Inaugural “Inside Literary Prize” will send a selection of National Book Award honorees to hundreds of incarcerated people in a dozen prisons across the country; Inside Literary Prize winner to be announced in June 2024 Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation announced the launch of the Inside Literary Prize, the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people. The prize will be awarded in June 2024 to one exceptional book by a jury of 300 incarcerated individuals from a dozen prisons across the nation. This new initiative, which is also supported by Lori Feathers, literary podcaster and co-owner of Interabang Books, seeks to expand access to our country’s most thought-provoking literature for people who are incarcerated. Over the coming months, 25 judges at each of 12 prisons across six states—including both men’s and women’s facilities—will be given copies of the four National … Continue reading “Freedom Reads, National Book Foundation, Center for Justice Innovation Launch First Major US Book Prize to be Judged Exclusively by Incarcerated People”
Season’s Readings, everyone! This holiday season, you can bring the joy of reading to families living in public housing communities throughout the country. Book Rich Environments, the National Book Foundation’s farthest reaching access and education program, works in 56 communities from Tacoma, WA to Tampa, FL and from Los Angeles, CA to Springfield, MA. The National Book Foundation provides new, free, diverse books to local partners who distribute them year-round through community events that connect families with local literary resources including library cards, and other essential services. In 2023, the National Book Foundation added six new Book Rich Environments communities: Detroit, MI; Elizabeth, NJ; Miami, FL; Oklahoma City, OK; Philadelphia, PA; Salt Lake County, UT, and distributed close to 320,000 books. In 2024 we plan to add four more new communities and reach over two million books distributed! We have committed local partners who run community programming, generous publishers … Continue reading “You can help share the joy and power of reading!”
Each year, the Finalists in Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their honored works. The 2023 National Book Awards Finalist Reading will be hosted by Parul Sehgal, staff writer at The New Yorker. The event will be presented in person at NYU Skirball and livestreamed. The program will begin at 7:00pm EST. Presented in partnership with the NYU Creative Writing Program. To learn more about the 2023 National Book Awards Finalists, click here. Fiction Finalists: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars Aaliyah Bilal, Temple Folk Paul Harding, This Other Eden Hanna Pylväinen, The End of Drum-Time Justin Torres, Blackouts Nonfiction Finalists: Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History Cristina Rivera Garza, Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes Raja Shehadeh, We Could Have Been Friends, My … Continue reading “Watch the 2023 National Book Awards Finalist Reading”
The National Book Awards Teen Press Conference brings the excitement of the most prestigious literary award in the US to middle and high school students in New York City, and across the country. Held during National Book Awards Week, Teen Press Conference invites school groups to attend a free literary event that is curated just for them. Tuesday November 14th, 2023 Livestream: 10:30am-11:30am EST HOSTED BY: Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author of The Conjureverse series, The Belles series, Shattered Midnight, co-author of Blackout, Whiteout, The Rumor Game, and of the Tiny Pretty Things duology, a Netflix original series. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. She is the President and founder of Cake Creative and Electric … Continue reading “Watch the 2023 National Book Awards Teen Press Conference”
The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, today announced LeVar Burton, renowned actor, director, and author, will host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on November 15, 2023 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. “LeVar Burton has introduced multiple generations of young people to the joys of reading, and is a fearless advocate for book access, especially amidst the alarming rise in book banning across the country,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “We are delighted to welcome LeVar back onto the National Book Awards stage, alongside special guest Oprah Winfrey, to champion the power of literature as the host this year’s Ceremony & Benefit Dinner.” “I’m a big believer in the power of the written word, and am proud to stand alongside the National Book Foundation to celebrate exceptional storytelling and the Foundation’s … Continue reading “LeVar Burton, Actor and Education Advocate, to Host 74th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner”
Twenty-five Finalists to contend for National Book Awards in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature The 25 Finalists for the 2023 National Book Awards for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature were announced with the New York Times. The five Finalists in each category were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, and were advanced from the Longlists announced in September with The New Yorker. Between the five categories, there are four writers and one translator who have been previously honored by the National Book Foundation: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was a 2018 5 Under 35 honoree; Pilar Quintana and Lisa Dillman were Finalists for Translated Literature in 2020; Justin Torres was a 2012 5 Under 35 honoree; and Monica Youn was a Finalist for Poetry in 2010 and a Longlister for Poetry in 2016. All of the Finalists in the categories … Continue reading “2023 National Book Awards Finalists Announced”
National Book Award Winners Nikky Finney (Head Off & Split, 2011 Poetry Winner) and Robin Coste Lewis (Voyage of the Sable Venus, 2015 Poetry Winner) excavate and reimagine family and historical archives as poetry in their recent books Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry and To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness. The authors join National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming, 2014 Young People’s Literature Winner) in conversation on the care of community archival work and the power of Black stories amidst continued book banning. Presented in partnership with Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This is an official 2023 Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event.
The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Fiction Find The New Yorker’s announcement here. The National Book Foundation today announced the Longlist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction. The Finalists in all five categories will be revealed on Tuesday, October 3. The 2023 Fiction Longlist includes authors at all stages of their careers, and features a debut novel and a debut short story collection. Three authors on the Fiction Longlist have been previously honored by the National Book Foundation: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was a 2018 5 Under 35 honoree; Jayne Anne Phillips was a Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2009; and Justin Torres was a 2012 5 Under 35 honoree. The Longlisted authors have been recognized by numerous other awards and honors, including the Arts and Letters Award, the Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the Whiting … Continue reading “2023 National Book Awards Longlist for Fiction”
The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Nonfiction Find The New Yorker’s announcement here. The National Book Foundation announced the Longlist for the 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction. The Finalists in all five categories will be revealed on Tuesday, October 3. The 2023 Nonfiction Longlist includes emerging and established writers, and features works of memoir, science writing, biographies of both iconic figures and unsung heroes, investigative works that reframe historically significant events, and more. Viet Thanh Nguyen, who was a Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016, is the sole honoree on the 2023 Nonfiction Longlist who has been previously recognized by the National Book Awards. This year’s Nonfiction Longlist includes two MacArthur Fellows and a Guggenheim Fellow. The Longlisted authors have been previously honored by the Orwell Prize, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize, the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, and the Pulitzer … Continue reading “2023 National Book Awards Longlist for Nonfiction”