National Book Awards

The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book Awards, was established. The mission of the National Book Foundation is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America." The awards ceremony is held each November in New York City.

National Book Awards are given in each of four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. Awards have been given in various other categories since 1950, but they have since been retired or subsumed into the remaining categories. The National Book Foundation also presents two lifetime achievement awards each year: the "Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award."

Only publishers can submit books for the National Book Award. Each category is overseen by an independent and expert five-member judging panel. Panels typically consider hundreds of books per category each year. A total of twenty Finalists (five per category) are announced in October. A chair from each panel announces the Winner during the "National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner" held in November. Winners each receive a $10,000 cash prize and a bronze sculpture; Finalists each receive $1,000, a medal, and a citation from the panel jury.

The Foundation has expanded its celebration of American literature by creating National Book Awards Week. Beginning with 5 Under 35, which spotlights emerging fiction writers as selected and introduced by National Book Award Winners and Finalists. The event calendar continues with the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference, the private National Book Awards Medal Ceremony, and the National Book Award Finalists Reading, and culminates in the Awards Ceremony, focusing attention on the best writing in America.

Winners of the National Book Awards

 * List of winners of the National Book Award

Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
The "Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" (DCAL) is a lifetime achievement award. The medal comes with a cash prize of $10,000. The recipient is a person who "has enriched American literary heritage over a life of service, or a corpus of work."


 * 1991: Eudora Welty
 * 1992: James Laughlin
 * 1993: Clifton Fadiman
 * 1994: Gwendolyn Brooks
 * 1995: David McCullough
 * 1996: Toni Morrison
 * 1997: Studs Terkel
 * 1998: John Updike
 * 1999: Oprah Winfrey
 * 2000: Ray Bradbury
 * 2001: Arthur Miller
 * 2002: Philip Roth
 * 2003: Stephen King
 * 2004: Judy Blume
 * 2005: Norman Mailer
 * 2006: Adrienne Rich
 * 2007: Joan Didion
 * 2008: Maxine Hong Kingston
 * 2009: Gore Vidal
 * 2010: Tom Wolfe

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."


 * 2005: Lawrence Ferlinghetti
 * 2006: Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein
 * 2007: Terry Gross
 * 2008: Barney Rosset
 * 2009: Dave Eggers
 * 2010: Joan Ganz Cooney