Literarian Award
| National Book Award | |
|---|---|
| Sponsored by | U.S. books industry |
| Date | November |
| Hosted by | National Book Foundation |
| First awarded | 1950 (1949 publications) and 1936–42 (1935–41) |
| Last awarded | Active |
| Official website | nationalbook |
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. 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, 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. Now they are presented to U.S. authors for books published in the United States roughly during the award year.
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. Its mission is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America."
In 2010, there were 1,115 books nominated for the four award categories, led by the Nonfiction category with 435 nominations. The 2011 ceremony was held on November 16 in New York City.
National Book Awards are currently given to one book (author) annually in each of four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. There have been awards in many other categories but they have been retired or subsumed in the current four. 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".
Only publishers nominate books for the NBAs 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.
Each panel considers hundreds of books each year in each of the four categories. Beginning with 2013, the Foundation announced 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). Previous to 2013, there was no longlist and only five finalists per category were announced in October. Panel chairs announce the winners and present the awards at the "National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner" held in New York City each November. All finalists get $1,000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel; winners gets $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
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