The National Book award is given yearly in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature.  The award was first given in 1950 and is an award given to writers by writers.

Fiction:
The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Binocular Vision: New & Selected Stories by Edith Pearlman
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Young People’s Literature:
My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Chime by Franny Billingsley

Interestingly, the Young People’s Literature list has six finalists instead of five.  After the announcement, a sixth book was added to the list of finalists.  When speaking to the LA Times Harold Augebraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation said, “We made a mistake, there was a miscommunication. We could have taken one of the books away to keep it five, but we decided that it was better to add a sixth one as an exception, because they’re all good books.”

Have you read any of the books up for the National Book Award?