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The National Book Foundation announced its fall NBF Presents line-up of 13 events taking place in Colorado, Florida, New York, Texas, and—for the first time—Alaska, from September through November. NBF Presents, the moniker for all of the Foundation’s public programs, represents the Foundation’s commitment to connecting National Book Foundation–honored authors with readers of all ages across the United States, creating spaces for thought-provoking conversations about excellent literature and the power of reading. NBF Presents is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Programming for the fall season will be presented alongside new and returning program partners and held in-person, with select events streamed online at no cost to attendees.
“This year we’re commemorating the 75th anniversary of the National Book Awards, and we’re also marking an important milestone for our national programming: to reach readers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico through free book distributions, author events, and more,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “We are excited to collaborate with authors, readers, and our intrepid programming partners, in communities big and small around the country, to build an inclusive and accessible culture of books and reading.”
National Book Award–honored authors confirmed to appear at NBF Presents events in the fall include: Aaliyah Bilal, Anthony Cody, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Tania James, Shing Yin Khor, Leigh Newman, Julie Otsuka, Robert Samuels, Douglas Stuart, LaToya Watkins, Jenny Xie, and Monica Youn, as well as soon-to-be-announced 2024 National Book Award Longlisters. Confirmed moderators include Lacy M. Johnson, professor, curator, author, and activist; and Lily H. Tuzroyluke, an indigenous writer from Alaska and Canada.
The Foundation’s national public programs are co-presented with book festivals, cultural centers, two- and four-year colleges, and public libraries. Events will be presented with regional book festival partners at the Brooklyn Book Festival, Hay Festival Forum Dallas, Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival, [margins.] Book Festival, and Miami Book Fair, as well as returning university partner Sam Houston State University. In partnership with 49 Writers, Anchorage Public Library, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the National Book Foundation will present its first-ever in-person programming in Alaska.
“49 Writers is committed to supporting Alaska’s literary community and giving writers here the tools they need to tell their stories,” said Alison Miller, Executive Director of 49 Writers. “This exciting program with Leigh Newman does both—it’s a wonderful excuse to gather as a community and learn from someone who knows what it is to write about Alaska. We’re thrilled to partner with the National Book Foundation, and we look forward to welcoming both them and Leigh to Alaska!”
The fall season of NBF Presents events will lead up to the 75th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. On Tuesday, November 19, NYC-area middle and high school students can attend Teens Read the 2024 National Book Awards, an in-person event featuring conversation and book signings with the 2024 National Book Award Finalists for Young People’s Literature. That evening, the annual Finalist Reading, presented in partnership with the NYU Creative Writing Program at NYU Skirball, will gather all 2024 National Book Award Finalists to read excerpts from their honored works. The 2024 Teens Read, Finalist Reading, and National Book Awards Ceremony are all broadcast live for free for readers everywhere. Following the Awards Ceremony, 2024 Longlisters, Finalists, and Winners travel to the Miami Book Fair, for Teens Read – Miami, genre breakout panels, and a one-of-a-kind showcase, featuring all of the 2024 honorees at the Fair on stage alongside Executive Director Ruth Dickey.
The full list of confirmed fall NBF Presents events can be found below with additional details and registration information coming soon, and an updated NBF Presents calendar is available at the Foundation’s website. Events are free unless otherwise noted but tickets are limited, so please RSVP directly at the Foundation or partner website as directed.
Sunday, September 22, 2:00pm MDT
In-Person | Denver, CO
[margins.] Book Festival
NBF Presents: Craft and Culture
Aaliyah Bilal (Temple Folk, 2023 Fiction Finalist) and Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s (The Undocumented Americans, 2020 Nonfiction Finalist) National Book Award–honored debuts actively resist generalization of the characters and communities they depict, stories too rarely seen in popular contemporary literature. Join Bilal and Villavicencio for readings and conversation that go beyond identity to discuss craft and pop culture, and to celebrate Villavicencio’s new novel, Catalina. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with [margins.] Book Festival.
Sunday, September 29
In-Person | Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Book Festival
NBF Presents: Archival (R)evolutions
Join National Book Award–honored authors Tania James (Loot, 2023 Fiction Longlist), Julie Otsuka (The Buddha in the Attic, 2011 Fiction Finalist), and Jenny Xie (Eye Level, 2018 Poetry Finalist; The Rupture Tense, 2022 Poetry Finalist) to consider the power of archives and evolution—within literature, across genres, and in the building of literary communities. The event will feature readings and conversation moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Book Festival.
Saturday, October 12, 7:00pm CDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Dallas, TX
Hay Festival Forum Dallas
NBF Presents: Global Connections
National Book Award honorees Bruna Dantas Lobato (The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel, 2023 Translated Literature Winner; and Blue Light Hours) and Douglas Stuart (Shuggie Bain, 2020 Fiction Finalist; and the international bestseller Young Mungo) bring an international perspective to the page that feels all too familiar: flawed characters endeavoring to love one another. This event will feature readings and conversation on the push and pull of original works and works in translation, and the representation of queer love and pain in fiction. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Hay Festival Forum Dallas.
