List of winners of the National Book Award
These authors and books have won the annual National Book Awards, awarded to American authors by the National Book Foundation based in the United States.
History of categories
The National Book Awards were first awarded to four 1935 publications in May 1936. Contrary to that historical fact, the National Book Foundation currently recognizes only a history of purely literary awards that begins in 1950. The [|pre-war awards] and the 1980 to 1983 [|graphics awards] are covered below following the main list of current award categories.There have been five award categories since 2018: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Young People's Literature, and Translated Literature. The main list below is organized by the current award categories and by year.
The categories' winners are selected from hundreds of preliminary nominees – "from 150 titles to upwards of 600 titles." Since 2013, a long list of ten entries for each of the categories has been selected and announced in September, followed by five finalists for each category in October, with the year's winners announced in November.
[|Repeat winners] and [|split awards] are covered at the bottom of the page.
Current award categories
This section covers awards starting in 1950 in the five [|current categories] as defined by their names. Some awards in "previous categories" may have been equivalent except in name.Fiction
General fiction for adult readers is a National Book Award category that has been continuous since 1950, with multiple awards for a few years beginning 1980. From [|1935 to 1941], there were six annual awards for novels or general fiction and the "Bookseller Discovery", the "Most Original Book"; both awards were sometimes given to a novel.| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1950 | ' | ||
| 1951 | ' | ||
| 1952 | From Here to Eternity | ||
| 1953 | Invisible Man | ||
| 1954 | ' | ||
| 1955 | ' | ||
| 1956 | Ten North Frederick | ||
| 1957 | ' | ||
| 1958 | ' | ||
| 1959 | ' | ||
| 1960 | Goodbye, Columbus | ||
| 1961 | ' | ||
| 1962 | ' | ||
| 1963 | Morte d'Urban | ||
| 1964 | ' | ||
| 1965 | Herzog | ||
| 1966 | ' | ||
| 1967 | ' | ||
| 1968 | ' | ||
| 1969 | Steps | ||
| 1970 | them | ||
| 1971 | Mr. Sammler's Planet | ||
| 1972 | ' | ||
| 1973 | Chimera | ||
| 1973 | Augustus | ||
| 1974 | Gravity's Rainbow | ||
| 1974 | ' | ||
| 1975 | Dog Soldiers | ||
| 1975 | ' | ||
| 1976 | J R | ||
| 1977 | ' | ||
| 1978 | Blood Tie | ||
| 1979 | Going After Cacciato |
Dozens of new categories were introduced in 1980, including "General fiction", hardcover and paperback, which are both listed here. The comprehensive "Fiction" genre and hard-or-soft format were both restored three years later.
| Year | Category | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1980 | Hardcover | Sophie's Choice | ||
| 1980 | Paperback | ' | ||
| 1981 | Hardcover | Plains Song | ||
| 1981 | Paperback | ' | ||
| 1982 | Hardcover | Rabbit is Rich | ||
| 1982 | Paperback | So Long, See You Tomorrow | ||
| 1983 | Hardcover | ' | ||
| 1983 | Paperback | ' |
The comprehensive "Fiction" category returned in 1984.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref |
| 1984 | Victory Over Japan: A Book of Stories | ||
| 1985 | White Noise | ||
| 1986 | World's Fair | ||
| 1987 | Paco's Story | ||
| 1988 | Paris Trout | ||
| 1989 | Spartina | ||
| 1990 | Middle Passage | ||
| 1991 | Mating | ||
| 1992 | All the Pretty Horses | ||
| 1993 | ' | ||
| 1994 | ' | ||
| 1995 | Sabbath's Theater | ||
| 1996 | Ship Fever and Other Stories | ||
| 1997 | Cold Mountain | ||
| 1998 | Charming Billy | ||
| 1999 | Waiting | ||
| 2000 | In America | ||
| 2001 | ' | ||
| 2002 | Three Junes | ||
| 2003 | ' | ||
| 2004 | ' | ||
| 2005 | Europe Central | ||
| 2006 | ' | ||
| 2007 | Tree of Smoke | ||
| 2008 | Shadow Country | ||
| 2009 | Let the Great World Spin | ||
| 2010 | Lord of Misrule | ||
| 2011 | Salvage the Bones | ||
| 2012 | ' | ||
| 2013 | ' | ||
| 2014 | Redeployment | ||
| 2015 | Fortune Smiles | ||
| 2016 | ' | ||
| 2017 | Sing, Unburied, Sing | ||
| 2018 | ' | ||
| 2019 | Trust Exercise | ||
| 2020 | Interior Chinatown | ||
| 2021 | Hell of a Book | ||
| 2022 | ' | ||
| 2023 | Justin Torres | Blackouts | |
| 2024 | Percival Everett | James | |
