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
4 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 1983
Winner - Children’s Books
Marked By Fire
by Joyce Carol Thomas
Legacy% (Oct 30, 2007)
Fiction, Hardcover, 192 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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Winner - Fiction
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
11-time National Bestseller, Adult Fiction (Paperback)
- A 2024 National Bestselling Book – Adult Fiction (Paperback)
- A 2023 National Bestselling Book - Adult Fiction (Paperback)
- A Top 10 Book in the “Fiction Books from the 20th Century” Category
- Voted #1 of the Top 100 Books of the 20th Century
- 2 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book!
Mariner Books (Dec 10, 2019)
Fiction, Paperback, 304 pages
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Read Our Review of The Color Purple
Winner - First Novel
The Women of Brewster Place
by Gloria Naylor
List Price: $16.00Penguin Books (Jun 30, 1983)
Fiction, Paperback, 192 pages
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Finalist - Children’s Books
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
by Virginia Hamilton
List Price: $8.99Amistad (Jan 09, 2001)
Fiction, Paperback, 224 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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