Watch the 2021 National Book Awards Teen Press Conference

Attention students & teachers! The National Book Awards Teen Press Conference is a virtual event—live, online, and accessible from your computers and classrooms. This year’s event continues a decades-long tradition, bringing the excitement of the most prestigious literary award in the country to New York City’s middle and high school students.

School groups were invited to participate in a free, virtual literary event that was curated just for them.

Recorded: Wednesday November 10th at 10:30am-11:30am ET

Watch the event by clicking here.

Kwame Alexander. Photo credit: Portia Wiggins Photography

Hosted by: Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, publisher, and New York Times Bestselling author of 35 books, including Swing, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Booked, Rebound, The Undefeated, and The Crossover. Kwame’s books have been longlisted for the National Book Award, been shortlisted for the UK Carnegie Medal, and won the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Medal, and he has been awarded with The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award Nominations among other awards. He lives and writes from his home in London. When he’s not writing, Kwame’s playing softball with his soon-to-be six feet tall middle school daughter, walking around London listening to audio books, and traveling to schools and libraries across the globe (this year, on Zoom). He is also the writer and executive producer of the Disney Plus TV series based on his novel The Crossover.

What books are featured?

The panel of judges has announced this year’s Finalists for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature:

  • The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
  • Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
  • Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

You can see more about the Finalists and the Longlist here.

Watch the 2021 National Book Awards Finalists Reading


Every year, the National Book Foundation partners with The New School’s Creative Writing Program to present readings by each of the National Book Awards Finalists. It’s a special opportunity to hear these celebrated authors together in one place. The 2021 reading features the Finalists in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature and Young People’s Literature.

The 72nd National Book Awards Ceremony will be broadcast live on November 17, 2021 at 7:00pm ET. Sign up to watch, receive updates about the upcoming ceremony, and discover this year’s Winners in real-time.

Application Portal Open for the Second Round of the Literary Arts Emergency Fund

The application portal for the second round of the Literary Arts Emergency Fund, administered by the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), and the National Book Foundation, is now closed.

Regrants from this fund, which will total $4.3 million, are made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.