National Book Award Winners Announced
The National Book Foundation named the 2011 National Book Award winners on November 16th at their 62nd annual dinner and ceremony in New York City. For those who could not attend in person, the entire event was webcast via Twitter and Facebook to almost 180,000 fans and followers.
Established in 1950, the National Book Awards have recognized the achievements of authors who have helped shape American literature over the past decades. Past award winners include William Faulkner, Julia Child, John Updike, and Ralph Ellison.
Twenty judges spend their summer reading book submissions and selecting finalists. This year, there were over 1,200 books submitted in total, and awards were given in the categories of: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The winners were as follows:
Fiction: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Nonfiction: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Poetry: Head off & Split by Nikky Finney
Young People’s Fiction: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Hosted by actor, writer and musician John Lithgow, the ceremony was not characterized by suspense (as winners are known ahead of the event), but by the powerful acceptance speeches given by each winner. A five time Emmy award winner and two time Golden Globe winner, Lithgow is no stranger to acceptance speeches. Nonetheless, he described Finney’s speech as, “the best acceptance speech I’ve ever heard for anything in my life.”
For more information and a video of the entire ceremony, visit the National Book Foundation’s website.
Established in 1950, the National Book Awards have recognized the achievements of authors who have helped shape American literature over the past decades. Past award winners include William Faulkner, Julia Child, John Updike, and Ralph Ellison.
Twenty judges spend their summer reading book submissions and selecting finalists. This year, there were over 1,200 books submitted in total, and awards were given in the categories of: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The winners were as follows:
Fiction: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Nonfiction: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Poetry: Head off & Split by Nikky Finney
Young People’s Fiction: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Hosted by actor, writer and musician John Lithgow, the ceremony was not characterized by suspense (as winners are known ahead of the event), but by the powerful acceptance speeches given by each winner. A five time Emmy award winner and two time Golden Globe winner, Lithgow is no stranger to acceptance speeches. Nonetheless, he described Finney’s speech as, “the best acceptance speech I’ve ever heard for anything in my life.”
For more information and a video of the entire ceremony, visit the National Book Foundation’s website.
posted by Fairfax Library Foundation at
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