Originally established in the 1930s, the National Book Awards (NBAs) were put on hiatus during World War II, and were reestablished in 1950. Each November, the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to celebrate and promote good writers, and to encourage Americans to value reading, hosts a ceremony at which four authors are awarded the NBA. Last November, the National Book Foundation hosted its 65th annual award ceremony in New York City.
Every year, the National Book Foundation awards four authors, one in each of four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. Winners are chosen by a panel of twenty judges - five in each category. The panel, which is selected by the foundation, has usually consisted of published, well-known writers - sometimes past winners and finalists have also been judges. Recently, the panel's makeup has expanded to include book critics, librarians, and booksellers. Each group of five judges is led by a Panel Chair, who announces the category's winner at the ceremony in November.
To be eligible, books have to be authored by an American and published by Americans. The National Book Foundation sends out entry forms in April, and all submissions are due in May. Entries are made by the publisher, not by the author. Over the summer, all five judges in each genre group read a copy of every book submitted within their genre. Hundreds of books to read, one winner to choose!
In mid-September, each panel releases a "longlist" of its top ten books/authors.
In mid-October, each panel announces its top five Finalists, from which one Winner will be selected.
No one - including the Foundation - knows of the four Winners, until the night of the award ceremony. Sometimes, a panel may reach a decision at the very last-minute. The pressure!
On the night before the Winners are revealed, all twenty Finalists (five in each genre) are awarded a medal, a citation from the panel, and $1,000. During the next evening, the Panel Chairs announce the four Winners, who each receive $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
Past Winners include William Faulkner, John Cheever, Robert Lowell, Walker Percy, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Elizabeth Bishop, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker, Charles Johnson, E. Annie Proulx, and Colum McCann.
The 2014 NBA Winners:
Fiction: Phil Klay, Redeployment
Nonfiction: Evan Osnos, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China
Poetry: Louise Glück, Faithful and Virtuous Night
Young People's Literature:
Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming