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:  20172016201520142013


9 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2018

Winner - Nonfiction

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke
by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Publication Date: Feb 01, 2018
List Price: $39.95
Format: Hardcover, 944 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9780195089578
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Parent Company: University of Oxford

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Winner - Poetry

Indecency
by Justin Phillip Reed

Publication Date: May 08, 2018
List Price: $16.95
Format: Paperback, 112 pages
Classification: Poetry
ISBN13: 9781566895149
Imprint: Coffee House Press
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Parent Company: Coffee House Press

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Winner - Young People’s Literature

The Poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo

Publication Date: Mar 06, 2018
List Price: $17.99
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Young Adult
ISBN13: 9780062662804
Imprint: HarperTeen
Publisher: HarperCollins
Parent Company: News Corp

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Finalist - Fiction

A Lucky Man: Stories
by Jamel Brinkley

Publication Date: May 08, 2018
List Price: $26.00
Format: Hardcover, 264 pages
Classification: Fiction
ISBN13: 9781555978051
Imprint: Graywolf Press
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Parent Company: Graywolf Press

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Finalist - Fiction

Finalist - Poetry

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
by Terrance Hayes

Publication Date: Jun 19, 2018
List Price: $18.00
Format: Paperback, 112 pages
Classification: Poetry
ISBN13: 9780143133186
Imprint: Penguin Books
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

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Finalist - Young People’s Literature

The Journey of Little Charlie
by Christopher Paul Curtis

Publication Date: Jan 30, 2018
List Price: $16.99
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
ISBN13: 9780545156660
Imprint: Scholastic Press
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Parent Company: Scholastic Inc.

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Longlist - Fiction

Longlist - Poetry

Monument: Poems New and Selected
by Natasha Trethewey

    Publication Date: Nov 06, 2018
    List Price: $26.00
    Format: Hardcover, 208 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9781328507846
    Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
    Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
    Parent Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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