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National Book Award

The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards.[1][2] At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The National Book Awards were established in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association,[3][4] abandoned during World War II, and re-established by three book industry organizations in 1950. Non-U.S. authors and publishers were eligible for the pre-war awards. Since then they are presented to U.S. authors for books published in the United States roughly during the award year.

National Book Award
Logo of National Book Awards
Sponsored byU.S. books industry
DateNovember
Hosted byNational Book Foundation
First awardedOriginal version: 1936–42 (1935–41 publications); new version: 1950 (1949 publications)
Last awardedActive
Websitenationalbook.org
The medallions of National Book Awards

The nonprofit National Book Foundation was established in 1988 to administer and enhance the National Book Awards and "move beyond [them] into the fields of education and literacy", primarily by sponsoring public appearances by writers.[5] Its mission is "to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture."[6]

In 2018, there were 1,637 books nominated for the five award categories, led by the Nonfiction category with 546 nominations. The 2018 ceremony was held on November 14 in New York City.[7]

Winners and finalists edit

Process edit

National Book Awards are given to one book (author) annually in each of five categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translation, and young people's literature. There have previously been many other categories but they have been retired or subsumed in the existing five. The National Book Foundation also presents two lifetime achievement awards each year: the "Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community".[9]

Only publishers nominate books for the National Book Awards, but panelists may request particular nominations from publishers. Each panel comprises five judges, including writers, librarians, booksellers, and literary critics. In 2013, the judging panels were expanded to include experts in the literary field in addition to established writers.[10]

Each panel considers hundreds of books each year in each of the five categories. In 2013, the Foundation announced the addition of a National Book Awards longlist—announced in September and consisting of ten titles per category—to precede the finalists list, announced in October and comprising five titles per category.[11] The fifth category, the National Book Award for Translated Literature, was added in 2018, recognizing works in translation for the first time since 1983.[12] At the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner held in New York City each November, the chair of each judging panel announces the winners of the year's National Book Awards. Each finalist receives $1,000, a medal, and a citation written by the judging panel; winners get $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.[13]

History edit

Pre-war awards by booksellers edit

The first National Book Awards were presented in May 1936 at the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association, one month after The New York Times reported institution of the "new annual award". The winners were authors of four 1935 books selected by a vote of ABA members. Virginia Kirkus chaired the central committee of seven including the ABA president, three bookshops, Publishers Weekly, and American News Company. Three were called "the most distinguished of 1935" (novel, biography, and general nonfiction) and one "the most original" (novel).[3][4] Two of the books were advertised by their publishers as "The most distinguished autobiography of 1935" and "The most distinguished general non-fiction book of 1935" in NYTimes on May 12, the same day that the newspaper reported yesterday's awards.[note 1]

For the next six years, 1937 to 1942, the awards were announced from mid-February to early March.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

The "Most Distinguished" Nonfiction, Biography, and Novel (for 1935 and 1936)[3][4][14] were reduced to two and termed "Favorite" Nonfiction and Fiction beginning 1937. Master of ceremonies Clifton Fadiman declined to consider the Pulitzer Prizes (not yet announced in February 1938) as potential ratifications. "Unlike the Pulitzer Prize committee, the booksellers merely vote for their favorite books. They do not say it is the best book or the one that will elevate the standard of manhood or womanhood. Twenty years from now we can decide which are the masterpieces. This year we can only decide which books we enjoyed reading the most."[15]

The Bookseller Discovery officially recognized "outstanding merit which failed to receive adequate sales and recognition" (quoted by NYT)[16] Finally that award stood alone for 1941 and the New York Times frankly called it "a sort of consolation prize that the booksellers hope will draw attention to his work."[19]

The winning authors and books were selected by a nationwide poll of booksellers (ABA members); during the 1937/38 cycle, ballots were received from 319 stores, triple the number who voted in the first rendition early in 1936.[15] In a 1941 advertisement, the Booksellers described the "significance of the awards" thus:[20]

In effect, his ballot says, "Of all the books of the year these are the three I enjoyed most – in two ways! I enjoyed reading them; and I enjoyed selling them." And that to a bookseller means people who, on his recommendation, read and enjoyed – and sent in other people who also read and enjoyed. The National Book Awards give you perhaps a greater guarantee of reading pleasure than any other literary prizes.

Reestablished by the book industry edit

In January 1950 three book industry organizations announced that "works by Americans published here" would be recognized by three awards in March (at the annual convention?). There would be three distinct panels of five judges.[21] The fifteen judges were "Elmer Davis, John Kieran, Henry Steele Commager, Fairfield Osborn and Norman Cousins for non-fiction; Mary Colum, Glenway Wescott, Max Gissin, W. G. Rogers and Malcolm Cowley for fiction; and W. H. Auden, Louise Bogan, Babett Duetsch, Horace Gregory and Louise Untermeyer for poetry."[22]

The awards were administered by the National Book Committee from 1950 to 1974, when the Committee disbanded after publishers withdrew support.[23][24]

In 1950 and 1967, at least, the prize sponsors were three book-industry organizations American Booksellers Association, the American Book Publishers Council and the Book Manufacturers Institute.[21][23]

In 1973 NYTimes still called the National Book Committee a nonprofit funded "by publishers and by organizations involved in the book trade"[25] A temporary Committee on Awards Policy handled 1975.[24]

