The 68th National Book Awards have announced the longlists in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature.
Two authors based in Durham are among the finalists: Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean and The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson, both in the category of Nonfiction.
Other Southern notables include Jesmyn Ward, author of Sing, Unburied, Sing in the category of Fiction.
Finalist will be announced on October 4. The winners will be announced at an awards gala on November 15.
Established in 1950, the National Book Award is an American literary prize administered by the National Book Foundation, a non-profit organization. Each year, the Foundation selects a total of twenty Judges, including five in each of the four Award categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. Historically, Judges are published writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field, and in some cases, are past NBA Finalists or Winners.
Each panel reads all of the books submitted in their category over the course of the summer. This number typically ranges from 150 titles (Poetry) to upwards of 500 titles (Nonfiction). The NBA began announcing a Longlist in 2013.
Finalist receives a prize of $1,000, a medal, and a citation from the panel at a private Medal Ceremony. Immediately following the Medal Alice Walker, 1983Ceremony, all twenty Finalists read from their nominated books at the Finalists Reading. The four Winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature are announced the following evening at the National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner, where each Winner receives $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
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