Subscribe to our newsletter
New York, NY (March 25, 2026) – The National Book Foundation today announced the opening of submissions for the 77th National Book Awards. The Foundation also announced its 25 judges for this year’s Awards, in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.
“Our 25 extraordinary judges are about to embark upon a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Over the next few months, they will read widely and deeply in order to select ten Longlisted titles in their respective categories—books that will educate, entertain, and inspire readers for years to come. We are immensely grateful for their essential work, which enlivens the Foundation’s mission to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, connect books with readers of all ages, and champion the literary arts as a vital part of our culture.”
This year’s judges include writers, academics, booksellers, critics, editors, scientists, literary arts administrators, and translators from across the country and around the globe. Among the panelists are National Book Award Winners, Finalists, and Longlisters, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. The panelists have been honored by the International Dublin Literary Award; the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award; the Griffin Prize; the Kingsley Tufts Award; the Kirkus Prize, the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature; the Minnesota Book Award; the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Oregon Book Award; the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award; the PEN/Faulkner Award; the Stonewall Book Award; and have received fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Aspen Institute, the Fulbright Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the MacDowell Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, among others.
The judges for the 2026 National Book Awards will select 50 Longlist titles, ten per category, to be announced mid-September, and 25 Finalists to be announced on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. Winners in all five categories will be announced in-person at the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. The Ceremony will be livestreamed for readers everywhere.
The complete list of deadlines and guidelines for the National Book Awards can be found on our website.
Fiction panel: Matt Bell, Caro De Robertis (Chair), Danielle King, Akhil Sharma, Diane Wilson
Nonfiction panel: Eve L. Ewing, Audrey I-Wei Huang, Jonathan C. Slaght, Robert Warrior (Chair), Lidia Yuknavitch
Poetry panel: Rob Arnold, Aracelis Girmay (Chair), Jon Pineda, Roger Reeves, Rosanna Warren
Translated Literature panel: Shelley Fairweather-Vega, Javier García del Moral, John Keene, Christopher Merrill (Chair), Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Young People’s Literature panel: Edith Campbell, Brandy Colbert (Chair), Tricia Ebarvia, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Anne Ursu