New categories and split awards edit

In 1964 Nonfiction was divided in three.[26]The National Book Award for Translation was introduced in 1967 and split between two books,[27] the first split.[25]

Children's literature was first recognized as one of seven categories in 1969.[28]Two awards were split in 1973 for the first time.[25]

Publishers dropped their support after 1974 and the National Book Committee was disbanded.[24] In 1975 the temporary administrator"begged" judges not to split awards.[24]

Three of 27 awards were split in 1983[29] before the drastic cutback that also required selection of a single winner in all three categories for 1984.[30][31]

The currently active Poetry category was added in 1991, followed by Young People's Literature in 1996, and Translated Literature in 2018.[32]

"American Book Awards" edit

In 1980 the "National Book Awards" were canceled and replaced by "American Book Awards" on the film industry model (Oscars). "It will be run almost exactly the way the Academy Awards are run," a spokesman told reporters."[33] There would be nearly 30 awards presented in an extravagant TV-friendly ceremony, to winners selected by a standing "academy" of more than 2,000 people in the book industry.[33] Implementation was poor, the episode a disaster.[33]

Most new categories survived only one to four cycles, 1980 to 1983. There were seven awards categories in 1979, twenty-eight in 1980, nineteen in 1983 (plus graphics awards, see below), three in 1984.[34][35]

In 1983 there were 30 award winners in 27 categories including 14 categories of literary achievement in writing for adults; in turn, five for hardcover editions, six for paperback editions, and three general.[29]

1983 awards categories (27)

  • 8 for graphics: Pictorial Design, Typographical Design, Illustration Collected Art, Illustration Original Art, Illustration Photographs, Cover Design, Jacket Design[note 2]
  • 5 for children's literature: (Children's) Fiction hardcover and paperback, Nonfiction, Picture Books hardcover and paperback
  • 14 for adults' literature: General Nonfiction hardcover and paperback, History hardcover and paperback, Biography hardcover and paperback, Science hardcover and paperback, Translation, Fiction hardcover and paperback, Poetry, First Novel, Original Paperback

Late that year, the AAP Board voted to fund a new version of the Awards, which had been "close to expiring from lack of support". At the time, AAP and Harper & Row president Brooks Thomas anticipated "probably fewer than ten" categories, including some "only for original paperbacks, not reprints". Edwin McDowell reported that "many book-industry officials hope ... [to] rank in importance with the $15,000 Booker McConnell Prize for Fiction" (British).[36]

For 1983 publications (January to October) there would be no awards. A committee comprising American Book Awards executive director Barbara Prete and four publishers designed the new and improved program, implemented fall 1984 for a publication year beginning November 1983. They cut the roster to merely three (Nonfiction, Fiction, and First Work of Fiction), moved the ceremony from early spring to late fall, and redefined eligibility to require publication during the calendar year of the awards (roughly, see Annual eligibility).[30] There were only fiction and nonfiction awards in 1986.[37]

In 1987 the "National" award returned in name. Covering the November ceremony, Edwin McDowell of The New York Times remarked upon the recurring changes in format and contrasted 1983 in particular, when there were 96 finalists in 27 awards categories (listed above).

The surviving awards for general Fiction and Nonfiction, now with precisely five finalists each, were administered by National Book Awards, Inc., whose Chairman of the Board was the president of Hearst Trade Book Group. He declaimed that "Book people are really not actors, and there's a realization now that we should not try to reward things like who did the best book blurb."[38] The fixed number five finalists was retained through 2012,[39] while the number of book categories has doubled with the addition of Poetry in 1991 and Young People's Literature in 1996.[8] Beginning with 2013, the Foundation announced there would be a "longlist" of 10 titles in each of the four categories in September (40 titles), followed by a "finalist" list of 5 titles in October (20 titles), and then the winners in November (4 titles).[11] In 2018 a fifth award category was announced, the National Book Award for Translated Literature.[40] It is for living translators and authors and for fiction and non-fiction. The foundation previously gave a translation award from 1967-1983, but did not require the author to be living and was for fiction only.

Annual eligibility edit

A book must be published "between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year" to be eligible. Its publisher must complete a nomination in the spring and mail copies to the panelists. The panelists read all the valid nominees during this time, and the panels compile shortlists in September.[39][41]

The pre-war awards were announced in the winter, usually February, and described with reference to the year of publication, if any; for example, "National Book Awards for 1939" announced February 1940.[42] The 1950 to 1983 awards, as the National Book Foundation labeled them, were presented in the spring to works published during the preceding calendar year.[29][43] Since 1984 the NBA have been presented in the fall, usually November, to books published roughly during the calendar year (December of the previous year through November).[30][41]

Medal for Distinguished Contribution (lifetime) edit

The Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Foundation at the final ceremony for the Book Awards. The medal comes with a cash prize of $10,000. It recognizes someone who "has enriched [American] literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work."[5]

Five of the seventeen medalists through 2004 were previous National Book Award winners (Bellow, Welty, McCullough, Updike, and Roth, all but McCullough for fiction). Between 2005 and 2018, all of the medalists except Leonard and Allende have been previous National Book Award winners.

