The National Book Awards celebrate the year's best writing and the shortlist in five categories—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young adult literature—were announced today. There are many names here you may recognize from previous award lists, but also newer writers including several with a debut title. The winners in each category will be announced in November, but that's no reason to wait to dive into these outstanding reads. 

Fiction

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Zorrie by Laird Hunt

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

Hell of a Book: Or the Altogether Factual, Wholly Bona Fide Story of a Big Dreams, Hard Luck, American-made Mad Kid by Jason Mott

Nonfiction

A Little Devil in America: Notes In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains by Lucas Bessire (not yet in NYPL's collection)

Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho

Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America by Nicole Eustace

All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family's Keepsake by Tiya Miles

Poetry

What Noise Against the Cane by Desiree C. Bailey

Floaters by Martín Espada

Sho by Douglas Kearny (not yet in NYPL's collection)

A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure by Hoa Nguyen

The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us From the Void by Jackie Wang

Translated Literature

Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated from the French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins

Peach Blossom Paradise by Ge Fei, translated from the Chinese by Canaan Morse

The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut, translated from the Spanish by Adrian Nathan West

Planet of Clay by Samar Yazbek, translated from the Arabic by Leri Price

Young People's Literature

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

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