National Book Award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the prior year, as well as lifetime achievement awards including the "Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award". The purpose of the awards is "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." In 1988 the National Book Foundation was established which now oversees and manages the National Book Awards.
Awards are in each of four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. The awards have historically been in various other categories, many of which have been retired or subsumed into other categories.
The winners are selected in each category by an independent, expert and volunteer five-member judging panel. Panels typically look at and read hundreds of books in each category. A chair from each panel announces the runners-up and winner during the "The National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner" held each year in November. The winner receive a $10,000 cash prize and a crystal sculpture, runners-up each receive $1,000.
[edit] Winners of the National Book Awards
[edit] Current categories
[edit] Fiction
[edit] Nonfiction
[edit] Poetry
See: National Book Award for Poetry
[edit] Young People's Literature
[edit] Previous categories
In 1964, the categories Arts and Letters, History and Biography & Science, Philosophy and Religion categories had the addendum (Nonfiction).
In 1981, Children's Books, Fiction was called Children's Book, Fiction; and in 1983 it was called Children's Fiction.
In 1981, Children's Books, Non-fiction was called Children's Book, Nonfiction.
In 1983 Children's Books, Picture Books was called Children's Books, Picture Books.
[edit] First Novel
| 1980 | William Wharton | Birdy |
| 1981 | Ann Arensberg | Sister Wolf |
| 1982 | Robb Forman Dew | Dale Loves Sophie to Death |
| 1983 | Gloria Naylor | The Women of Brewster Place |
[edit] First Work of Fiction
| 1984 | Harriet Doerr | Stones for Ibarra |
| 1985 | Bob Shacochis | Easy in the Islands |
[edit] Science Fiction
| 1980 Hardcover | Frederik Pohl | Jem |
| 1980 Paperback | Walter Wangerin, Jr. | The Book of the Dun Cow |
1991 PaperbackRay BradburyFahrenheit 451
[edit] Mystery
| 1980 Hardcover | John D. MacDonald | The Green Ripper |
[edit] Western
| 1980 | Louis L'Amour | Bendigo Shafter |
[edit] Original Paperback
| 1983 | Lisa Goldstein | The Red Magician |
[edit] General Nonfiction
| 1980 Hardcover | Tom Wolfe | The Right Stuff |
| 1980 Paperback | Peter Matthiessen | The Snow Leopard |
| 1981 Hardcover | Maxine Hong Kingston | China Men |
| 1981 Paperback | Jane Kramer | The Last Cowboy |
| 1982 Hardcover | Tracy Kidder | The Soul of a New Machine |
| 1982 Paperback | Victor S. Navasky | Naming Names |
| 1983 Hardcover | Fox Butterfield | China: Alive in the Bitter Sea |
| 1983 Paperback | James Fallows | National Defense |
[edit] Arts and Letters
[edit] History and Biography
[edit] History
[edit] Biography
[edit] Biography and Autobiography
| 1977 | W. A. Swanberg | Norman Thomas: The Last Idealist |
| 1978 | W. Jackson Bate | Samuel Johnson |
| 1979 | Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. | Robert Kennedy and His Times |
[edit] Autobiography
| 1980 Hardcover | Lauren Bacall | Lauren Bacall by Myself |
| 1980 Paperback | Malcolm Cowley | And I Worked at the Writer's Trade: Chapters of Literary History 1918-1978 |
[edit] Autobiography/Biography
[edit] Science, Philosophy and Religion
[edit] The Sciences
| 1969 | Robert J. Lifton | Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima |
| 1971 | Raymond Phineas Sterns | Science in the British Colonies of America |
| 1972 | George L. Small | The Blue Whale |
| 1973 | George B. Schaller | The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations |
| 1974 | S. E. Luria | Life: The Unfinished Experiment |
| 1975 | Silvano Arieti | Interpretation of Schizophrenia |
| 1975 | Lewis Thomas | The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (also won Arts and Letters award) |
[edit] Science
[edit] Philosophy and Religion
[edit] Religion/Inspiration
| 1980 Hardcover | Elaine Pagels | The Gnostic Gospels |
| 1980 Paperback | Sheldon Vanauken | A Severe Mercy |
[edit] Contemporary Affairs
[edit] Contemporary Thought
| 1977 | Bruno Bettelheim | The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales |
| 1978 | Gloria Emerson | Winners & Losers |
| 1979 | Peter Matthiessen | The Snow Leopard |
[edit] Current Interest
| 1980 Hardcover | Julia Child | Julia Child and More Company |
| 1980 Paperback | Christopher Lasch | The Culture of Narcissism |
[edit] General Reference Books
| 1980 Hardcover | Elder Witt (ed.) | The Complete Directory |
| 1980 Paperback | Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh | The Complete Directory of Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present |
[edit] Translation
[edit] Children's Literature
[edit] Children's Books
[edit] Children's Books, Fiction
| 1981 Hardcover | Betsy Byars | The Night Swimmers |
| 1981 Paperback | Beverly Cleary | Ramona and Her Mother |
| 1982 Hardcover | Lloyd Alexander | Westmark |
| 1982 Paperback | Ouida Sebestyen | Words by Heart |
| 1983 Hardcover | Jean Fritz | Homesick: My Own Story |
| 1983 Paperback | Paula Fox | A Place Apart |
| 1983 Paperback | Joyce Carol Thomas | Marked by Fire |
[edit] Children's Books, Non-fiction
| 1981 Hardcover | Alison Cragin Herzig & Jane Lawrence | Mali -- Oh, Boy! Babies |
| 1982 | Susan Bonners | A Penguin Year |
| 1983 | James Cross Giblin | Chimney Sweeps |
[edit] Children's Books, Picture Books
| 1982 Hardcover | Maurice Sendak | Outside Over There |
| 1982 Paperback | Peter Spier | Noah's Ark |
| 1983 Hardcover | Barbara Cooney | Miss Rumphius |
| 1983 Hardcover | William Steig | Doctor De Soto |
| 1983 Paperback | Mary Ann Hoberman & Betty Fraser (ill.) | A House is a House for Me |
[edit] Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
The "Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" (DCAL) is a lifetime achievement award. The medal comes with $10,000. The recipient is a person who "has enriched American literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work." [1]
- 2006 - Adrienne Rich
- 2005 - Norman Mailer
- 2004 - Judy Blume
- 2003 - Stephen King
- 2002 - Philip Roth
- 2001 - Arthur Miller
- 2000 - Ray Bradbury
- 1999 - Oprah Winfrey
- 1998 - John Updike
- 1997 - Studs Turkel
- 1996 - Toni Morrison
- 1995 - David McCullough
- 1994 - Gwendolyn Brooks
- 1993 - Clifton Fadiman
- 1992 - James Laughlin
- 1991 - Eudora Welty
[edit] Literarian Award
The "Literarian Award" is a lifetime achievement award. It is "presented to an individual for outstanding service to the American literary community, whose life and work exemplify the goals of the National Book Foundation to expand the audience for literature and to enhance the cultural value of literature in America."[2]
- 2006 - Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein
- 2005 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti
[edit] See also
- The Man Booker Prize
- The Commonwealth Writers Prize
- The Prix Goncourt
- The Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Book Awards
- The Governor General's Award
- Literary festival
