The winners in each of the five categories—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction—will be announced November 18, 2020, in a virtual ceremony. Acclaimed novelist Walter Mosley will receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Carolyn Reidy, the late Simon & Schuster CEO, will be honored with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.
Fiction
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam — National Book Foundation (@nationalbook) October 6, 2020 A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Nonfiction
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory by Claudio Saunt My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland How to Make a Slave and Other Essays by Jerald Walker
Poetry
A Treatise on Stars by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge Fantasia for the Man in Blue by Tommye Blount DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi Borderland Apocrypha by Anthony Cody Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Translated Literature
High as the Waters Rise by Anja Kampmann, translated by Anne Posten The Family Clause by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, translated by Alice Menzies Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles The Bitch by Pilar Quintana, translated by Lisa Dillman Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
Young People’s Literature
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender We Are Not Free by Traci Chee Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed The Way Back by Gavriel Savit Curious about the other nominated titles? Looking for more great recommendations? Check out the 2020 National Book Awards Longlists.