| 2025 | Rabih Alameddine | The True True Story of Raja the Gullible |
Nonfiction
General nonfiction for adult readers is a National Book Award category continuous only from 1984, when the general award was restored after two decades of awards in several nonfiction categories. From 1935 to 1941 there were six annual awards for general nonfiction, two for biography, and the Bookseller Discovery or Most Original Book was sometimes nonfiction.| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1950 | Ralph L. Rusk | The Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson | |
| 1951 | Newton Arvin | Herman Melville | |
| 1952 | Rachel Carson | The Sea Around Us | |
| 1953 | Bernard De Voto, | The Course of Empire | |
| 1954 | Bruce Catton | A Stillness at Appomattox | |
| 1955 | Joseph Wood Krutch | The Measure of Man | |
| 1956 | Herbert Kubly | An American in Italy | |
| 1957 | George F. Kennan | Russia Leaves the War | |
| 1958 | Catherine Drinker Bowen | The Lion and the Throne | |
| 1959 | J. Christopher Herold | Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël |
Multiple nonfiction categories were introduced in 1964, initially [|Arts and Letters]; [|History and (Auto)Biography]; and [|Science, Philosophy and Religion]. See also [|Contemporary] and [|General Nonfiction]. The comprehensive "Nonfiction" genre was restored twenty years later.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1984 | Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833–1845 | ||
| 1985 | Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families | ||
| 1986 | Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape | ||
| 1987 | ' | ||
| 1988 | ' | ||
| 1989 | From Beirut to Jerusalem | ||
| 1990 | : An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance | ||
| 1991 | Freedom, Vol. 1: Freedom in the Making of Western Culture | ||
| 1992 | Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story | ||
| 1993 | United States: Essays 1952–1992 | ||
| 1994 | How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter | ||
| 1995 | ' | ||
| 1996 | : God, My Father, and the War that Came Between Us | ||
| 1997 | American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson | ||
| 1998 | Slaves in the Family | ||
| 1999 | Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II | ||
| 2000 | In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex | ||
| 2001 | : An Atlas of Depression | ||
| 2002 | Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson | ||
| 2003 | Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy | ||
| 2004 | Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age | ||
| 2005 | ' | ||
| 2006 | : The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl | ||
| 2007 | Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA | ||
| 2008 | : An American Family | ||
| 2009 | : The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt | ||
| 2010 | Just Kids | ||
| 2011 | The Swerve: How the World Became Modern | ||
| 2012 | Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity | ||
| 2013 | : An Inner History of the New America | ||
| 2014 | Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China | ||
| 2015 | Between the World and Me | ||
| 2016 | Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America | ||
| 2017 | The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia | ||
| 2018 | ' | ||
| 2019 | ' | ||
| 2020 | and Tamara Payne | : The Life of Malcolm X | |
| 2021 | All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake | ||
| 2022 | South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon To Understand the Soul of a Nation | ||
| 2023 | Ned Blackhawk | The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the unmaking of US history | |
| 2024 | Jason De León | Soldiers and Kings | |
| 2025 | Omar El Akkad | One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This |
Young People's Literature
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1996 | Parrot in the Oven: MiVida | ||
| 1997 | Dancing on the Edge | ||
| 1998 | Holes | ||
| 1999 | When Zachary Beaver Came to Town | ||
| 2000 | Homeless Bird | ||
| 2001 | True Believer | ||
| 2002 | ' | ||
| 2003 | ' | ||
| 2004 | Godless | ||
| 2005 | ' | ||
| 2006 | ' | ||
| 2007 | ' | ||
| 2008 | What I Saw and How I Lied | ||
| 2009 | Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice | ||
| 2010 | Mockingbird | ||
| 2011 | Inside Out and Back Again | ||
| 2012 | Goblin Secrets | ||
| 2013 | ' | ||
| 2014 | Brown Girl Dreaming | ||
| 2015 | Challenger Deep | ||
| 2016 | , Nate Powell, and Andrew Aydin | March: Book Three | |
| 2017 | Far from the Tree | ||
| 2018 | |||
| 2019 | 1919: The Year That Changed America | ||
| 2020 | King and the Dragonflies | ||
| 2021 | Last Night at the Telegraph Club | ||
| 2022 | All My Rage | ||
| 2023 | Dan Santat | A First Time for Everything | |
| 2024 | Shifa Saltagi Safadi | Kareem Between | |
| 2025 | Daniel Nayeri | The Teacher of Nomad Land |
Children's books
| Year | Category | Author | Title | Ref. |
| 1969 | Literature | Journey from Peppermint Street | ||
| 1970 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1971 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1972 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1973 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1974 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1975 | Literature | M. C. Higgins the Great | ||
| 1976 | Literature | Bert Breen's Barn | ||
| 1977 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1978 | Literature | and | ' | |
| 1979 | Literature | ' | ||
| 1980 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1980 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1981 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1981 | Fiction | Ramona and Her Mother | ||
| 1981 | Nonfiction | and | Oh, Boy! Babies | |
| 1982 | Fiction | Westmark | ||
| 1982 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1982 | Picture Books | Outside Over There | ||
| 1982 | Picture Books | Noah's Ark | ||
| 1983 | Fiction | Homesick: My Own Story | ||
| 1983 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1983 | Fiction | Marked by Fire | ||
| 1983 | Nonfiction | Chimney Sweeps | ||
| 1983 | Picture Books | Miss Rumphius | ||
| 1983 | Picture Books | Doctor De Soto | ||
| 1983 | Picture Books | with Betty Fraser | ' |
Nonfiction subcategories 1964 to 1983
This section covers awards from 1964 to 1983 in categories that differ from the "current categories" in name. Some of them were substantially equivalent to current categories.Other Fiction 1980 to 1985
| Year | Category | Author | Title |
| 1980 | First Novel | Birdy | |
| 1980 | Mystery | ' | |
| 1980 | Mystery | Stained Glass | |
| 1980 | Science Fiction | Jem | |
| 1980 | Science Fiction | ' | |
| 1980 | Western | Bendigo Shafter | |
| 1981 | First Novel | Sister Wolf | |
| 1982 | First Novel | Dale Loves Sophie to Death | |
| 1983 | First Novel | ' | |
| 1984 | First Work of Fiction | Stones for Ibarra | |
| 1985' | First Work of Fiction | Easy in the Islands'' |
1935 to 1941
The first National Book Awards were presented in May 1936 at the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association to four 1935 books selected by its members.Subsequently, the awards were announced mid-February to March 1 and presented at the convention. For 1937 books there were ballots from 319 stores, about three times as many as for 1935. There had been 600 ABA members in 1936.
The "Most Distinguished" Nonfiction, Biography, and Novel were reduced to two and termed "Favorite" Nonfiction and Fiction beginning 1937. Master of ceremonies Clifton Fadiman declined to consider the Pulitzer Prizes as potential ratifications. "Unlike the Pulitzer Prize committee, the booksellers merely vote for their favorite books. They do not say it is the best book or the one that will elevate the standard of manhood or womanhood. Twenty years from now we can decide which are the masterpieces. This year we can only decide which books we enjoyed reading the most."
The Bookseller Discovery officially recognized "outstanding merit which failed to receive adequate sales and recognition" The award stood alone for 1941 and the New York Times frankly called it "a sort of consolation prize that the booksellers hope will draw attention to his work".
Authors and publishers outside the United States were eligible and there were several winners by non-U.S. authors. The Bookseller Discovery and the general awards for fiction and non-fiction were conferred six times in seven years, the Most Original Book five times, and the biography award in the first two years only.
Dates are years of publication.
