speaking with Jonathan Lethem at the PEN World Voices festival this past May.