US National Book Awards 2024 longlists announced

The longlists for the US National Book Awards 2024 were announced from September 10 – 13, 2024. Here are the writers of African descent on the list.

The US National Book Awards are literary awards from the Northern American nations National Book Foundation established in 1936. They are conferred on the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. In 2020, Les Payne, Tamara Payne, and Kacen Callender won in their categories while Walter Mosley was given a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Tiya Miles and Jason Mott won in 2021.

The longlists were revealed on the second week of September with the following writers of African descent making the cut;

Fiction

Jury: Lauren Groff (chair), Jamie Ford, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chawa Magaña, and Reginald McKnight.

The jury read 671 books and the following made the cut;

• Ghostroots, ‘Pemi Aguda (Norton)
• James, Percival Everett (Doubleday)
• My Friends, Hisham Matar (Random House)

Nonfiction

Jury: Tressie McMillan Cottom (chair), Brenda J. Child, Anand Giridharadas, Timothy Morton, and Arvin Ramgoolam

The jury read 671 books and the following made the cut;

• There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House)

Poetry

Jury: Richard Blanco (chair), Carolyn Forché, Tyehimba Jess, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Rena Priest.

The jury read 299 books and the following made the cut;

• Spectral Evidence, Gregory Pardlo (Knopf)
• Silver, Rowan Ricardo Phillips (FSG)

Translated Literature

Jury: Jhumpa Lahiri (Chair), Aron Aji, Jennifer Croft, Gary Lovely, and Julia Sanches.

The jury read 141 books and the following made the cut;

• The Villain’s Dance, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated from the French by Roland Glasser (Deep Vellum)

Young People’s Literature

Jury: Brein Lopez (chair), Rose Brock, Huda Fahmy, Leah Johnson, and Mike Jung.

The jury sifted through 333 books and the following made the cut;

• Ariel Crashes a Train, Olivia A. Cole (Labyrinth Road)
• The Unboxing of a Black Girl, Angela Shanté (Page Street)
• Mid Air, Alicia D. Williams (Caitlyn Dlouhy)

Five finalists in each of the five categories—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature—will be named on October 1. The winners will be announced during an awards ceremony in New York City on November 20.