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The National Book Awards

2008 Winners

On November 19, 2008, the winners of the National Book Awards were announced during the 59th National Book Foundation Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner in New York City.

This year's winners are:

Fiction
SHADOW COUNTRY by Peter Matthiessen (Modern Library)

Nonfiction
THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (Norton)

Poetry
FIRE TO FIRE: New and Collected Poems by Mark Doty (HarperCollins)

Young People's Literature
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell (Scholastic)

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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2008 National Book Awards Finalists

On October 15, 2008, at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, bestselling author Scott Turow announced the finalists for the 59th annual National Book Awards, which were chosen by four distinguished panels of judges from over 1200 submissions. The winners --- who will each receive a $10,000 prize, as well as a bronze statue --- will be honored at a Benefit Dinner on November 19th in New York City.

The finalists for the 2008 National Book Awards are:

Fiction
THE LAZARUS PROJECT by Aleksandar Hemon (Riverhead)
TELEX FROM CUBA by Rachel Kushner (Scribner)
SHADOW COUNTRY by Peter Matthiessen (Modern Library)
HOME by Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
THE END by Salvatore Scibona (Graywolf Press)

Nonfiction
THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust (Alfred A. Knopf)
THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (W. W. Norton & Co.)
THE DARK SIDE: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer (Doubleday)
FINAL SALUTE: A Story of Unfinished Lives by Jim Sheeler (Penguin)
THE SUICIDE INDEX: Putting My Father's Death in Order by Joan Wickersham (Harcourt)

Poetry
WATCHING THE SPRING FESTIVAL by Frank Bidart (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
FIRE TO FIRE: New and Collected Poems by Mark Doty (HarperCollins)
CREATURES OF A DAY by Reginald Gibbons (Louisiana Sate University Press)
WITHOUT SAYING by Richard Howard (Turtle Point Press)
BLOOD DAZZLER by Patricia Smith (Coffee House Press)

Young People's Literature
CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson (Simon & Schuster)
THE UNDERNEATH by Kathi Appelt (Atheneum)
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell (Scholastic)
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart (Hyperion)
THE SPECTACULAR NOW by Tim Tharp (Alfred A. Knopf)

Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
Maxine Hong Kingston

Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community
Barney Rosset

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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2008 National Book Foundation Honorees

Maxine Hong Kingston, author of such works as THE WOMAN WARRIOR, HAWAII ONE SUMMER, and THE FIFTH BOOK OF PEACE, will be awarded the 2008 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, in recognition of her outstanding achievement in as a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. As the daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, she utilized a wide range of literary styles to create a startling new approach to immigrant memoir and fiction. In 1981, she received the National Book Award for CHINA MEN. She will be honored on November 19 during the 59th National Book Awards Ceremony to be held in New York City. Previous recipients include Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison and John Updike.

The National Book Foundation will also award legendary publisher Barney Rosset with the 2008 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the Literary Community. Through his publishing house, Grove Press, and his magazine The Evergreen Review, American audiences were exposed to the likes of Samuel Becket, Harold Pinter, Jean Genet and Eugène Ionesco, as well as several writers of the Beat Generation. He also fought two landmark first amendment battles in order to published the controversial uncensored version of LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER by D. H. Lawrence and TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller. Terry Gross, Robert Silvers, Barbara Epstein and Lawrence Ferlinghetti are among previous winners of the award.

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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2007 National Book Award Winners

On November 14th, the 2007 National Book Award winners were announced at a ceremony held at The Marriott Marquis in New York City and hosted by Fran Lebowitz. The recipients in the four categories of Young People's Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction were each given a cash prize of $10,000 and a bronze statue.

The winners of this year's National Book Awards are:

FICTION:
TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

NONFICTION:
LEGACY OF ASHES: The History of the CIA by Tim Weinercy (Doubleday)

POETRY:
TIME AND MATERIALS by Robert Hass (Ecco/HarperCollins)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown & Company)

Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
Joan Didion

Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community
Terry Gross

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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The 2007 National Book Award Nominees

On October 10, 2007, the finalists for this year's National Book Awards were announced by author and social critic Camille Paglia at the Library Company in Philadelphia, PA, the oldest public library in America. An esteemed panel of judges selected 20 books and their authors for their outstanding writing published in the last year. The winners, to each receive $10,000 and a bronze statue, will be announced on November 14th, at a Benefit Ceremony hosted by Fran Lebowitz.

The nominees for the 2007 National Book Award are:

FICTION:
FIELDWORK by Mischa Berlinski (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
VARIETIES OF DISTURBANCE by Lydia Davis (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
THEN WE CAME TO THE END by Joshua Ferris (Little, Brown & Company)
TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
LIKE YOU'D UNDERSTAND, ANYWAY by Jim Shepard (Alfred A. Knopf)

NONFICTION:
BROTHER, I'M DYING by Edwidge Danticat (Alfred A. Knopf)
GOD IS NOT GREAT: HOW RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING by Christopher Hitchens (Twelve/Hachette Book Group USA)
UNRULY AMERICANS AND THE ORIGINS OF THE CONSTITUTION by Woody Holton (Hill and Wang / Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
RALPH ELLISON: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad (Alfred A. Knopf)
LEGACY OF ASHES: The History of the CIA by Tim Weinercy (Doubleday)

POETRY:
MAGNETIC NORTH by Linda Gregerson (Houghton Mifflin Company)
TIME AND MATERIALS by Robert Hass (Ecco/HarperCollins)
THE HOUSE ON BOULEVARD ST. by David Kirby (Louisiana State University Press)
OLD HEART by Stanley Plumly (W.W. Norton & Company)
MESSENGER: New and Selected Poems 1976 - 2006 by Ellen Bryant Voigt (W.W. Norton & Company)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown & Company)
SKIN HUNGER: A Resurrection of Magic, Book One by Kathleen Duey (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
TOUCHING SNOW by M. Sindy Felin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press)
STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr (Little, Brown & Company)

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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The 2006 National Book Award Winners

At an annual black tie ceremony and dinner held in New York City on November 15th, the winners of the 2006 National Book Awards were announced. The recipients in the four categories of Young People's Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction were each given a cash prize of $10,000 and a bronze statue. Previous winners include Jonathan Franzen, Julia Glass, Nancy Farmer, Louis Sachar, Joan Didion, Gore Vidal, W. S. Merwin, and Philip Levine.

The winners of this year's National Book Awards are:

FICTION:
THE ECHO MAKER by Richard Powers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

NONFICTION:
THE WORST HARD TIME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE GREAT AMERICAN DUST BOWL by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin)

POETRY:
SPLAY ANTHEM by Nathaniel Mackey (New Directions)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOL. 1: THE POX PARTY by M. T. Anderson

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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The 2006 National Book Award Finalists

On October 11, 2006 at City Lights Books in San Francisco, CA, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti announced the finalists for the 2006 National Book Awards. The shortlists of five titles in four categories were chosen from a record number of 1,259 entries, submitted by publishers. Sponsored and presented by the National Book Foundation, the award seeks to recognize books of exceptional merit written by Americans, and is the country's preeminent literary prize.

This year's winners will be announced at the National Book Foundation Benefit Dinner, to be held in Manhatten on November 15 and hosted by writer Fran Lebowitz. Each winner will receive $10,000 and a bronze statue, and each finalist a bronze medal and a $1000 cash award.

The finalists for this year's National Book Awards include:

FICTION:
ONLY REVOLUTIONS by Mark Z. Danielewski (Pantheon)
A DISORDER PECULIAR TO THE COUNTRY by Ken Kalfus (Ecco/HarperCollins)
THE ECHO MAKER by Richard Powers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
EAT THE DOCUMENT by Dana Spiotta (Scribner/Simon & Schuster)
THE ZERO by Jess Walter (Judith Regan Books/HarperCollins)

NONFICTION:
AT CANAAN'S EDGE: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1965-68 by Taylor Branch (Simon & Schuster)
IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY: INSIDE IRAQ'S GREEN ZONE by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Alfred A. Knopf)
THE WORST HARD TIME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE GREAT AMERICAN DUST BOWL by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin)
ORACLE BONES: A JOURNEY BETWEEN CHINA'S PAST AND PRESENT by Peter Hessler (HarperCollins)
THE LOOMING TOWER: AL QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11 by Lawrence Wright (Alfred A. Knopf)

POETRY:
AVERNO by Louise Gluck (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
CHROMATIC by H. L. Hix (Etruscan Press)
ANGLE OF YAW by Ben Lerner (Copper Canyon Press)
SPLAY ANTHEM by Nathaniel Mackey (New Directions)
CAPACITY by James McMichael (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOL. 1: THE POX PARTY by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick Press)
KETURAH AND LORD DEATH by Martine Leavitt (Front Street Books. Boyds Mills Press)
SOLD by Patricia McCormick (Hyperion Books For Children)
THE RULES OF SURVIVAL by Nancy Werlin (Dial/Penguin)
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Luen Yang (First Second/Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck)

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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The 2005 National Book Award Winners

On November 16, 2005 the National Book Foundation announced the winners of their annual award at a black tie ceremony and dinner at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. As one of the country's most distinguished literary prizes, the award honors books of exceptional merit written by Americans.

The winners of the 2005 National Book Award, chosen from 1,195 entries narrowed to a shortlist of five nominees per category, are:

FICTION:
EUROPE CENTRAL by William T. Vollmann (Viking)

NONFICTION:
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion (Knopf)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE PENDERWICKS by Jeanne Birdsall (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)

POETRY:
MIGRATION: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by W. S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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The 2005 National Book Award Finalists

On October 12, 2005, the 20 finalists for this year's National Book Awards were announced in Oxford, Mississippi.

The winners will be selected by four panels of judges seeking to recognize books of exceptional merit written by Americans, and will each receive a prize of $10,000 plus a bronze statue. The National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony will be held in Manhattan on November 16th.

Chosen from a record number of 1,195 entries, the shortlist consists of:

FICTION:
THE MARCH by E.L. Doctorow (Random House)
VERONICA by Mary Gaitskill (Pantheon)
TRANCE by Christopher Sorrentino (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
HOLY SKIRTS by René Steinke (William Morrow)
EUROPE CENTRAL by William T. Vollmann (Viking)

NONFICTION:
OUT OF EDEN: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion, by Alan Burdick (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU: Restless Genius, by Leo Damrosch (Houghton Mifflin)
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion (Alfred A. Knopf)
102 MINUTES: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynns (Times Books)
BURY THE CHAINS: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves, by Adam Hochschild (Houghton Mifflin)

POETRY:
WHERE SHALL I WANDER by John Ashbery (Ecco)
STAR DUST: Poems, by Frank Bidart (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
HABITAT: New and Selected Poems, 1965-2005 by Brendan Galvin (Louisiana State University Press)
MIGRATION: New and Selected Poems, by W.S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)
THE MOMENT'S EQUATION by Vern Rutsala (Ashland Poetry Press)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE:
THE PENDERWICKS by Jeanne Birdsall (Alfred A. Knopf)
WHERE I WANT TO BE by Adele Griffin (Putnam)
INEXCUSABLE by Chris Lynch (Atheneum)
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DEAD BROTHER by Walter Dean Myers (HarperTempest)
EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS by Deborah Wiles (Harcourt)

More information about The National Book Awards can be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/.

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