Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


With all the works submitted by publishers, the judges for this year's National Book Awards have had their hands (and bookshelves) full the past few months. But that daunting number of contenders winnowed further Wednesday, as the National Book Foundation announced the finalists for its literary prize — just five works each in four categories: 

You can find those shortlists below, paired with links to NPR's previous coverage for readers to get to know those nominees better.



For now, at least, there are two winners whose names we won't have to wait on: Annie Proulx, who has already won a National Book Award for 

Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters

, the NBF's version of a lifetime achievement award. And Dick Robinson, president and CEO of Scholastic, will be receiving the 

Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community

The rest of this year's winners will be announced on Nov. 15 in New York City.

Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America

The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Colin Dwyer

Author

The National Book Foundation winnowed the list of contenders for its literary prize to just 20 -- or five finalists each in four categories. Among them are Jesmyn Ward, Min Jin Lee and Frank Bidart.

Here are the finalists for the 2017 National Book Awards

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox