Books Honored by the National Book Foundation

National Book Award Medals

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:  2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013


2 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2004

Finalist - Poetry

Click for a larger image of The Rest Of Love: Poems

The Rest Of Love: Poems
by Carl Phillips

    Publication Date: Jan 12, 2005
    List Price: $11.00
    Format: Paperback, 80 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9780374529628
    Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
    Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
    Parent Company: Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

    Read a Description of The Rest Of Love: Poems


    Finalist - Young People’s Literature

    Click for a larger image of The Legend of Buddy Bush

    The Legend of Buddy Bush
    by Shelia P. Moses

    Publication Date: Jul 16, 2019
    List Price: $10.99
    Format: Paperback, 224 pages
    Classification: Fiction
    Target Age Group: Middle Grade
    ISBN13: 9781534451452
    Imprint: Margaret K. McElderry Books
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
    Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

    Read a Description of The Legend of Buddy Bush