The annual awards, which celebrate the best of American literature and works translated into English for U.S. readers, represent one of the highest honors a writer or translator can receive. The journey to these selections involves rigorous reading and deliberation by panels of esteemed judges, who narrow down hundreds of submissions from publishers across the country.

As tradition dictates, the ultimate winners will be revealed in person at the upcoming 77th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner in New York City. The stakes are both prestigious and financially rewarding: winners in each of the five categories will receive a prize of $10,000, alongside a bronze medal and an engraved statue. Meanwhile, all finalists whose works have made the coveted shortlist will also be recognized for their literary achievements, taking home $1,000 and a bronze medal.

With the slate now set, readers, critics, and publishing professionals alike are eagerly turning their attention to the nominated titles, which touch upon a vast spectrum of human experiences, historical reckonings, poetic explorations, and global narratives.

FICTION

The fiction category highlights a dynamic mix of established literary stars and inventive contemporary storytellers. Leading the shortlist is Hannah Lillith Assadi with Paradiso 17, published by Knopf / Penguin Random House. Assadi’s work is joined by Dèy from acclaimed author Edwidge Danticat, also published by Knopf / Penguin Random House, a house that commands a strong presence across several categories this year.

Also securing a spot in the fiction lineup is Julián Delgado Lopera for Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You, published by Liveright / W. W. Norton & Company. Valeria Luiselli adds to Knopf’s strong showing with her latest novel, Beginning Middle End. Rounding out the five fiction finalists is Morgan Thomas, whose novel Mad Eden was published by MCD, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux under Macmillan Publishers.

NONFICTION

The nonfiction finalists delve deep into memoir, cultural critique, historical investigation, and personal essays, offering profound insights into society, art, and identity. Colin Asher makes the list with The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music, published by W. W. Norton & Company, which uncovers hidden narratives within the tapestry of American musical history.

Abdelrahman ElGendy shares a deeply personal account in Huna: A Memoir of Revolution, Prison, and Becoming, published by Hogarth / Penguin Random House. Camonghne Felix contributes to the discourse with Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom, published by One World / Penguin Random House.

The category is further enriched by Sara Noviäc’s Mother Tongue, released through Random House / Penguin Random House, and Joseph Osmundson’s Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenthood, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, which explores the complexities of family-making from a unique perspective.

POETRY

The poetry shortlist captures a remarkable range of lyrical innovation, environmental contemplation, and deep emotional resonance. Victoria Chang is recognized for Tree of Knowledge, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers. Carolina Ebeid joins the finalists with Hide, published by Graywolf Press.

The nominees also include Brenda Hillman’s Still House in the Desert: An eco-contemplation, brought to readers by Wesleyan University Press, and Fady Joudah’s powerful work, Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza, published by Milkweed Editions. Susan Stewart rounds out the poetry finalists with Bramble, published by the University of Chicago Press, rounding out a powerful slate of verse.

TRANSLATED LITERATURE

Celebrating the vital bridge-building work of translators alongside international authors, the Translated Literature category spans multiple languages, geographies, and historical contexts. Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard is recognized for The School of Night, translated by Martin Aitken and published by Penguin Press / Penguin Random House.

Vicente Luis Mora’s Centroeuropa, translated from the Spanish by Rahul Bery, represents Bellevue Literary Press among the finalists. Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha is nominated for Night of a Thousand Hells, translated by Stephen Epstein and Tiffany Tsao and published by Europa Editions.

The category also features Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s Pure Men, translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud and published by Other Press, as well as Samar Yazbek’s Your Presence Is a Danger to Your Life: Voices of Survival and Witness in Gaza, translated from the Arabic by Leri Price, also published by Other Press.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE

The Young People’s Literature category honors storytelling that speaks powerfully to children and teenagers, addressing complex themes of identity, history, and imaginative world-building. Elana K. Arnold is named a finalist for Holloway, published by Clarion Books / HarperCollins Publishers.

Tae Keller secures a spot with When Tomorrow Burns, published by Random House Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House. Keala Kendall is recognized for That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic, also from Random House Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House.

The shortlist is completed by David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels for The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House, and Julian Randall for Shook, published by Henry Holt and Company (BYR) under Macmillan Publishers.

As the literary community digests today’s announcements, anticipation builds toward the autumn gala in New York City, where the winners will finally be crowned.