Literarian Award for Outstanding Service (lifetime) edit

The Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Foundation annually from 2005. It recognizes "an individual for outstanding service to the American literary community, whose life and work exemplify the goals of the National Book Foundation to expand the audience for literature and to enhance the cultural value of literature in America."[57]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Both on page 21: Vincent Sheean's autobiography Personal History advertised by Doubleday, Doran; Anne Morrow Lindbergh's North to the Orient advertised by Harcourt, Brace & Co.
      By 1937/38, if not earlier, there would be "National Book Award Editions" of some books.
  2. ^ Only seven graphics awards are listed here, as in the contemporary source. Multiple sources say 27 and 19.

References edit

  1. ^ "National Book Award" 2009-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, Infoplease: Arts and Entertainment: Awards: Book, Magazine, Newspaper Awards. Infoplease.com. Retrieved before 2011-10.
  2. ^ "Seattle's Egan wins National Book Award" 2010-04-09 at the Wayback Machine, Mary Ann Gwynn, The Seattle Times, November 15, 2006. Retrieved before 2011-10.
  3. ^ a b c "Books and Authors", The New York Times, 1936-04-12, page BR12.
  4. ^ a b c "Lewis is Scornful of Radio Culture: Nothing Ever Will Replace the Old-Fashioned Book ...", The New York Times, 1936-05-12, page 25.
  5. ^ a b National Book Foundation: Awards: "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved before 2012-01-07.
  6. ^ National Book Foundation: "Mission and History of the National Book Foundation" 2023-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  7. ^ National Book Foundation: About Us: "Frequently Asked Questions" 2017-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  8. ^ a b National Book Foundation: Awards: "National Book Award Winners: 1950 – 2009" 2012-05-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  9. ^ National Book Foundation: About Us: "History of the National Book Awards" 2018-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved before 2011-10.
  10. ^ "How the National Book Awards Work". www.nationalbook.org. from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  11. ^ a b "National Book Foundation Announces Changes in the National Book Awards Review and Selection Process". National Book Award. January 15, 2013. from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  12. ^ "Book Awards Honor Translated Literature For The First Time Since 1983". NPR.org. from the original on 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  13. ^ National Book Foundation: Awards: "National Book Award Selection Process" 2008-06-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved before 2011-10.
  14. ^ a b "5 Honors Awarded on the Year's Books: Authors of Preferred Volumes Hailed at Luncheon of Booksellers Group", The New York Times, 1937-02-26, page 23.
  15. ^ a b c
    "Booksellers Give Prize to 'Citadel': Cronin's Work About Doctors Their Favorite--'Mme. Curie' Gets Non-Fiction Award TWO OTHERS WIN HONORS Fadiman Is 'Not Interested' in What Pulitzer Committee Thinks of Selections", The New York Times 1938-03-02, page 14.
  16. ^ a b "Book About Plants Receives Award: Dr. Fairchild's 'Garden' Work Cited by Booksellers", The New York Times 1939-02-15, page 20.
  17. ^ "1939 Book Awards Given by Critics: Elgin Groseclose's 'Ararat' is Picked as Work Which Failed to Get Due Recognition", The New York Times, 1940-02-14, page 25.
  18. ^ "Books and Authors", The New York Times, 1941-02-16, page BR12.
  19. ^ a b "Neglected Author Gets High Honor: 1941 Book Award Presented to George Perry for 'Hold Autumn In Your Hand'", The New York Times, 1942-02-11, page 18.
  20. ^ "The Booksellers of America Announce Their National Awards", The New York Times, February 23, 1941, page BR21.
    • More than half of the advertisement featured the three prize books of 1937, announced earlier that month. The "Discovery of the Year" sported a dust jacket with stylized "First Prize" ribbon affixed and the Novel was promoted in its "National Book Award Edition" (also advertised ten days earlier: February 13, 1941, page 17).
  21. ^ a b "Book Trade Plans to Honor Writers: Industry Will Award Annual Prizes for Poetry, Fiction ...", The New York Times, January 22, 1950, page 68.
  22. ^ "Host of Celebrated Writers To Attend Book Award Dinner". Seminole Producer. 26 March 1950. p. 7. from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Book Award Goes to 'La Vida'; 'The Fixer' Wins Fiction Prize: 3 Others Will Be Honored at a Cerem[ony] ...", The New York Times, March 5, 1967, page 39.
  24. ^ a b c d "The Last of the National Book Awards?" (The Guest Word), William Cole, The New York Times, May 4, 1975, page 288.
  25. ^ a b c "2 Book Awards Split for First Time" Archived 2018-03-18 at archive.today, Eric Pace, The New York Times, April 11, 1973. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  26. ^ "National Book Awards – 1964" 2021-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-31. Compare 1963 (via menu at top of page).
  27. ^ "National Book Awards – 1967" 2019-03-28 at the Wayback Machine. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-31. Compare 1966 (via menu at top of page).
  28. ^ "National Book Awards – 1969" 2018-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-31. Compare 1968 (via menu at top of page).
  29. ^ a b c "American Book Awards Announced", Edwin McDowell, The New York Times, April 14, 1983, page C30.
  30. ^ a b c "11 Nominated for American Book Awards", Edwin McDowell, The New York Times, October 18, 1984, page C25.
  31. ^ "Three Writers Win Book Awards". The New York Times, November 16, 1984, page C32.
