Each month, I highlight one book award and one notable list from my journal series, Read, Remember, Recommend. This month, I am giving away Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann – the 2009 National Book Award winner, so I thought February would be the perfect month to highlight the National Book Award.

The National Book Awards, including the Award for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature, are given annually in November to American authors for books published the prior year. The purpose of these awards, created in 1950 by a group of publishers, is “to enhance the public’s awareness of exceptional books… and to increase
the popularity of reading in general.” 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 good writing in America.” Award categories have varied over the years, but now include nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature. For each genre, an independent five-judge panel selects the winner. Each winner receives a bronze sculpture and $10,000. In certain years, two awards were given in fiction, sometimes to honor publications in both hardcover and paperback. More information for both awards can be found at National Book Foundation.

National Book Award for Fiction
The 2009 Fiction winner: Let the Great World Spin, by Column McCann Colum McCann’s acceptance speech (as well as speeches from all finalists) can be seen here: NBA Speeches.
The 2009 National Book Award Fiction Award finalists:
American Salvage, by Bonnie Jo Campbell In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, byDaniyal Mueenuddin Lark and Termite, Jayne Anne Phillips Far North, by Marcel Theroux
National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
The 2009 Young People’s Literature winner: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose.
The 2009 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature finalists:
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman Stitches, by David Small Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor Jumped, by Rita Williams-Garcia
You can find these lists in:
The complete National Book Award winners for Fiction as well as the finalists from 1990 can be found on page 19 of Read, Remember, Recommend: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers. The National Book Award for Poetry can be found on page 26.
The complete list of National Book Award winners for Young People’s Literature can be found on page 11 of Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 7:03 am and is filed under Award Spotlights and Updates, Award and Notable List Spotlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.