National Book Award: Winners, Finalists and Longlisted Titles
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 great writing in America. National Book Awards are given five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.
Here we highlight the winners of African descent. The first African-American writer to win a National Book Award was Ralph Ellison, in 1953, for Invisible Man.
Check Out AALBC’s Coverage of the National Book Awards: 2024 – 2023 – 2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013
11 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2016
Finalist - Fiction
Another Brooklyn: A Novel
by Jacqueline Woodson
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- 2017 BCALA Literary Award
- A New York Times Notable Book for 2016
Amistad (Aug 09, 2016)
Fiction, Hardcover, 192 pages
More Info
Winner - Fiction
The Underground Railroad: A Novel
by Colson Whitehead
- NYT Best Book of the 21st Century
- A Top 10 Book in the “Fiction Books of the 21st Century” Category
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- Hurston/Wright Honored Book (2017)
- Kirkus Prize Finalist/Winner 2016
- A 2016 Oprah Book Club Selection
- 2017 BCALA Literary Award
- A New York Times Notable Book for 2016
Doubleday (Aug 02, 2016)
Fiction, Hardcover, 320 pages
More Info
Winner - Nonfiction
Stamped from the Beginning (Revised): The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by Ibram X. Kendi
List Price: $22.99Bold Type Books (Jun 20, 2023)
Nonfiction, Paperback, 640 pages
More Info
Longlist - Nonfiction
The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice
by Patricia Bell-Scott
List Price: $30.00Alfred A. Knopf (Feb 02, 2016)
Nonfiction, Hardcover, 480 pages
More Info
Longlist - Poetry
Blue Laws: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1995-2015
by Kevin Young
List Price: $30.00Knopf (Feb 02, 2016)
Poetry, Hardcover, 608 pages
More Info
Longlist - Poetry
Bestiary: Poems
by Donika Kelly
List Price: $16.00Graywolf Press (Oct 11, 2016)
Poetry, Paperback, 80 pages
More Info
Finalist - Poetry
Collected Poems: 1974–2004
by Rita Dove
- A Top 10 Book in the “Poetry Books of the 21st Century” Category
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- An NAACP Image Award Honored Book
W. W. Norton & Company (May 17, 2016)
Poetry, Hardcover, 448 pages
More Info
Finalist - Young People’s Literature
The Sun Is Also a Star
by Nicola Yoon
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- Coretta Scott King Award Winning Book 2017
- A New York Times Notable Book for 2016
Delacorte Press (Nov 01, 2016)
Fiction, Hardcover, 384 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
More Info
Winner - Young People’s Literature
March Book Three
by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, Illustrated by Nate Powell
- A Top 150 Children’s Book
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- Coretta Scott King Award Winning Book 2017
Top Shelf Productions (Aug 02, 2016)
Nonfiction, Paperback, 256 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
More Info
Longlist - Young People’s Literature
Booked
by Kwame Alexander
List Price: $16.99HMH Books for Young Readers (Apr 05, 2016)
Fiction, Hardcover, 320 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
More Info
Longlist - Young People’s Literature
Ghost: Running for His Life or From It?
by Jason Reynolds
- A Top 10 Book in the “Children’s Books from the 21st Century” Category
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- A New York Times Notable Book for 2016
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books (Aug 30, 2016)
Fiction, Hardcover, 192 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
More Info