Battle of the Books: 2024 National Book Award Finalists Announced

Ladies and gentlemen, book lovers and literary gladiators, welcome to the ultimate showdown of the written word! The National Book Foundation has just dropped the gauntlet, revealing the finalists for the 2024 National Book Awards. In this high-stakes arena, only the sharpest pens and the most compelling narratives will survive. This year’s contenders span the fierce battlegrounds of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. Each category is a literary coliseum where words are weapons and stories are shields. The winners will be announced on November 20 at the award ceremony. Who will emerge victorious and claim their coveted title?

This is the 75th Annual National Book Awards, an event that celebrates outstanding achievements in literature and spotlights the diverse and dynamic voices that shape contemporary writing. These shortlisted finalists are not just recognized for their exceptional talent — they’ve also sparked conversations about themes and narratives that resonate in today’s literary landscape. Read on to discover the champions of this literary cage match, where every sentence counts and only the best will be left standing.

Fiction

Last year’s winner was Blackouts by Justin Torres.
A whopping 671 books were submitted for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction. The judges this year are Jamie Ford, Lauren Groff (chair), Zeyn Joukhadar, Chawa Magaña, and Reginald McKnight.

• Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• James by Percival Everett
• All Fours by Miranda July
• My Friends by Hisham Matar

Nonfiction

Ned Blackhawk’s The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History was last year’s winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
Just like fiction, there were 671 submissions for nonfiction this year. The judges are Brenda J. Child, Anand Giridharadas, Tressie McMillan Cottom (chair), Timothy Morton, and Arvin Ramgoolam.

• Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De León
• Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church by Eliza Griswold
• Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by Kate Manne
• Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
• Whiskey Tender: A Memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa

Poetry

The winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry was From Unincorporated Territory [Åmot] by Craig Santos Perez.
This year 299 books were submitted for the 2024 award in Poetry. The judges are Richard Blanco (chair), Carolyn Forché, Tyehimba Jess, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Rena Priest.

• Wrong Norma by Anne Carson
• […]: Poems by Fady Joudah
• mother by m.s. RedCherries
• Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss
• Something About Living by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Translated Literature

Stênio Gardel and Bruna Dantas Lobato took home the prize last year for translated literature with The Words That Remain.
The 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature had a total of 141 submissions. The judges are Aron Aji, Jennifer Croft, Jhumpa Lahiri (Chair), Gary Lovely, and Julia Sanches.

• The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
• Aednan: An Epic by Linnea Axelsson, translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel
• The Villain’s Dance by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated from the French by Roland Glasser
• Taiwan Travelogue by Shuāng-zǐ Yáng, translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
• Where the Wind Calls Home by Samar Yazbek, translated from the Arabic by Leri Price

Young People’s Literature

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat took home the gold for Young People’s Literature last year.
For the 2024 award, there were 333 books submitted. The judges are Rose Brock, Huda Fahmy, Leah Johnson, Mike Jung, and Brein Lopez (chair).

• Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
• The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza
• The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
• Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
• The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté

As the literary dust settles, we eagerly await the final verdict. Who will be crowned the champions in this epic battle of the books? With the stage set and the stakes high, the 2024 National Book Awards promise to deliver unforgettable literary triumphs. Stay tuned for the reveal of the winners after the ceremony on November 20!

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Check out some other past National Book Award winners by clicking here.

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