2023 National Book Awards Finalists

Read the finalists of the 74th annual National Book Awards before the winners are announced on November 14th! See the full list here: https://www.nationalbook.org/2023-national-book-awards-finalists-announced/

Updated October 6, 2023
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Chain-gang all-stars
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from...
A first time for everything
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
*Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature* A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a...
Temple folk
Bilal, Aaliyah
Paper Book
Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction A groundbreaking debut collection portraying the lived experiences of Black Muslims grappling with faith, family, and freedom in America. In Temple Folk, Black Muslims contemplate the convictions of their...
This other Eden : a novel
Harding, Paul
Paper Book
In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys' descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are desperately poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the...
Fire weather : a true story from a hotter world
Vaillant, John
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN NONFICTION * A stunning account of a colossal wildfire and a panoramic exploration of the rapidly changing relationship between fire and humankind from the...
The end of drum-time : a novel
Pylva?inen, Hanna
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD An epic love story in the vein of Cold Mountain and The Great Circle, about a young reindeer herder and a minister's daughter in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle In 1851, at a remote village in the...
Big
Harrison, Vashti
Paper Book
Winner of the Caldecott Medal! A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor book, a National Book Award finalist, and a New York Times bestseller! This deeply moving story shares valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance,...
Ordinary notes
Sharpe, Christina Elizabeth
Paper Book
A finalist for the National Book Award in Nonfiction A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction Named a Best Book of 2023 by The New York Times, NPR, New York magazine, Kirkus, and Barnes and Noble ...
Cursed bunny
Chung, Bora
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN TRANSLATED LITERATURE A wildly original debut from a rising star of Korean literature--surreal, chilling fables that take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech with absurdist humor and a (sometimes...
On a woman's madness
Roemer, Astrid
Paper Book
A FINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE On a Woman's Madness tells the story of Noenka, a courageous Black woman trying to live a life of her own choosing. When her abusive husband of just nine days refuses her...
Huda F cares
Fahmy, Huda
Paper Book
A National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalist In this laugh-out-loud funny sequel to the graphic novel Huda F Are You?, the Fahmys are off to Disney World, but self-conscious Huda worries her family will stand out too much. Huda and her sisters...
The rediscovery of America : native peoples and the unmaking of U.S. history
Blackhawk, Ned
Paper Book
National Bestseller Winner of the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction * Finalist for the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Award in History * Winner of 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Nonfiction * Winner of the 2024 Mark Lynton History Prize ...
The lost year
Marsh, Katherine
Paper Book
*A National Book Award Finalist* From the author of Nowhere Boy - called "a resistance novel for our times" by The New York Times - comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that...

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