The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual
National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the
National Book Foundation, but 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]
General fiction was one of four categories when the awards were re-established in 1950. For several years beginning 1980, prior to the Foundation, there were multiple fiction categories: hardcover, paperback, first novel or first work of fiction; from 1981 to 1983 hardcover and paperback
children's fiction; and only in 1980 five awards to
mystery fiction,
science fiction, and
western fiction.[3] When the Foundation celebrated the 60th postwar awards in 2009, all but three of the 77 previous winners in fiction categories were in print.[4] The 77 included all eight 1980 winners but excluded the 1981 to 1983 children's fiction winners.[5]
The 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 $1,000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel.[6]
Authors who have won the award more than once include
William Faulkner,
John Updike,
William Gaddis,
Jesmyn Ward, and
Philip Roth, each having won on two occasions along with numerous other nominations.
Saul Bellow won the award in three decades (1954, 1965, 1971) and is the only author to have won the National Book Award for Fiction three times.
National Book Awards for Fiction
From
1935 to 1941, there were six annual awards for general fiction and the "Bookseller Discovery" or "Most Original Book" was sometimes a novel. From 1980 to 1985, there were six annual awards to first novels or
first works of fiction. In 1980 there were five awards to
mystery, western, or science fiction. There have been many awards to fiction in the
Children's or
Young People's categories.[3]
Honorees, general fiction
This list covers only the post-war awards (
pre-war awards follow) to general fiction for adult readers: one annual winner from 1950 except two undifferentiated winners 1973 to 1975, dual hardcover and paperback winners 1980 to 1983.
For each award, the winner is listed first followed by the finalists. Unless otherwise noted, the year represents the year the award was given for books published in the prior year. Thus, the award year 1950 is for books published in 1949.
1950s
National Book Award for Fiction winners and finalists, 1950-1959
For 1980 to 1983 this list covers the paired "Fiction (hardcover)" and "Fiction (paperback)" awards in that order. Hard and paper editions were distinguished only in these four years; none of the paperback winners were
original; in their first editions all had been losing finalists in 1979 or 1981.
From 1980 to 1985 there was also one award for first novel or first work of fiction and in 1980 there were five more awards for mystery, western, and science fiction.[3] None of those are covered here.
1980-1983
National Book Award for Fiction winners and finalists, 1980-1983
1983 entries were published during 1982; winners in 27 categories were announced April 13 and privately celebrated April 28, 1983.[66]
1984 entries for the "revamped" awards in three categories were published November 1983 to October 1984; eleven finalists were announced October 17.[67] Winners were announced and celebrated November 15, 1984.[68]
1984-1989
National Book Award for Fiction winners and finalists, 1984-1989
The National Book Awards for 1935 to 1940 annually recognized the "Most Distinguished Novel" (1935–1936) or "Favorite Fiction" (1937–1940). Furthermore, works of fiction were eligible for the "Bookseller Discovery" and "Most Original Book" awards; fiction winners are listed here.
There was only one National Book Award for 1941, the Bookseller Discovery, which recognized the novel Hold Autumn In Your Hand by George Perry;[147] then none until the 1950 revival in three categories including Fiction.
^The Complete Stories was named the "Best of the National Book Awards" as part of the Fiction Award's 60th anniversary celebration in 2009, by internet visitors voting on a ballot of the best six award winners selected by writers associated with the Foundation.
^
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The Fiction panels split the 1973, 1974, and 1975 awards. Split awards have been prohibited continuously from 1984.
^
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Contemporary coverage by The New York Times lists four "close seconds" for the four awards, three of which were works of fiction. The third listed was nonfiction, but Nonfiction was the second listed award winner, so the allocation of "close seconds" to award categories is uncertain.
^"Book Publishers Make 3 Awards: Nelson Algren, Dr. Ralph L. Rusk and Dr. W. C. Williams Receive Gold Plaques". The New York Times. March 17, 1950. p. 21.
^Harold Augenbraum (June 18, 2009).
"The Collected Stories of William Faulkner". NBA Fiction Blog. Archived from
the original on September 13, 2009. The Book of National Book Awards Apocrypha says that when told he had won the National Book Award in Fiction for 1951, just 15 months after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, William Faulkner said, "I could have written a cookbook this year and they would have given me the National Book Award."
^David Kirby (August 4, 2009).
"The Hair of Harold Roux". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^William Cole (May 4, 1975).
"The Last of the National Book Awards?". The New York Times.
Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018. The judges had been begged not to give split decisionsAdditional archives:
2018-03-18.
^Deb Caletti (August 9, 2009).
"The World According to Garp". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^Patricia Smith (August 19, 2009).
"Plains Song". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^Willie Perdomo (August 18, 2009).
"The Stories of John Cheever". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^Amity Gaige (August 22, 2009).
"Rabbit Is Rich". NBA Fiction Blog. Archived from
the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^Daniel Menaker (August 19, 2009).
"So Long, See You Tomorrow". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
^Anna Clark (August 23, 2009).
"The Color Purple". NBA Fiction Blog.
Archived from the original on March 8, 2018.