The National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, established in 1975,[1] is an annual American literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".[2] Awards are presented annually to books published in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Memoir/Autobiography, Biography, and Criticism.[3]
Books previously published in English are not eligible, such as re-issues and paperback editions. They do consider "translations, short story and essay collections, self-published books, and any titles that fall under the general categories".
The judges are the volunteer directors of the NBCC, who are 24 members serving rotating three-year terms, with eight elected annually by the voting members, namely "professional book review editors and book reviewers".[4] Winners of the awards are announced each year at the NBCC awards ceremony in conjunction with the yearly membership meeting, which takes place in March.