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2020 National Book Awards Winners And Finalists

Tina Lernø, Librarian, Digital Content Team,
National Book Awards
2020 National Book Awards Winners

The National Book Foundation has announced the 71st Annual National Book Awards and shortlists for 2020. The awards, which were first awarded in 1935, are given out in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. This year we were honored to participate in the National Book Awards by hosting Lisa Lucas in the Children’s Literature Department at Central Library during the awards ceremony.

The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture. All of us at the Los Angeles Public Library couldn't agree more!


Fiction Short List


Book cover for Interior Chinatown
Interior Chinatown
Yu, Charles

Winner: 2020 National Book Award for Fiction


Book cover for Leave the World Behind
Leave the World Behind
Alam, Rumaan

Book cover for A Children's Bible
A Children's Bible
Millet, Lydia

Book cover for The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
Philyaw, Deesha

Book cover for Shuggie Bain
Shuggie Bain
Stuart, Douglas


Non-Fiction Short List


Book cover for The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
Payne, Les

Winner: 2020 National Book Award for Non-Fiction


Book cover for Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
Saunt, Claudio

Book cover for My Autobiography of Carson McCullers
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers
Shapland, Jenn

Book cover for The Undocumented Americans
The Undocumented Americans
Cornejo Villavicencio, Karla

Book cover for How to Make a Slave and Other Essays
How to Make a Slave and Other Essays
Walker, Jerald


Poetry Short List


Book cover for DMZ Colony
DMZ Colony
Choi, Don Mee

Winner: 2020 National Book Award for Poetry


Book cover for A Treatise on Stars
A Treatise on Stars
Berssenbrugge, Mei-mei

Book cover for Fantasia for the Man in Blue
Fantasia for the Man in Blue
Blount,Tommye

Book cover for Borderland Apocrypha
Borderland Apocrypha
Cody, Anthony

Currently unavailable.


Book cover for Postcolonial: Love Poem
Postcolonial: Love Poem
Diaz, Natalie


Translated Literature Short List


Book cover for Tokyo Ueno Station
Tokyo Ueno Station
Yū, Miri

Winner: 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature


Book cover for High as the Waters Rise
High as the Waters Rise
Kampmann, Anja

Book cover for The Family Clause
The Family Clause
Khemiri, Jonas Hassen

Book cover for The Bitch
The Bitch
Quintana, Pilar

Book cover for Minor Detail
Minor Detail
Shiblī, ʻAdanīyah


Young People's Literature Short List


Book cover for King and the Dragonflies
King and the Dragonflies
Callender, Kacen

Winner: 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature


Book cover for We Are Not Free
We Are Not Free
Chee, Traci

Book cover for Every Body Looking
Every Body Looking
Iloh, Candice

Book cover for When Stars are Scattered
When Stars are Scattered
Jamieson, Victoria

Book cover for The Way Back
The Way Back
Savit, Gavriel


 

 

 

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