Awards season is upon us, and all week long, the National Book Award judges will be releasing their 2026 longlists across five categories. These are among the most prestigious honors bestowed upon books in a given year. The National Book Award began in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, took a break during World War II, and then resumed under the leadership of several collaborating book industry organizations in 1950. A few decades later, the National Book Foundation took over, with the goal of ensuring these books are not only honored but that their impact is felt across the country in a real, meaningful way.
The National Book Awards honor books written by U.S. authors for books published in the United States. The five categories include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. Starting in 2013, the Foundation elected to present a longlist in each category, composed of ten titles and released in September. Those longlists are whittled down to a shortlist and shared in October, as a run-up to the awards, which are presented in November at the National Book Award Ceremony and Dinner. Finalists each take home $1,000, while the winner in each category receives $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
Since September 15th, the National Book Award has presented its longlists for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Nonfiction, and Poetry.
Today, the longlist for Fiction was announced. Within the list are two debuts and six authors who have already been honored by the National Book Foundation. Among the nominees are also fellows from the MacArthur Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. There’s Marlon James’ newly released (and recently sold out) queer epic, a collection of Louise Erdrich’s human and nonhuman short stories, Hannah Lillith Assadi’s (a 2018 5 Under 35 honoree) tale of a Palestinian journey to find home, and more.
The ten longlist titles for the 2026 National Book Award for Fiction are:
Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi
Red Ants by Kimberly Blaeser
Dèy by Edwidge Danticat
Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You by Julián Delgado Lopera
Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich
The Disappearers by Marlon James
Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
Passengers by Alexander Maksik
The Renovation by Kenan Orhan
Mad Eden by Morgan Thomas
Judges for Fiction are Matt Bell, Caro De Robertis, Danielle King, Akhil Sharma, and Diane Wilson.
More information about the National Book Awards is available on their website.
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