| National Book Award for Nonfiction | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding nonfiction work by US citizens. |
| Location | New York City |
| First awarded | 1935 |
| Website | National Book Foundation |
The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five US annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".[1] The panelists are five "writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field".[2]
The original National Book Awards recognized the "Most Distinguished" biography and nonfiction books (two) of 1935 and 1936, and the "Favorite" nonfiction books of 1937 to 1940. The "Bookseller Discovery" and the "Most Original Book" sometimes recognized nonfiction. (See below.)
The general "Nonfiction" award was one of three when the National Book Awards were re-established in 1950 for 1949 publications, which the National Book Foundation considers the origin of its current Awards series.[3] From 1964 to 1983, under different administrators, there were multiple nonfiction categories.[3]
The current Nonfiction award recognizes one book written by a U.S. citizen and published in the U.S. from December 1 to November 30. The National Book Foundation accepts nominations from publishers until June 15, requires mailing nominated books to the panelists by August 1, and announces five finalists in October. The winner is announced on the day of the final ceremony in November. The award is $10,000 and a bronze sculpture; other finalists get $1000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel.[4] The sculpture by Louise Nevelson dates from the 1980 awards.[5] The $10,000 and $1000 cash prizes and autumn recognition for current-year publications date from 1984.[6][7][a]
About 200 books were nominated for the 1984 award when the single award for general nonfiction was restored.[7]
- ^ "History of the National Book Awards". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "How the National Book Awards Work". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "National Book Award Winners: 1950 – Present". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ "National Book Award Selection Process". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Edwin McDowell (November 22, 1985). "'85 Award To DeLillo For Novel". New York Times. p. C33. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Edwin McDowell (April 14, 1983). "American Book Awards Announced". New York Times. p. C30. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Additional archives: May 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Edwin McDowell (October 18, 1984). "11 Nominated for American Book Awards". New York Times. p. C25. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Additional archives: May 24, 2015.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).