National Book Awards Winners & Finalists

Celebrating excellence in American literature, the first National Book Award for Fiction was presented to Nelson Algren for The Man with the Golden Arm in 1950. Since 1989, the National Book Foundation -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the reach of great American literature -- has overseen the awards. Award categories include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. This collection of study guides highlights an assortment of fiction and nonfiction titles for adults, both past award winners and finalists.

Publication year 1961

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography


Publication year 1998

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags WWII / World War II, Holocaust, History: European, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Jewish Literature, Military / War, History: World, Biography

Anita Lobel is the author of No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War. First published in 1998 and a finalist for the National Book Award, the memoir details Lobel’s memories of growing up in Poland and how she survived World War II and the Holocaust. As the book follows Lobel from a child to a teen, it’s also a coming-of-age story and features themes about displacement and identity, as well as ideas like the differences... Read No Pretty Pictures Summary


Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

British author Zadie Smith’s tragicomic novel NW (Penguin Press, 2012), nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2013, presents the interconnected story of several protagonists living in contemporary London. The friendship of Leah Hanwell and Keisha (later Natalie) Blake is central to the narrative. As they grow from childhood, through adolescence, and adulthood, the two are repeatedly challenged in their attempts to navigate issues of social class, race, gender, education, career aspirations, and family... Read NW Summary


Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Classic Fiction, Russian Literature, Post Modernism, American Literature, History: World

Pale Fire is a 1962 experimental novel by Vladimir Nabokov, the author of seminal novels like Lolita and Pnin. The novel consists of a 999-line poem by a fictional poet and the accompanying notations by a fictional editor. Rather than analyze the poem, however, the notations create a new narrative. Pale Fire has been heralded as a landmark example of metafiction and one of the most important novels of the 20th century.This guide is written... Read Pale Fire Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Gender / Feminism, History: World, LGBTQ


Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Society: Class

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children's Literature, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age

Tags Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman

Ramona Quimby, Age 8, (1981) is the sixth book in Beverly Cleary’s middle-grade Ramona series. It follows spirited and curious Ramona as she balances her excitement about entering the third grade with her trepidation over the Quimby family’s financial struggles. Through her misadventures, Ramona learns her place in the family and how to stand up for herself at school using determination and creativity.Known for realistic fiction, Cleary organizes the novel in a series of loosely... Read Ramona Quimby Age 8 Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Raymie Nightingale is a 2016 middle grade novel by two-time Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo. The novel was a National Book Award finalist in the year of its publication. Set in Florida in the summer of 1975, it tells the story of 10-year-old Raymie Clark as she copes with loss and forms a deep friendship that helps her and her new friends in unexpected ways.Plot SummaryRaymie Clark is determined to win the Little Miss Central... Read Raymie Nightingale Summary


Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags British Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Gothic Literature, Modernism, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction

Rebecca, a bestselling novel by famed English writer Daphne du Maurier, was published in 1938, and has never gone out of print. The winner of the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1938, Rebecca has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film version, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and a 1997 television miniseries. It was most recently adapted for a Netflix film in 2020 by the same name. Rebecca... Read Rebecca Summary


Publication year 1961

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction

IntroductionRichard Yates’s novel Revolutionary Road was published in 1961 and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1962, along with Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, which won the award. The book was Yates’s first novel, though he had worked as a journalist and ghostwriter, writing some of John F. Kennedy’s speeches following his service in the US Army during World War II. In a 1976 interview for the literary journal... Read Revolutionary Road Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags History: African , Action / Adventure, Travel Literature, Science / Nature, History: World, Biography


Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Birth, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Climate

Tags Gender / Feminism, Natural Disaster, African American Literature, Climate Change, Southern Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Salvage the Bones tells the story of the Batiste family in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, in the twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. Claude Batiste’s wife, mother of Randall, Skeetah (Jason), Esch and Junior, died a few years ago, right after Junior was born. The kids still live with their father, in an area called the Pit. They are a poor, black family, who mainly survive on what Claude can make by salvaging and then... Read Salvage the Bones Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Climate, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Colonialism, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Japanese Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Humor


Publication year 2006

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Introduction Sold is a young adult novel published in 2006 by American author Patricia McCormick. The protagonist and first-person narrator is Lakshmi, a Nepali girl from a remote mountain village who is 13 when she is trafficked for sex to an illicit organization in a large city in India. Through a series of short, titled poems (or vignettes), Lakshmi chronicles her experiences in the brothel called the “Happiness House,” recording her experiences with the people... Read Sold Summary


Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

So Long, See You Tomorrow is the acclaimed final novel by American writer and editor William Maxwell. Originally published in two parts in New Yorker magazine in 1979, the book appeared the following year and received the prestigious National Book Award in 1982. Maxwell was the fiction editor of the New Yorker from 1936 to 1975, making him one of the most influential literary editors of the era. He worked closely with J. D. Salinger... Read So Long, See You Tomorrow Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Identity: Race

Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Southern Literature, Immigration / Refugee, History: World, Travel Literature, Politics / Government


Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Mental Illness, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Speak is a young-adult realistic fiction novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, first published in 1999. It follows the plight of a teenager, Melinda, who was raped at age 13 and struggles to put her life back together and find her voice. Anderson has written several young adult novels, all of which address pressing issues for teens honestly and empathetically. She was honored with the Margaret A. Edwards award for her important and relevant contributions to... Read Speak Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music

Tags African American Literature, History: U.S., Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government

Ibrahim Kendi’s comprehensive history of racial thought in the US, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, was published in 2016 and won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Kendi has also collaborated author Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down, Ain't Burned All the Bright) on a young adult "remix" of Stamped from the Beginning titled Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, and is well known for his 2019 book, How to... Read Stamped From the Beginning Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Music, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy

Published in 2014, Station Eleven is the fourth novel by Emily St. John Mandel (The Glass Hotel, Sea of Tranquility). The book won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Toronto Book Award, and was shortlisted or nominated for several others. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where a flu outbreak decimates the world’s population, the book is sometimes categorized as science fiction, although it does not feature any fictional technology; its protagonists’ involvement in a traveling... Read Station Eleven Summary