Press - National Book Foundation

TODAY anchors share their picks for best summer reads

TODAY, July 2, 2018 - Lisa Lucas speaks with Jenna Bush Hager about the joy and importance of reading. The interview is part of TODAY's "Read More TODAY" series, which aims to get more Americans excited about reading.

HUD And National Book Foundation Work To Promote Reading In Public Housing

Weekend Edition Saturday, NPR, June 2018 - The National Book Foundation's Book Rich Environments program, which has helped put nearly 700,000 new, free books into the hands of families in public housing authorities across the country.

The Globalization of the National Book Awards

The New York Times, Books News, Jan. 31, 2018 - The National Book Awards, among the most prestigious literary prizes, are going global.

2017 National Book Award finalists revealed

CBS This Morning, October 4, 2017 - First on "CBS This Morning," we're announcing the finalists for the 2017 National Book Awards. Among the 20 finalists of the prestigious award, 15 are women.

“Make Art, and Fight the Power”: A Historically Black National Book Awards

New Yorker, November 17, 2016 - Coverage of the 2016 National Book Awards Ceremony.

Ta-Nehisi Coates Wins National Book Award for Nonfiction

The Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2015 - Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose book on race in America tapped into a pressing, national conversation, won the National Book Award for nonfiction Wednesday.

Lisa Lucas, head of the National Book Foundation, wants you to love reading

Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2016 - Lisa Lucas is a rare combination: a high-energy bookish extrovert.
"If I can convince a small fraction of people to feel the same way that I feel about reading," she said, "then I've done my job."

Brief but Spectacular - Lisa Lucas

PBS News Hour - Books "make people who are not like us more human," says Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation. She grew up loving books and their ability to make readers more empathetic to unfamiliar ideas and characters, even when all the reading is done in our bedrooms by ourselves. Lucas gives us her Brief but Spectacular take on how books can connect us to one another.

Jesmyn Ward and David Grann among finalists for National Book Awards

The Washington Post, October 4, 2017 - Novelist Jesmyn Ward and New Yorker writer David Grann are among the finalists for this year's National Book Awards, presented by the National Book Foundation.

National Book Awards, The Industry's Oscars, Awarded In New York

Morning Edition, NPR, November 16, 2017 - The National Book Foundation added some star power to its annual awards ceremony. President Bill Clinton and Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway were on hand as presenters.

Colson Whitehead Wins Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for The Underground Railroad

TIME Magazine, April 10, 2017 - Colson Whitehead won the top award in American literature on Monday, receiving the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel The Underground Railroad. The story of slaves escaping via a literal railroad had previously won the National Book Award and was selected as part of Oprah’s Book Club.

Jesmyn Ward, Masha Gessen win National Book Awards

AP News, November 16, 2017 - Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” a surreal and poetic novel about a struggling family in Mississippi, on Wednesday night won the National Book Award for fiction.

Finalists in fiction, non-fiction named for 2017 National Book Awards

USA Today, October 4, 2017 - The National Book Foundation has announced the 20 finalists for the 2017 National Book Award in fiction, non-fiction, young people's literature and poetry.

MINUTES: News & Notes

The New Republic, November 2016 - The National Book Awards are woke.

National Book Awards: Jesmyn Ward wins major prize for Sing, Unburied, Sing

The Guardian, November 15, 2017 - Author takes out top prize for fiction for the second time with novel about race, poverty, loss and family in America’s south

Lisa Lucas’s Guide to the National Book Awards

Vanity Fair, November 15, 2017 - The National Book Foundation’s executive director says that the increased diversity in winners in recent years is “about addition. A bigger table.”

Cambridge Poet Frank Bidart Wins National Book Award

The Boston Globe, November 17, 2017 · Frank Bidart, one of America's most respected living poets, won the National Book Award for poetry Wednesday for his latest work, "Half-Light: Collected Poems 1965-2016."

Announcing the National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’: This Year, They’re All Women

The CUT, September 25, 2017 - The Cut is thrilled to announce the National Book Foundation’s “5 under 35” for 2017. The annual prize recognizes five young debut fiction writers whose work “promises to leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape,” and each winner is selected by a writer previously honored by the foundation.

Finding a Resilient Spirit at the 2016 National Book Awards

Vulture, November 17, 2016 - Larry Wilmore’s closing remarks as the emcee of last night’s National Book Awards, held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, could have sounded in isolation like a simple affirming joke: “This concludes, ‘BET presents the National Book Awards, with special guest Robert Caro.’”

Jesmyn Ward just became the first woman to win 2 National Book Awards for fiction

The 2017 National Book Awards capped off a stellar year for women writers.

Jesmyn Ward is the first woman to win two National Book Awards for Fiction

Entertainment Weekly, November 16, 2017 - Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing was named the 2017 National Book Award winner in Fiction by four-time finalist Jacqueline Woodson, a judge in the category this year. Ward is the first woman to take home the award since 2012 (Louise Erdich), and was part of a general wave: Where last year all four winners were men, this year only one was (Frank Bidart, Poetry).

Jesmyn Ward, Masha Gessen, Robin Benway, and Frank Bidart Win National Book Awards

Slate, November 16, 2017 - Jesmyn Ward, Masha Gessen, Robin Benway, and Frank Bidart all won National Book Awards on Wednesday night, the New York Times reports. The writers were honored at a star-studded ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street hosted by actress Cynthia Nixon; presenters included Anne Hathaway and Bill Clinton.

National Book Award Winners: Cynthia Nixon Reveals Top Honors for 2017

Parade, November 16, 2017 - Last night, some of the biggest names in today’s literary world gathered for the announcement of the 2017 National Book Award winners. Emmy, Tony and Grammy award-winning actress and activist Cynthia Nixon hosted the 68th annual award ceremony, presenting awards to the winning authors in all four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature.

National Book Foundation’s New 5 Under 35 Honorees Are Writers To Watch

Huffington Post, September 25, 2017 - If you haven’t yet checked out these five debuts, consider this an invitation.

The 16 Most Powerful Quotes About Books & Reading From The 2017 National Book Awards Ceremony

Bustle, November 16, 2017 - Every year, the National Book Awards Ceremony brings together a star-studded cast of authors and readers to bestow the highest honors in U.S. publishing on a few lucky authors. Naturally, the 2017 National Book Awards Ceremony was full of great quotes about the power of books and how readers can change the world.

'Teach This Poem' is the winner of the Innovations in Reading Prize from the National Book Foundation

Mashable, May 10, 2018 - The National Book Foundation announced on Thursday the winner of the 2018 Innovations in Reading Prize, its annual social-impact-through-literature award.