  32. ^ "National Book Foundation - Browse Awards by Year". National Book Foundation. from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  33. ^ a b c "The Short, Unsuccessful Life of the American Book Awards" 2019-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, Craig Fehrman, The New York Times, October 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  34. ^ "National Book Awards – 1979" 2019-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
  35. ^ "National Book Awards – 1980" 2020-04-26 at the Wayback Machine. National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-04. Compare 1983 and 1984 (via menu at top of page).
  36. ^ "Publishing: New Life for American Book Awards", Edwin McDowell, The New York Times, November 4, 1983, page C28.
  37. ^ "National Book Awards - 1986". National Book Foundation. from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  38. ^ "An Upset at the Book Awards", Edwin McDowell, The New York Times, November 10, 1987, page C13.
  39. ^ a b National Book Foundation: Awards: "How the National Book Awards Work" 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  40. ^ Alexandra Alter (January 31, 2018). "The Globalization of the National Book Awards". The New York Times. from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  41. ^ a b "National Book Awards Entry Rules & Guidelines, The National Book Foundation". www.nationalbook.org. from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  42. ^ "1939 Book Awards Given by Critics: Elgin Groseclose's 'Ararat' is Picked as Work Which Failed to Get Due Recognition", The New York Times, February 14, 1940, page 25.
  43. ^ "Book Publishers Make 3 Awards: ... Gold Plaques", The New York Times, March 17, 1950, page 21.
  44. ^ Alison Flood (September 20, 2012). "Elmore Leonard to be honoured by National Book Foundation". The Guardian. from the original on 2020-11-15. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  45. ^ "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, 2013". from the original on 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  46. ^ Baker, Jeff (September 9, 2014). "Ursula K. Le Guin wins big honor from National Book Foundation". oregonlive.com. from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  47. ^ "The 2014 Medalist For Distinguished Contribution To American Letters". September 9, 2014. from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  48. ^ "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". National Book Foundation. from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  49. ^ "Robert A. Caro to Receive 2016 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". penguinrandomhouse.com. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  50. ^ "The National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". National Book Foundation. from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  51. ^ "Watch the 2018 National Book Awards Ceremony". 9 November 2018. from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  52. ^ "NBF to Present Pioneering Writer Edmund White with lifetime achievement award". 12 September 2019. from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  53. ^ "National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Walter Mosley". National Book Foundation. 10 September 2020. from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  54. ^ "Karen Tei Yamashita to receive honorary National Book Award". Associated Press. 10 September 2021. from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  55. ^ "Imani Perry Wins National Book Award for 'South to America". The New York Times. 16 November 2022. from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  56. ^ Italie, Hillel (8 September 2023). "Poet Rita Dove to receive an honorary National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  57. ^ National Book Foundation: Awards: "Literarian Award – 2005" 2011-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved before 2011-10.
  58. ^ Leslie Kaufman (November 14, 2012). "Novel About Racial Injustice Wins National Book Award". The New York Times. from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  59. ^ "The Literarian Award, 2013". from the original on 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  60. ^ "Literacy advocate Kyle Zimmer to receive honorary National Book Award". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  61. ^ "The Literarian Award, 2015". National Book Foundation. from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  62. ^ "Cave Canem » Blog Archive » Cave Canem Awarded the 2016 Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation". cavecanempoets.org. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  63. ^ Williams, John (2017-09-20). "Richard Robinson of Scholastic Honored for Lifetime of Work in Children's Publishing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  64. ^ Italie, Hillel (2018-09-18). "Sloan Foundation programmer to receive honorary book award". AP NEWS. from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  65. ^ "NBF to honor Oren Teicher with lifetime achievement award". National Book Foundation. 2019-09-09. from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  66. ^ "National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Carolyn Reidy". National Book Foundation. 7 September 2020. from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  67. ^ "National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Nancy Pearl". National Book Foundation. 7 September 2021. from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  68. ^ "ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall Receives Literarian Award from National Book Foundation". News and Press Center. 2022-09-07. from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  69. ^ McMurtrie, John (6 September 2023). "The quintessential California bookseller behind City Lights gets his moment". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

