2024 National Book Awards


The 75th National Book Awards, presented at a ceremony and benefit dinner by the National Book Foundation, took place on November 20, 2024, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. During the gala, the National Book Foundation presented awards in 5 competitive categories and 2 special categories honoring books released between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 2024. Author Barbara Kingsolver and publisher Paul Coates received special recognitions. Comedian Kate McKinnon hosted the show alongside musician Jon Batiste.

Winners and nominees

The longlisted nominees were announced between September 13, 2024 and the shortlisted nominees were announced on October 1, 2024
CategoryWinnerShortlistLonglist
FictionPercival Everett, James
  • Jessica Anthony, The Most
  • Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Catalina
  • Rachel Kushner, Creation Lake
  • Sam Sax, Yr Dead
  • Tony Tulathimutte, Rejection
    • NonfictionJason De León, Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling
  • Eliza Griswold, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning With Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church
  • Kate Manne, Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia
  • Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
  • Deborah Jackson Taffa, Whiskey Tender
  • Hanif Abdurraqib, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
  • Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders
  • Rebecca Boyle, Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
  • Ernest Scheyder, The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
  • Richard Slotkin, A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America
    • PoetryLena Khalaf Tuffaha, Something About Living
  • Anne Carson, Wrong Norma
  • Fady Joudah,... |'
  • M.s. RedCherries, Mother
  • Diane Seuss, Modern Poetry
  • Dorianne Laux, Life on Earth
  • Gregory Pardlo, Spectral Evidence
  • Octavio Quintanilla, The Book of Wounded Sparrows
  • Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Silver
  • Elizabeth Willis, Liontaming in America
    • Translated LiteratureYang Shuang-zi, Taiwan Travelogue
  • Bothayna El Essa, The Book Censor's Library
  • Linnea Axelsson, Ædnan
  • Fiston Mwanza Mujila, The Villain's Dance
  • Samar Yazbek, Where the Wind Calls Home
  • Nasser Abu Srour, The Tale of a Wall: Reflections on the Meaning of Hope and Freedom
  • Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume
  • Layla Martínez, Woodworm
  • Fernanda Trías, Pink Slime
  • Fernando Vallejo, The Abyss
    • Young People's Literature'Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Kareem Between
  • Violet Duncan, Buffalo Dreamer
  • Josh Galarza, The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky
  • Erin Entrada Kelly, The First State of Being
  • Angela Shanté, The Unboxing of a Black Girl
  • Olivia A. Cole, Ariel Crashes a Train
  • Margarita Engle, Wild Dreamers
  • Randy Ribay, Everything We Never Had
  • Ali Terese, Free Period
  • Alicia D. Williams, Mid-Air

    • Special Recognitions

    Author Barbara Kingsolver received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a lifetime achievement award, while publisher W. Paul Coates was recognized with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service.

    Judges

    The judges in each category are as follows:
    Fiction
    Nonfiction
    Poetry
    Translated Literature
    Young People's Literature