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.
This article is for the National Book Award of the United States. For other countries see National Book Awards (disambiguation).National Book Award
U.S. books industry
November
Original version: 1936–42 (1935–41 publications); new version: 1950 (1949 publications)
Active
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]
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]
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][44]
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.[45] 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][46] 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][44]
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."[60]
