The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to
expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. In addition to
the National Book Awards, for which it is best known, the Foundation’s programs include 5
Under 35, a celebration of emerging fiction writers selected by former National Book Award
Finalists and Winners; the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference, an opportunity for
New York City students to interview the current National Book Award Finalists in Young People’s
Literature; NBA on Campus, a partnership that brings current National Book Award authors to
Concordia College in Moorhead, MN; the Innovations in Reading Prize, awarded to individuals
and institutions that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love
of reading; and BookUp, a writer-led, after-school reading club for middle- and high-school
students, run in New York City and Texas.

The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar
record of identifying and rewarding quality writing. In 1950, William Carlos Williams was the
first Winner in Poetry, the following year William Faulkner was honored in Fiction, and so on
through the years. Many previous Winners of a National Book Award are now firmly established
in the canon of American literature, such as Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Franzen,
Denis Johnson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Adrienne Rich.

…No Critics At All