The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American

literary awards A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

by the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c) organization, 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the N ...

(NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English"."About: Supporting Book Criticism and Literary Culture Since 1974"
NBCC. Retrieved February 2, 2012. The first NBCC awards were announced and presented January 16, 1976.''The National Book Critics Circle Journal'' 2:1, Spring 1976
, NBCC. Retrieved February 2, 2012. Six awards are presented annually to books published in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year, in six categories:

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

Nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, Memoir/Autobiography,

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

, and

Criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

. Four of them span the entire NBCC award history; Memoir/Autobiography and Biography were recognized by one "Autobiography/Biography" award for publication years 1983 to 2004, then replaced by two awards. Beginning in 2014, the NBCC also presents a special "first book" award across all six categories, named the John Leonard Award in honor of literary critic and NBCC founding member John Leonard, who died in 2008. Books previously published in English are not eligible, such as re-issues and paperback editions. Nor does the NBC Circle consider "cookbooks, self help books (including inspirational literature), reference books, picture books or children's books". They do consider "translations, short story and essay collections, self published books, and any titles that fall under the general categories"."Frequently Asked Questions"
(no date), NBCC. Retrieved April 13, 2020. The judges are the volunteer directors of the NBCC who are 24 members serving rotating three-year terms, with eight elected annually by the voting members, namely "professional book review editors and book reviewers"."Membership"
(no date), NBCC. Retrieved February 2, 2012. Winners of the awards are announced each year at the NBCC awards ceremony in conjunction with the yearly membership meeting, which takes place in March.

Award categories

* General Nonfiction *

Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award The Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 1981, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle in honor of its first president, Ivan Sandrof. The award "is given to a person or institution who has, ove ...

* John Leonard Prize for Best First Book * Memoir/Autobiography * Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing *

References

External links

Official website
* {{National Book Critics Circle Award Awards established in 1975 20th-century literary awards 21st-century literary awards National Book Critics Circle