Awards season is here, and last night, the National Book Awards announced their picks for best book of the year in five different categories. The National Book Awards began in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, took a break during World War II, and then resumed under the leadership of several collaborating book industry organizations in 1950. A few decades later, the National Book Foundation took over, with the goal of ensuring these books are not only honored but that their impact is felt across the country in a real, meaningful way.
The National Book Awards honor books written by U.S. authors for books published in the United States. The five categories include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. Starting in 2013, the Foundation elected to present a longlist in each category, composed of ten titles and released in September. Those longlists are whittled down to a shortlist and shared in October, as a run-up to the awards. Finalists each take home $1,000, while the winner in each category received $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
Here are this year’s winners in each of the categories:
- Fiction: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine
- Nonfiction: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Poetry: The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems by Patricia Smith
- Translated Literature: We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers
- Young People’s Literature: The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri
In addition to the awards for the above categories, the Literarian Award for lifetime achievement was presented to author Roxane Gay and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters was give to George Saunders.
More information about the National Book Awards, including video from the ceremony and the short lists in each category, is available on their website.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
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