The New Yorker cartoonist is one of three winners of the inaugural Kirkus Prize, presented by the literary publication Kirkus Reviews and worth $50,000 for each winner, making it among the country's richest honors for books.

Chast's award, announced Thursday night, was for her graphic memoir about her parents, "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" The memoir is already among the nominees for the National Book Awards, with winners to be revealed next month,

Chast's Kirkus award was for best nonfiction release. Lily King's novel "Euphoria," based in part on the life of anthropologist Margaret Mead, was cited for fiction and Kate Samworth's "Aviary Wonders Inc." for young people's literature.