2016 National Book Awards Longlist (40 books)

Established in 1950, the National Book Award is an American literary prize administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. A pantheon of such writers as William Faulkner, Marianne Moore, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth, Robert Lowell, Walker Percy, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Norman Mailer, Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Bishop, Saul Bellow, Donald Barthelme, Flannery O’Connor, Adrienne Rich, Thomas Pynchon, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Alice Walker, Charles Johnson, E. Annie Proulx, and Colum McCann have all won the Award.

The Longlist for Young People’s Literature will be revealed on newyorker.com on Monday, September 12th at 9 a.m. (EDT), followed by the Longlist for Poetry on Tuesday, September 13th at 9 a.m., the Longlist for Nonfiction on September 14th, and finally, the Longlist for Fiction on September 15th.

Please do not add other books to the list. Feel free to vote for your favorites!

National Book Award Winners

National Book Award Short List:
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016

National Book Award Long List:
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

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All Votes Add Books To This List

1	News of the World by Paulette Jiles 4.08 avg rating — 112,634 ratings score: 791, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil 3.87 avg rating — 30,213 ratings score: 684, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Goodreads Author) 4.06 avg rating — 447,585 ratings score: 584, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (Goodreads Author) 4.53 avg rating — 38,576 ratings score: 571, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 15,533 ratings score: 391, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 41,931 ratings score: 384, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	The Performance of Becoming Human by Daniel Borzutzky 3.96 avg rating — 635 ratings score: 378, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett (Goodreads Author) 3.70 avg rating — 20,163 ratings score: 371, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth Mckenzie (Goodreads Author) 3.46 avg rating — 8,274 ratings score: 289, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Miss Jane by Brad Watson 3.95 avg rating — 5,983 ratings score: 289, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	America's War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich 4.24 avg rating — 2,207 ratings score: 284, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Bestiary: Poems by Donika Kelly (Goodreads Author) 4.15 avg rating — 1,970 ratings score: 271, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder 3.56 avg rating — 2,739 ratings score: 267, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez 4.05 avg rating — 2,135 ratings score: 266, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson (Goodreads Author) 4.45 avg rating — 4,973 ratings score: 265, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan (Goodreads Author) 3.57 avg rating — 14,623 ratings score: 264, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet 3.02 avg rating — 3,722 ratings score: 263, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Blackacre: Poems by Monica Youn 3.95 avg rating — 498 ratings score: 260, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson (Goodreads Author) 4.24 avg rating — 2,530 ratings score: 244, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott 4.25 avg rating — 1,034 ratings score: 182, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen (Goodreads Author) 3.77 avg rating — 2,659 ratings score: 180, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Collected Poems: 1974–2004 by Rita Dove 4.26 avg rating — 204 ratings score: 179, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild 4.12 avg rating — 17,950 ratings score: 178, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	World of Made and Unmade: A Poem by Jane Mead 4.09 avg rating — 136 ratings score: 173, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Look: Poems by Solmaz Sharif 4.31 avg rating — 2,723 ratings score: 171, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition by Manisha Sinha 4.23 avg rating — 282 ratings score: 170, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Goodreads Author) 4.05 avg rating — 1,375 ratings score: 163, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore (Goodreads Author) 3.87 avg rating — 11,238 ratings score: 156, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (Goodreads Author) 3.95 avg rating — 22,685 ratings score: 154, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	March: Book Three (March, #3) by John Lewis 4.64 avg rating — 21,713 ratings score: 154, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Pax (Pax, #1) by Sara Pennypacker 3.98 avg rating — 64,863 ratings score: 148, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (Goodreads Author) 4.36 avg rating — 6,705 ratings score: 146, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (Goodreads Author) 3.79 avg rating — 5,197 ratings score: 145, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Booked (The Crossover, #2) by Kwame Alexander 4.17 avg rating — 19,911 ratings score: 144, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Ghost (Track, #1) by Jason Reynolds 4.18 avg rating — 52,495 ratings score: 144, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Goodreads Author) 3.95 avg rating — 359,549 ratings score: 144, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Archeophonics (Wesleyan Poetry Series) by Peter Gizzi 3.89 avg rating — 206 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The Selected Poems of Donald Hall by Donald Hall 4.31 avg rating — 339 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Abridged History of Rainfall (McSweeney's Poetry Series) by Jay Hopler 4.03 avg rating — 224 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Blue Laws: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1995-2015 by Kevin Young 4.20 avg rating — 93 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars