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The original goal of the National Book Awards was to enhance America’s awareness of exceptional books written by fellow Americans. For six decades, the National Book Awards, which are organized by the National Book Foundation, has acclaimed the cream of the literary crop and celebrated its 60th anniversary with a campaign to select the best book from its long list of fiction winners.
The overall winner, and something of a surprise victor, was The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor following a public vote.
The National Book Awards began in 1950 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City when The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren was named America’s premier piece of fiction from the previous year. Today, it’s the most important event on the American literary calendar and continues to recognize the best in American writing.
Recent winners have included Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. These acclaimed novels now sit alongside the likes of From Here To Eternity, Invisible Man, Herzog, Gravity’s Rainbow, Rabbit is Rich, All The Pretty Horses and Cold Mountain. The list of winning authors reads like a who’s who of American literature – Wallace Stegner, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, E Annie Proulx and many more.
AbeBooks.com is an official partner for the Best of the National Book Awards.
(Note: Dates show year of the award.)
1966
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter
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1972
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
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1974
A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories
Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Take a look at our other award winners lists:
- 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Nebula and Hugo Award Winners
- Top 10 Forgotten Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novels
- 2009 BC Book Prizes
