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


11 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2016

Finalist - Fiction

Click for a larger image of Another Brooklyn: A Novel

Another Brooklyn: A Novel
by Jacqueline Woodson

Publication Date: Aug 09, 2016
List Price: $22.99
Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
Classification: Fiction
ISBN13: 9780062359988
Imprint: Amistad
Publisher: HarperCollins
Parent Company: News Corp

Winner - Fiction

Click for a larger image of The Underground Railroad: A Novel

The Underground Railroad: A Novel
by Colson Whitehead

Publication Date: Aug 02, 2016
List Price: $26.95
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Classification: Fiction
ISBN13: 9780385542364
Imprint: Doubleday
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Longlist - Nonfiction

Click for a larger image of The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice
by Patricia Bell-Scott

Publication Date: Feb 02, 2016
List Price: $30.00
Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9780679446521
Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Winner - Nonfiction

Click for a larger image of Stamped from the Beginning (Revised): The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

Stamped from the Beginning (Revised): The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by Ibram X. Kendi

Publication Date: Aug 15, 2015
List Price: $19.99
Format: Paperback, 608 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9781568585987
Imprint: Bold Type Books
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Parent Company: Lagardère Group

Longlist - Poetry

Click for a larger image of Blue Laws: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1995-2015

Blue Laws: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1995-2015
by Kevin Young

    Publication Date: Feb 02, 2016
    List Price: $30.00
    Format: Hardcover, 608 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9780385351508
    Imprint: Knopf
    Publisher: Penguin Random House
    Parent Company: Bertelsmann

    Longlist - Poetry

    Click for a larger image of Bestiary: Poems

    Bestiary: Poems
    by Donika Kelly

    Publication Date: Oct 11, 2016
    List Price: $16.00
    Format: Paperback, 80 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9781555977580
    Imprint: Graywolf Press
    Publisher: Graywolf Press
    Parent Company: Graywolf Press

    Finalist - Poetry

    Click for a larger image of Collected Poems: 1974–2004

    Collected Poems: 1974–2004
    by Rita Dove

    Publication Date: May 17, 2016
    List Price: $39.95
    Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9780393285949
    Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
    Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
    Parent Company: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

    Finalist - Young People’s Literature

    Click for a larger image of The Sun Is Also a Star

    The Sun Is Also a Star
    by Nicola Yoon

    Publication Date: Nov 01, 2016
    List Price: $18.99
    Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
    Classification: Fiction
    Target Age Group: Young Adult
    ISBN13: 9780553496680
    Imprint: Delacorte Press
    Publisher: Penguin Random House
    Parent Company: Bertelsmann

    Winner - Young People’s Literature

    Click for a larger image of March Book Three

    March Book Three
    by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, Illustrated by Nate Powell

    Publication Date: Aug 02, 2016
    List Price: $19.99
    Format: Paperback, 256 pages
    Classification: Nonfiction
    Target Age Group: Middle Grade
    ISBN13: 9781603094023
    Imprint: Top Shelf Productions
    Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
    Parent Company: Top Shelf Productions

    Longlist - Young People’s Literature

    Click for a larger image of Booked

    Booked
    by Kwame Alexander

      Publication Date: Apr 05, 2016
      List Price: $16.99
      Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
      Classification: Fiction
      Target Age Group: Middle Grade
      ISBN13: 9780544570986
      Imprint: HMH Books for Young Readers
      Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
      Parent Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

      Longlist - Young People’s Literature

      Click for a larger image of Ghost: Running for His Life or From It?

      Ghost: Running for His Life or From It?
      by Jason Reynolds

      Publication Date: Aug 30, 2016
      List Price: $16.99
      Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
      Classification: Fiction
      Target Age Group: Middle Grade
      ISBN13: 9781481450157
      Imprint: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
      Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
      Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.