National Book Awards: The literary world’s Grammys!

The National Book Awards has announced the 25 finalists for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature amidst a record number of submissions.

What are the National Book Awards?

The National Book Awards were established in the 1950s as a way to celebrate the best writers across the United States and secure literature as a notable part of society.

“Since 1989, the Awards have been overseen by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture,” per The National Book Foundation.

For the 2024 competition, five finalists were selected for each category through a panel of judges, and on Nov. 20, a winner will be announced. Each finalist will receive a $1,000 prize, and the winners of their respective categories will receive $10,000 and a bronze sculpture, according to The National Book Foundation .

How do submissions work?

According to The National Book Foundation, submissions open in March for the coveted competition. Only publishers are allowed to submit books directly for admission into the National Book Awards. Authors cannot submit books directly.

“Publishers must submit titles via the online entry form by the mid-May deadline, along with an entry fee of $135 per title. Publishers must provide both digital and hard copies of each submitted title in order to guarantee consideration. For further details on the submissions process, please full please see our guidelines ,” per The National Book Foundation.

Publishers submitted 1,917 books for this year’s National Book Awards, per Publishing Perspectives.

The 2024 National Book Award finalists

Book enthusiasts, get ready for the literary world’s Grammys!

Finalists for fiction

1. “Ghostroots” by ‘Pemi Aguda
2. “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar
3. “James” by Percival Everett
4. “All Fours” by Miranda July
5. “My Friends” by Hisham Matar

Finalists for nonfiction

1. “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” by Jason De León
2. “Circle of Hope: A Reckoning With Love, Power and Justice in an American Church” by Eliza Griswold
3. “Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia” by Kate Manne
4. “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder” by Salman Rushdie
5. “Whiskey Tender” by Deborah Jackson Taffa

Finalists for poetry

1. “Wrong Norma” by Anne Carson
2. “[...]” by Fady Joudah
3. “mother” by m.s. RedCherries
4. “Modern Poetry” by Diane Seuss
5. “Something About Living” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Finalists for translated literature:

1. “The Book Censor’s Library” by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
2. “Ædnan” by Linnea Axelsson, translated from Swedish by Saskia Vogel
3. “The Villain’s Dance” by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated from French by Roland Glasser
4. “Taiwan Travelogue” by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
5. “Where the Wind Calls Home” by Samar Yazbek, translated from Arabic by Leri Price

Finalists for young people’s literature

1. “Buffalo Dreamer” by Violet Duncan
2. “The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky” by Josh Galarza
3. “The First State of Being” by Erin Entrada Kelly
4. “Kareem Between” by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
5. “The Unboxing of a Black Girl” by Angela Shanté