The National Book Critics Circle Awards are given each year by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to recognize the best books and reviews written in English. The first awards were announced and presented on January 16, 1976. According to The New York Times, these awards, along with the National Book Awards and the Pulitzer Prizes, are among the most respected literary prizes in the United States.
Each year, six awards are given to books published in the United States the year before. The categories are Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Memoir or Autobiography, Biography, and Criticism. Two of these categories, Memoir or Autobiography and Biography, were previously combined into one award from 1983 to 2004. Beginning in 2014, the NBCC also gives a special "first book" award in all six categories. This award is called the John Leonard Award, named after John Leonard, a literary critic and NBCC founding member who died in 2008.
Books that were previously published in English, such as reprinted editions or paperbacks, are not eligible. The NBCC also does not consider cookbooks, self-help books, reference books, picture books, or children’s books. However, they do consider translations, short story or essay collections, self-published books, and books that fit into the general categories.
The judges are the directors of the NBCC, who are volunteers. There are 24 members who serve three-year terms, and eight are chosen each year by voting members, who are professional book review editors and reviewers. The winners are announced during the NBCC awards ceremony, which happens in March along with the yearly membership meeting.
Award categories
- Biography
- Criticism
- Fiction
- Nonfiction Books
- Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award
- John Leonard Prize for Best First Book
- Memoirs and Autobiographies
- Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing
- Poetry
- Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize