National Book Award

This article is for the National Book Award of the United States. For other countries see National Book Awards (disambiguation).

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 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.

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]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Books and Authors", The New York Times, 1936-04-12, page BR12.
  4. ^ "Lewis is Scornful of Radio Culture: Nothing Ever Will Replace the Old-Fashioned Book ...", The New York Times, 1936-05-12, page 25.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference letters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ National Book Foundation: "Mission and History of the National Book Foundation" Archived 2023-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  7. ^ National Book Foundation: About Us: "Frequently Asked Questions" Archived 2017-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-01-05.