| Year | Category | Author | Title | |
| 1935 | Biography | Personal History | ||
| 1935 | Most Original Book | ' | ||
| 1935 | Nonfiction | North to the Orient | ||
| 1935 | Novel | Time Out of Mind | ||
| 1936 | Biography | : Adventures in Forty-Five Countries | ||
| 1936 | Bookseller Discovery | I Met a Gypsy | ||
| 1936 | Most Original Book | ' | ||
| 1936 | Nonfiction | |||
| 1937 | Bookseller Discovery | On Borrowed Time | ||
| 1937 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1937 | Most Original Book | Four Hundred Million Customers: The Experiences—Some Happy, Some Sad, of an American Living in China, and What They Taught Him | ||
| 1937 | Nonfiction | Madame Curie | ||
| 1938 | Bookseller Discovery | The World Was My Garden: Travels of a Plant Explorer | ||
| 1938 | Fiction | Rebecca | ||
| 1938 | Most Original Book | With Malice Toward Some | ||
| 1938 | Nonfiction | Listen! The Wind | ||
| 1939 | Bookseller Discovery | Ararat | ||
| 1939 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1939 | Most Original Book | Johnny Got His Gun | ||
| 1939 | Nonfiction | Wind, Sand and Stars | ||
| 1940 | Bookseller Discovery | Who Walk Alone | ||
| 1940 | Fiction | How Green Was My Valley | ||
| 1940 | Nonfiction | As I Remember Him: The Biography of R.S. | ||
| 1941 | Bookseller Discovery | Hold Autumn in Your Hand |
Graphics awards
The "Academy Awards model" was introduced in 1980 under the name TABA, The American Book Awards. The program expanded from seven literary awards to 28 literary and 6 graphics awards. After 1983, with 19 literary and 8 graphics awards, the Awards practically went out of business, to be restored in 1984 with a program of three literary awards.Since 1988 the Awards have been under the care of the National Book Foundation which does not recognize the graphics awards.
Herbert Mitgang's report on the inaugural TABA begins thus: "Thirty-four hardcover and paperback books, many of which nobody had heard of before, were named winners during a generally ragged presentation of the first American Book Awards in a ceremony at the Seventh Regiment Armory last night. The event was designed to resemble Hollywood's Oscars, but instead there was little glamour. All the winners were barred from accepting their awards, and most did not attend."
Repeat winners
Books
At least three books have won two National Book Awards.Dates are award years.
- John Clive, Thomas Babington Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian
- Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard
- Lewis Thomas, ''The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher''
Authors
At least three authors have won three awards: Saul Bellow with three Fiction awards; Peter Matthiessen with two awards for The Snow Leopard and the 2008 Fiction award for Shadow Country; Lewis Thomas with two awards for The Lives of a Cell and the 1981 Science paperback award for The Medusa and the Snail.These three authors and numerous others have written two award-winning books.
Dates are award years.
"Children's" and "Young People's" categories
- Lloyd Alexander, 1971, 1982
- Katherine Paterson, 1977, 1979
"Fiction"
- Saul Bellow, 1954, 1965, 1971
- John Cheever, 1958, 1981
- William Faulkner, 1951, 1955
- William Gaddis, 1976, 1994
- Bernard Malamud, 1959, 1967
- Wright Morris, 1957, 1981
- Philip Roth, 1960, 1995
- John Updike, 1964, 1982
- Jesmyn Ward, 2011, 2017
"Fiction" and another category
- Peter Mathiessen, 2008 and The Snow Leopard, two nonfiction categories 1979 and 1980
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1974 and A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing up in Warsaw, Children's Literature 1970
"Nonfiction" and nonfiction subcategories
- Justin Kaplan, 1961, 1981
- George F. Kennan, 1957, 1968
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1936, 1939
- David McCullough, 1978, 1982
- Arthur Schlesinger, 1966, 1979
- Frances Steegmuller, 1971, 1981
- Lewis Thomas, 1975, 1981
"Poetry"
- A. R. Ammons, 1973, 1993
- Alan Dugan, 1962, 2001
- Philip Levine, 1980, 1991
- James Merrill, 1967, 1979
- Theodore Roethke, 1959, 1965
- Wallace Stevens, 1951, 1955
Split awards
The Translation award was split six times during its 1967 to 1983 history, once split three ways. Twelve other awards were split, all during that period.- 1967 Translation
- 1971 Translation
- 1972 Poetry
- 1973 Fiction, History
- 1974 Fiction, Poetry, Biography, Translation
- 1975 Fiction, Arts & Letters, The Sciences
- 1980 Translation
- 1981 Translation
- 1982 Translation
- 1983 Poetry, Children's Fiction paper, Children's Picture hard
Split awards returned with a 1980 reorganization on Academy Awards lines. From 1980 to 1983 there were not only split awards but more than twenty award categories annually; there were graphics awards and dual awards for hardcover and paperback books, both unique to the period.
In 1983 the awards again went out of business, and they were not saved for 1983 publications. The 1984 reorganization prohibited split awards as it trimmed the award categories from 27 to three.