External links edit

  • Official website  

national, book, award, this, article, united, states, other, countries, disambiguation, annual, literary, awards, final, ceremony, every, november, national, book, foundation, presents, lifetime, achievement, awards, authors, were, established, 1936, american,. This article is for the National Book Award of the United States For other countries see National Book Awards disambiguation The National Book Awards NBA are a set of annual U S literary awards 1 2 At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors The National Book Awards were established in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association 3 4 abandoned during World War II and re established by three book industry organizations in 1950 Non U S authors and publishers were eligible for the pre war awards Since then they are presented to U S authors for books published in the United States roughly during the award year National Book AwardLogo of National Book AwardsSponsored byU S books industryDateNovemberHosted byNational Book FoundationFirst awardedOriginal version 1936 42 1935 41 publications new version 1950 1949 publications Last awardedActiveWebsitenationalbook wbr orgThe medallions of National Book AwardsThe nonprofit National Book Foundation was established in 1988 to administer and enhance the National Book Awards and move beyond them into the fields of education and literacy primarily by sponsoring public appearances by writers 5 Its mission is to celebrate the best literature in America expand its audience and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture 6 In 2018 there were 1 637 books nominated for the five award categories led by the Nonfiction category with 546 nominations The 2018 ceremony was held on November 14 in New York City 7 Contents 1 Winners and finalists 2 Process 3 History 3 1 Pre war awards by booksellers 3 2 Reestablished by the book industry 3 3 New categories and split awards 3 4 American Book Awards 4 Annual eligibility 5 Medal for Distinguished Contribution lifetime 6 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service lifetime 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksWinners and finalists editList of winners of the National Book Award winners only 8 National Book Award for Fiction winners and finalists National Book Award for Nonfiction winners and finalists National Book Award for Poetry winners and finalists National Book Award for Translated Literature winners and finalists National Book Award for Young People s Literature winners and finalists Process editNational Book Awards are given to one book author annually in each of five categories fiction nonfiction poetry translation and young people s literature There have previously been many other categories but they have been retired or subsumed in the existing five The National Book Foundation also presents two lifetime achievement awards each year the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community 9 Only publishers nominate books for the National Book Awards but panelists may request particular nominations from publishers Each panel comprises five judges including writers librarians booksellers and literary critics In 2013 the judging panels were expanded to include experts in the literary field in addition to established writers 10 Each panel considers hundreds of books each year in each of the five categories In 2013 the Foundation announced the addition of a National Book Awards longlist announced in September and consisting of ten titles per category to precede the finalists list announced in October and comprising five titles per category 11 The fifth category the National Book Award for Translated Literature was added in 2018 recognizing works in translation for the first time since 1983 12 At the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner held in New York City each November the chair of each judging panel announces the winners of the year s National Book Awards Each finalist receives 1 000 a medal and a citation written by the judging panel winners get 10 000 and a bronze sculpture 13 History editPre war awards by booksellers edit The first National Book Awards were presented in May 1936 at the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association one month after The New York Times reported institution of the new annual award The winners were authors of four 1935 books selected by a vote of ABA members Virginia Kirkus chaired the central committee of seven including the ABA president three bookshops Publishers Weekly and American News Company Three were called the most distinguished of 1935 novel biography and general nonfiction and one the most original novel 3 4 Two of the books were advertised by their publishers as The most distinguished autobiography of 1935 and The most distinguished general non fiction book of 1935 in NYTimes on May 12 the same day that the newspaper reported yesterday s awards note 1 For the next six years 1937 to 1942 the awards were announced from mid February to early March 14 15 16 17 18 19 The Most Distinguished Nonfiction Biography and Novel for 1935 and 1936 3 4 14 were reduced to two and termed Favorite Nonfiction and Fiction beginning 1937 Master of ceremonies Clifton Fadiman declined to consider the Pulitzer Prizes not yet announced in February 1938 as potential ratifications Unlike the Pulitzer Prize committee the booksellers merely vote for their favorite books They do not say it is the best book or the one that will elevate the standard of manhood or womanhood Twenty years from now we can decide which are the masterpieces This year we can only decide which books we enjoyed reading the most 15 The Bookseller Discovery officially recognized outstanding merit which failed to receive adequate sales and recognition quoted by NYT 16 Finally that award stood alone for 1941 and the New York Times frankly called it a sort of consolation prize that the booksellers hope will draw attention to his work 19 The winning authors and books were selected by a nationwide poll of booksellers ABA members during the 1937 38 cycle ballots were received from 319 stores triple the number who voted in the first rendition early in 1936 15 In a 1941 advertisement the Booksellers described the significance of the awards thus 20 In effect his ballot says Of all the books of the year these are the three I enjoyed most in two ways I enjoyed reading them and I enjoyed selling them And that to a bookseller means people who on his recommendation read and enjoyed and sent in other people who also read and enjoyed The National Book Awards give you perhaps a greater guarantee of reading pleasure than any other literary prizes Reestablished