The National Book Foundation has announced the 2023 National Book Awards Longlist for four of its five categories – Young People's Literature, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature – with the Fiction Longlist yet to be announced. The American literary prize sifts through hundreds of publisher-nominated books each year to emerge with, what the judges believe to be, the best 10 titles from each category that year.
These 10 books are then whittled down to five titles for each category and the 2023 shortlists will be announced on October 3. From here, the finalists will be named in a ceremony on November 15, in which Drew Barrymore – who was originally scheduled to host, will no longer be present for her decision to producing her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA writers strikes.
Speaking to the decision, The National Book Foundation said: "The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture."
"In light of the announcement that The Drew Barrymore Show will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms Barrymore's invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony," the statement read.
Along with the Kirkus Prize and the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Awards are one of the most prestigious literary awards, and if nothing else, provide readers with a host of new authors and books to discover. Find the 2023 National Book Awards Longlists, below.
National Book Award Longlist for Nonfiction
Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
Jonathan Eig, King: A Life
Viet Thanh Nguyen, A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial
Prudence Peiffer, The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever
Donovan X. Ramsey, When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era
Cristina Rivera Garza, Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice
Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes
Raja Shehadeh, We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir
John Vaillant, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
Kidada E. Williams, I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry
John Lee Clark, How to Communicate
Oliver de la Paz, The Diaspora Sonnets
Annelyse Gelman, Vexations
José Olivarez, Promises of Gold
Craig Santos Perez, from unincorporated territory [åmot]
Paisley Rekdal, West: A Translation
Brandon Som, Tripas
Charif Shanahan, Trace Evidence
Evie Shockley, suddenly we
Monica Youn, From From
National Book Award Longlist for Translated Literature
Juan Cárdenas, The Devil of the Provinces
Translated from the Spanish by Lizzie Davis
Bora Chung, Cursed Bunny
Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur
David Diop, Beyond the Door of No Return
Translated from the French by Sam Taylor
Jenny Erpenbeck, Kairos
Translated from the German by Michael Hofmann
Stênio Gardel, The Words That Remain
Translated from the Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato
Khaled Khalifa, No One Prayed Over Their Graves
Translated from the Arabic by Leri Price
Fernanda Melchor, This Is Not Miami
Translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes
Pilar Quintana, Abyss
Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman
Astrid Roemer, On a Woman’s Madness
Translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, The Most Secret Memory of Men
Translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud
National Book Award Longlist for Young People’s Literature
Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says
Kenneth M. Cadow, Gather
Alyson Derrick, Forget Me Not
Huda Fahmy, Huda F Cares?
Vashti Harrison, Big
Katherine Marsh, The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine
Dan Nott, Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day
Dan Santat, A First Time for Everything
Betty C. Tang, Parachute Kids
Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
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