Tuesday, October 15, 6:00pm CDT
In-Person | Huntsville, TX
Sam Houston State University
NBF Presents: Borders of Literature
Join National Book Award–honored authors Anthony Cody (Borderland Apocrypha, 2020 Poetry Finalist), Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po, 2021 Young People’s Literature Finalist), and LaToya Watkins (Holler, Child, 2023 Fiction Longlist) for readings and conversation on the porous boundaries of genre, of history, and of place. Moderated by Lacy M. Johnson, a Houston-based professor, curator, activist, and author. Presented in partnership with Sam Houston State University, and sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the MFA Program in Creative Writing, Editing, and Publishing.
Wednesday, October 23, 7:00pm AKT
In-Person | Anchorage, AK
49 Writers & Anchorage Public Library
NBF Presents: Preoccupations of Place
Join National Book Award–honored author and Anchorage native Leigh Newman to discuss her short story collection Nobody Gets Out Alive (2022 Fiction Longlist), and preoccupations with people, place, and her home state. The event will include a reading, conversation, and audience Q&A. Moderated by writer Lily H. Tuzroyluke (Sivulliq: Ancestor), and presented in partnership with 49 Writers and the Anchorage Public Library.
Friday, October 25, 7:00pm AKT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Fairbanks, AK
49 Writers & University of Alaska Fairbanks
NBF Presents: Writing Home
The stories in Nobody Gets Out Alive, Leigh Newman’s debut collection Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction, jump between decades and centuries of Alaska’s past and present, at once full of hope and of despair. Join Leigh for a reading and conversation on creative inspiration, craft, and community. Presented in partnership with 49 Writers and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Saturday, November 2
In-Person | Portland, OR
Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival
NBF Presents: Awards and Activism
The National Book Foundation celebrates the 75th National Book Awards Ceremony ahead by first looking back, both at the stories and histories the Awards has recognized, and those left out. Join National Book Award–honored authors Robert Samuels (co-author with Toluse Olorunnipa of His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, 2022 Nonfiction Finalist) and Monica Youn (From From, 2023 Poetry Finalist; Blackacre, 2016 Poetry Longlist; Ignatz, 2010 Poetry Finalist) for readings and conversation on archives and activism. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival.
Tuesday, November 19, 11:00am EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
Symphony Space
Teens Read the 2024 National Book Awards
The day before the National Book Awards, the Finalists in Young People’s Literature come together for a conversation and question-and-answer session with New York City’s middle and high school students. While in-person school groups are limited (more information here), readers of all ages are invited to tune-in to the livestream.
Tuesday, November 19, 7:00pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
NYU Skirball
2024 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
Each year, the National Book Award Finalists in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their honored works. Doors open at 6:30pm, and the program begins at 7:00pm EST. Tickets will be available at nyuskirball.org closer to the event date. The event will be livestreamed at nationalbook.org/watch for readers everywhere. Presented in partnership with the NYU Creative Writing Program.
Wednesday, November 20, 8:00pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
75th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner
Join in the celebration of the 75th National Book Awards! Tune in to the Awards Ceremony for the live announcement of the 2024 Winners of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction, as well as the presentation of the Foundation’s two lifetime achievement awards. While the in-person event is invite-only, the Ceremony is livestreamed for free for readers everywhere—register to watch at nationalbook.org/watch.
Friday, November 22, 10:00am EST
In-Person | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
Teens Read the 2024 National Book Awards – Miami
The 2024 National Book Award–honored authors in Young People’s Literature visit the Miami Book Fair to share from and about their books, and answer questions from Miami-Dade County students. Presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair. For more information and to RSVP, contact Rachel Gil de Gibaja at rgildegi@mdc.edu.
Saturday, November 23, All Day
In-Person | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
NBF Presents at the Miami Book Fair
Each fall for over a decade, the Miami Book Fair invites all the authors and translators Longlisted for the National Book Awards to the Fair. Throughout Saturday, the Longlisters, Finalists, and Winners of the National Book Awards gather for breakout panels by genre to read from and discuss their work and what it means to be a National Book Award–honored author. Events will be moderated by members of the National Book Foundation staff, also known as Team Book, and are presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair.
Saturday, November 23
In-Person | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
NBF Presents: An Evening with the National Book Awards
Join us to celebrate 75 years of the National Book Awards and be a part of Team Book history! For more than a decade, the Miami Book Fair and National Book Foundation have joined together to present the biggest in-person showcase of National Book Award honorees anywhere in the country. 2024 honored authors across all five National Book Award categories (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature) will share rapid-fire readings from their recognized works and be interviewed by the National Book Foundation’s Executive Director, Ruth Dickey. Full line-up to be announced. Presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair.