by the book industry edit In January 1950 three book industry organizations announced that works by Americans published here would be recognized by three awards in March at the annual convention There would be three distinct panels of five judges 21 The fifteen judges were Elmer Davis John Kieran Henry Steele Commager Fairfield Osborn and Norman Cousins for non fiction Mary Colum Glenway Wescott Max Gissin W G Rogers and Malcolm Cowley for fiction and W H Auden Louise Bogan Babett Duetsch Horace Gregory and Louise Untermeyer for poetry 22 The awards were administered by the National Book Committee from 1950 to 1974 when the Committee disbanded after publishers withdrew support 23 24 In 1950 and 1967 at least the prize sponsors were three book industry organizations American Booksellers Association the American Book Publishers Council and the Book Manufacturers Institute 21 23 In 1973 NYTimes still called the National Book Committee a nonprofit funded by publishers and by organizations involved in the book trade 25 A temporary Committee on Awards Policy handled 1975 24 New categories and split awards edit In 1964 Nonfiction was divided in three 26 The National Book Award for Translation was introduced in 1967 and split between two books 27 the first split 25 Children s literature was first recognized as one of seven categories in 1969 28 Two awards were split in 1973 for the first time 25 Publishers dropped their support after 1974 and the National Book Committee was disbanded 24 In 1975 the temporary administrator begged judges not to split awards 24 Three of 27 awards were split in 1983 29 before the drastic cutback that also required selection of a single winner in all three categories for 1984 30 31 The currently active Poetry category was added in 1991 followed by Young People s Literature in 1996 and Translated Literature in 2018 32 American Book Awards edit In 1980 the National Book Awards were canceled and replaced by American Book Awards on the film industry model Oscars It will be run almost exactly the way the Academy Awards are run a spokesman told reporters 33 There would be nearly 30 awards presented in an extravagant TV friendly ceremony to winners selected by a standing academy of more than 2 000 people in the book industry 33 Implementation was poor the episode a disaster 33 Most new categories survived only one to four cycles 1980 to 1983 There were seven awards categories in 1979 twenty eight in 1980 nineteen in 1983 plus graphics awards see below three in 1984 34 35 In 1983 there were 30 award winners in 27 categories including 14 categories of literary achievement in writing for adults in turn five for hardcover editions six for paperback editions and three general 29 1983 awards categories 27 8 for graphics Pictorial Design Typographical Design Illustration Collected Art Illustration Original Art Illustration Photographs Cover Design Jacket Design note 2 5 for children s literature Children s Fiction hardcover and paperback Nonfiction Picture Books hardcover and paperback 14 for adults literature General Nonfiction hardcover and paperback History hardcover and paperback Biography hardcover and paperback Science hardcover and paperback Translation Fiction hardcover and paperback Poetry First Novel Original PaperbackLate that year the AAP Board voted to fund a new version of the Awards which had been close to expiring from lack of support At the time AAP and Harper amp Row president Brooks Thomas anticipated probably fewer than ten categories including some only for original paperbacks not reprints Edwin McDowell reported that many book industry officials hope to rank in importance with the 15 000 Booker McConnell Prize for Fiction British 36 For 1983 publications January to October there would be no awards A committee comprising American Book Awards executive director Barbara Prete and four publishers designed the new and improved program implemented fall 1984 for a publication year beginning November 1983 They cut the roster to merely three Nonfiction Fiction and First Work of Fiction moved the ceremony from early spring to late fall and redefined eligibility to require publication during the calendar year of the awards roughly see Annual eligibility 30 There were only fiction and nonfiction awards in 1986 37 In 1987 the National award returned in name Covering the November ceremony Edwin McDowell of The New York Times remarked upon the recurring changes in format and contrasted 1983 in particular when there were 96 finalists in 27 awards categories listed above The surviving awards for general Fiction and Nonfiction now with precisely five finalists each were administered by National Book Awards Inc whose Chairman of the Board was the president of Hearst Trade Book Group He declaimed that Book people are really not actors and there s a realization now that we should not try to reward things like who did the best book blurb 38 The fixed number five finalists was retained through 2012 39 while the number of book categories has doubled with the addition of Poetry in 1991 and Young People s Literature in 1996 8 Beginning with 2013 the Foundation announced there would be a longlist of 10 titles in each of the four categories in September 40 titles followed by a finalist list of 5 titles in October 20 titles and then the winners in November 4 titles 11 In 2018 a fifth award category was announced the National Book Award for Translated Literature 40 It is for living translators and authors and for fiction and non fiction The foundation previously gave a translation award from 1967 1983 but did not require the author to be living and was for fiction only Annual eligibility editA book must be published between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year to be eligible Its publisher must complete a nomination in the spring and mail copies to the panelists The panelists read all the valid nominees during this time and the panels compile shortlists in September 39 41 The pre war awards were announced in the winter usually February and described with reference to the year of publication if any for example National Book Awards for 1939 announced February 1940 42 The 1950 to 1983 awards as the National Book Foundation labeled them were presented in the spring to works published during the preceding calendar year 29 43 Since 1984 the NBA have been presented in the fall usually November to books published roughly during the calendar year December of the previous year through November 30 41 Medal for Distinguished Contribution lifetime editThe Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Foundation at the final ceremony for the Book Awards The medal comes with a cash prize of 10 000 It recognizes