Awarded annually, the National Book Critics Circle Awards honor the year's best books in five categories: fiction, general nonfiction, biography and autobiography, poetry, and criticism. 1997 marks the first year the awards were open to non-American authors whose work was published in the U.S.

What is the NBCC?

Founded in 1974, the NBCC is an organization made up of close to 700 book editors, critics, and freelance reviewers. All members of the National Book Critics Circle are invited to vote for the initial awards nominees.

Also Honored

Each year, the NBCC also administers the Ivan Sandrof Award for Contribution to American Arts and Letters, and presents one member of the Circle with the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing.