National Book Award: Winners, Finalists and Longlisted Titles

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:  2024 – 2023 – 2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013


4 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 1972

Finalist - Children’s Books

Click for a larger image of The Planet Of Junior Brown (2006)

The Planet Of Junior Brown (2006)
by Virginia Hamilton

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Aladdin (May 01, 2006)
Fiction, Paperback, 224 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Finalist - Children’s Books

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His Own Where
by June Jordan

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    The Feminist Press (May 01, 2010)
    Fiction, Paperback, 112 pages
    Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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    Finalist - Nonfiction

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    Harlem Renaissance
    by Nathan Huggins

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      Oxford University Press (May 02, 2007)
      Nonfiction, Paperback, 390 pages
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      Finalist - Poetry

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      Words in the Mourning Time: Poems
      by Robert Hayden

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        October House (Jun 28, 1970)
        Poetry, Hardcover
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