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


8 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2024

Finalist - Fiction

Click for a larger image of James

James
by Percival Everett

Publication Date: Mar 19, 2024
List Price: $28.00
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Classification: Fiction
ISBN13: 9780385550369
Imprint: Doubleday Books
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Finalist - Fiction

Click for a larger image of Ghostroots: Stories

Ghostroots: Stories
by ’Pemi Aguda

    Publication Date: May 07, 2024
    List Price: $26.99
    Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
    Classification: Fiction
    ISBN13: 9781324065852
    Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
    Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
    Parent Company: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

    Finalist - Translated Literature

    Click for a larger image of The Villain’s Dance

    The Villain’s Dance
    by Fiston Mwanza Mujila

      Publication Date: Mar 12, 2024
      List Price: $16.95
      Format: Paperback, 272 pages
      Classification: Fiction
      ISBN13: 9781646051274
      Imprint: Deep Vellum Publishing
      Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing
      Parent Company: Deep Vellum Publishing

      Finalist - Young People’s Literature

      Click for a larger image of The Unboxing of a Black Girl

      The Unboxing of a Black Girl
      by Angela Shanté

        Publication Date: May 07, 2024
        List Price: $18.99
        Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
        Classification: Nonfiction
        Target Age Group: Young Adult
        ISBN13: 9798890039538
        Imprint: Page Street YA
        Publisher: Page Street Publishing
        Parent Company: Page Street Publishing Co.

        Longlist - Nonfiction

        Click for a larger image of There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

        There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
        by Hanif Abdurraqib

          Publication Date: Mar 26, 2024
          List Price: $32.00
          Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
          Classification: Nonfiction
          ISBN13: 9780593448793
          Imprint: Random House
          Publisher: Penguin Random House
          Parent Company: Bertelsmann

          Longlist - Poetry

          Click for a larger image of Silver: Poems

          Silver: Poems
          by Rowan Ricardo Phillips

            Publication Date: Mar 05, 2024
            List Price: $26.00
            Format: Hardcover, 80 pages
            Classification: Poetry
            ISBN13: 9780374611316
            Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
            Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
            Parent Company: Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

            Longlist - Poetry

            Click for a larger image of Spectral Evidence: Poems

            Spectral Evidence: Poems
            by Gregory Pardlo

              Publication Date: Jan 30, 2024
              List Price: $28.00
              Format: Hardcover, 128 pages
              Classification: Poetry
              ISBN13: 9781524731786
              Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf
              Publisher: Penguin Random House
              Parent Company: Bertelsmann

              Longlist - Young People’s Literature

              Click for a larger image of Mid-Air

              Mid-Air
              by Alicia D. Williams, Illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff

                Publication Date: Apr 03, 2024
                List Price: $17.99
                Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
                Classification: Fiction
                Target Age Group: Middle Grade
                ISBN13: 9781481465830
                Imprint: Atheneum
                Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
                Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.