someone who has enriched American literary heritage over a life of service or a corpus of work 5 1988 Jason Epstein 1989 Daniel Boorstin 1990 Saul Bellow 1991 Eudora Welty 1992 James Laughlin 1993 Clifton Fadiman 1994 Gwendolyn Brooks 1995 David McCullough 1996 Toni Morrison 1997 Studs Terkel 1998 John Updike 1999 Oprah Winfrey 2000 Ray Bradbury 2001 Arthur Miller 2002 Philip Roth 2003 Stephen King 2004 Judy Blume 2005 Norman Mailer 2006 Adrienne Rich 2007 Joan Didion 2008 Maxine Hong Kingston 2009 Gore Vidal 2010 Tom Wolfe 2011 John Ashbery 2012 Elmore Leonard 44 2013 E L Doctorow 45 2014 Ursula Le Guin 46 47 2015 Don DeLillo 48 2016 Robert Caro 49 2017 E Annie Proulx 50 2018 Isabel Allende 51 2019 Edmund White 52 2020 Walter Mosley 53 2021 Karen Tei Yamashita 54 2022 Art Spiegelman 55 2023 Rita Dove 56 Five of the seventeen medalists through 2004 were previous National Book Award winners Bellow Welty McCullough Updike and Roth all but McCullough for fiction Between 2005 and 2018 all of the medalists except Leonard and Allende have been previous National Book Award winners Literarian Award for Outstanding Service lifetime editThe Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Foundation annually from 2005 It recognizes an individual for outstanding service to the American literary community whose life and work exemplify the goals of the National Book Foundation to expand the audience for literature and to enhance the cultural value of literature in America 57 2005 Lawrence Ferlinghetti 2006 Robert B Silvers and Barbara Epstein 2007 Terry Gross 2008 Barney Rosset 2009 Dave Eggers 2010 Joan Ganz Cooney 2011 Mitchell Kaplan 2012 Arthur Sulzberger Jr 58 2013 Maya Angelou 59 2014 Kyle Zimmer 60 2015 James Patterson 61 2016 Cave Canem Foundation 62 2017 Richard Robinson 63 2018 Doron Weber 64 2019 Oren J Teicher 65 2020 Carolyn Reidy 66 2021 Nancy Pearl 67 2022 Tracie D Hall 68 2023 Paul Yamazaki 69 See also edit nbsp Children and Young Adult Literature portalPulitzer Prize American Book Awards Booker Prize Gelett Burgess Children s Book Awards Commonwealth Writers Prize Prix Goncourt Costa Book Awards formerly the Whitbread Book Awards Governor General s Award Literary festival Innovations in Reading PrizeNotes edit Both on page 21 Vincent Sheean s autobiography Personal History advertised by Doubleday Doran Anne Morrow Lindbergh s North to the Orient advertised by Harcourt Brace amp Co By 1937 38 if not earlier there would be National Book Award Editions of some books Only seven graphics awards are listed here as in the contemporary source Multiple sources say 27 and 19 References edit National Book Award Archived 2009 05 17 at the Wayback Machine Infoplease Arts and Entertainment Awards Book Magazine Newspaper Awards Infoplease com Retrieved before 2011 10 Seattle s Egan wins National Book Award Archived 2010 04 09 at the Wayback Machine Mary Ann Gwynn The Seattle Times November 15 2006 Retrieved before 2011 10 a b c Books and Authors The New York Times 1936 04 12 page BR12 a b c Lewis is Scornful of Radio Culture Nothing Ever Will Replace the Old Fashioned Book The New York Times 1936 05 12 page 25 a b National Book Foundation Awards Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Archived 2011 03 10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved before 2012 01 07 National Book Foundation Mission and History of the National Book Foundation Archived 2023 08 05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2019 01 03 National Book Foundation About Us Frequently Asked Questions Archived 2017 11 19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012 01 05 a b National Book Foundation Awards National Book Award Winners 1950 2009 Archived 2012 05 28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012 01 05 National Book Foundation About Us History of the National Book Awards Archived 2018 10 03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved before 2011 10 How the National Book Awards Work www nationalbook org Archived from the original on 9 June 2011 Retrieved 27 November 2017 a b National Book Foundation Announces Changes in the National Book Awards Review and Selection Process National Book Award January 15 2013 Archived from the original on 2013 01 18 Retrieved 2012 01 15 Book Awards Honor Translated Literature For The First Time Since 1983 NPR org Archived from the original on 2019 01 01 Retrieved 2019 01 03 National Book Foundation Awards National Book Award Selection Process Archived 2008 06 13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved before 2011 10 a b 5 Honors Awarded on the Year s Books Authors of Preferred Volumes Hailed at Luncheon of Booksellers Group The New York Times 1937 02 26 page 23 a b c Booksellers Give Prize to Citadel Cronin s Work About Doctors Their Favorite Mme Curie Gets Non Fiction Award TWO OTHERS WIN HONORS Fadiman Is Not Interested in What Pulitzer Committee Thinks of Selections The New York Times 1938 03 02 page 14 a b Book About Plants Receives Award Dr Fairchild s Garden Work Cited by Booksellers The New York Times 1939 02 15 page 20 1939 Book Awards Given by Critics Elgin Groseclose s Ararat is Picked as Work Which Failed to Get Due Recognition The New York Times 1940 02 14 page 25 Books and Authors The New York Times 1941 02 16 page BR12 a b Neglected Author Gets High Honor 1941 Book Award Presented to George Perry for Hold Autumn In Your Hand The New York Times 1942 02 11 page 18 The Booksellers of America Announce Their National Awards The New York Times February 23 1941 page BR21 More than half of the advertisement featured the three prize books of 1937 announced earlier that month The Discovery of the Year sported a dust jacket with stylized First Prize ribbon affixed and the Novel was promoted in its National Book Award Edition also advertised ten days earlier February 13 1941 page 17 a b Book Trade Plans to Honor Writers Industry Will Award Annual Prizes for Poetry Fiction The New York Times January 22 1950 page 68 Host of Celebrated Writers To Attend Book Award Dinner Seminole Producer 26 March 1950 p 7 Archived from the original on 10 November 2022 Retrieved 10 November 2022 a b Book Award Goes to La Vida The Fixer Wins Fiction Prize 3 Others Will Be Honored at a Cerem ony The New York Times March 5 1967 page 39 a b c d The Last of the National Book Awards The Guest Word William Cole The New York Times May 4 1975 page 288 a b c 2 Book Awards Split for First Time Archived 2018 03 18 at archive today Eric Pace The New York Times April 11 1973 Retrieved 2012 01 25 National Book Awards 1964 Archived 2021 04 15 at the Wayback Machine National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 01 31 Compare 1963 via menu at top of page National Book Awards 1967 Archived 2019 03 28 at the Wayback Machine National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 01 31 Compare 1966 via menu at top of page National Book Awards 1969 Archived 2018 10 28 at the Wayback Machine National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 01 31 Compare 1968 via menu at top of page a b c American Book Awards Announced Edwin McDowell The New York Times April 14 1983 page C30 a b c 11 Nominated for American Book Awards Edwin McDowell The New York Times October 18 1984 page C25 Three Writers Win Book Awards The New York Times November 16 1984 page C32 National Book Foundation Browse Awards by Year National Book Foundation Archived from the original on 2023 02 27 Retrieved 2019 01 03 a b c The Short Unsuccessful Life of the American Book Awards Archived 2019 09 03 at the Wayback Machine Craig Fehrman The New York Times October 28 2011 Retrieved 2011 10 31 National Book Awards 1979 Archived 2019 06 20 at the Wayback Machine National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 02 04 National Book Awards 1980 Archived 2020 04 26 at the Wayback Machine National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 02 04 Compare 1983 and 1984 via menu at top of page Publishing New Life for American Book Awards Edwin McDowell The New York Times November 4 1983 page C28 National Book Awards 1986 National Book Foundation Archived from the original on 28 October 2018 Retrieved 18 April 2016 An Upset at the Book Awards Edwin McDowell The New York Times November 10 1987 page C13 a b National Book Foundation Awards How the National Book Awards Work Archived 2011 06 09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012 01 05 Alexandra Alter January 31 2018 The Globalization of the National Book Awards The New York Times Archived from the original on November 15 2018 Retrieved February 1 2018 a b National Book Awards Entry Rules amp Guidelines The National Book Foundation www nationalbook org Archived from the original on 19 November 2017 Retrieved 27 November 2017 1939 Book Awards Given by Critics Elgin Groseclose s Ararat is Picked as Work Which Failed to Get Due Recognition The New York Times February 14 1940 page 25 Book Publishers Make 3 Awards Gold Plaques The New York Times March 17 1950 page 21 Alison Flood September 20 2012 Elmore Leonard to be honoured by National Book Foundation The Guardian Archived from the original on 2020 11 15 Retrieved 2012 09 20 Distinguished Contribution to American Letters 2013 Archived from the original on 2014 01 05 Retrieved 2014 01 04 Baker Jeff September 9 2014 Ursula K Le Guin wins big honor from National Book Foundation oregonlive com Archived from the original on 2014 09 10 Retrieved 2014 09 09 The 2014 Medalist For Distinguished Contribution To American Letters September 9 2014 Archived from the original on November 24 2015 Retrieved September 9 2014 Distinguished Contribution to American Letters National Book Foundation Archived from the original on March 10 2011 Retrieved November 20 2015 Robert A Caro to Receive 2016 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters penguinrandomhouse com Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 27 November 2017 The National Book Foundation s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters National Book Foundation Archived from the original on March 10 2011 Retrieved May 3 2018 Watch the 2018 National Book Awards Ceremony 9 November 2018 Archived from the original on 3 January 2020 Retrieved 16 November 2018 NBF to Present Pioneering Writer Edmund White with lifetime achievement award 12 September 2019 Archived from the original on 19 December 2019 Retrieved 13 September 2019 National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Walter Mosley National Book Foundation 10 September 2020 Archived from the original on 25 September 2020 Retrieved 27 September 2020 Karen Tei Yamashita to receive honorary National Book Award Associated Press 10 September 2021 Archived from the original on 10 September 2021 Retrieved 10 September 2021 Imani Perry Wins National Book Award for South to America The New York Times 16 November 2022 Archived from the original on 17 November 2022 Retrieved 17 November 2022 Italie Hillel 8 September 2023 Poet Rita Dove to receive an honorary National Book Award medal for lifetime achievement Associated Press Retrieved 7 February 2024 National Book Foundation Awards Literarian Award 2005 Archived 2011 10 15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved before 2011 10 Leslie Kaufman November 14 2012 Novel About Racial Injustice Wins National Book Award The New York Times Archived from the original on 2021 06 14 Retrieved 2012 11 15 The Literarian Award 2013 Archived from the original on 2015 11 28 Retrieved 2014 01 04 Literacy advocate Kyle Zimmer to receive honorary National Book Award Yahoo News Associated Press September 3 2014 Archived from the original on September 3 2014 Retrieved 2014 09 03 The Literarian Award 2015 National Book Foundation Archived from the original on November 28 2015 Retrieved November 20 2015 Cave Canem Blog Archive Cave Canem Awarded the 2016 Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation cavecanempoets org Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 27 November 2017 Williams John 2017 09 20 Richard Robinson of Scholastic Honored for Lifetime of Work in Children s Publishing The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on 2021 06 07 Retrieved 2019 01 03 Italie Hillel 2018 09 18 Sloan Foundation programmer to receive honorary book award AP NEWS Archived from the original on 2019 01 04 Retrieved 2019 01 03 NBF to honor Oren Teicher with lifetime achievement award National Book Foundation 2019 09 09 Archived from the original on 2019 10 09 Retrieved 2019 09 13 National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Carolyn Reidy National Book Foundation 7 September 2020 Archived from the original on 2020 09 25 Retrieved 2020 09 27 National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to Nancy Pearl National Book Foundation 7 September 2021 Archived from the original on 2021 09 09 Retrieved 2021 09 10 ALA Executive Director Tracie D Hall Receives Literarian Award from National Book Foundation News and Press Center 2022 09 07 Archived from the original on 2022 12 04 Retrieved 2022 11 17 McMurtrie John 6 September 2023 The quintessential California bookseller behind City Lights gets his moment The Los Angeles Times Retrieved 7 February 2024 External links editOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title National Book Award amp oldid 1204532579, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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