Founded in 1950 by a small consortium of publishing groups with the hope of raising America’s literary awareness and increasing interest in reading in general, The National Book Awards) have become one of the most respected and influential literary book awards in the United States. These awards are presented annually and give recognition to four different literary genres. We have listed the winners for the past ten years.

2004
Fiction: The News From Paraguay , Lily Tuck
Non Fiction: Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and the Murder in the Jazz Age, Kevin Boyle
Poetry: Door in the Moutain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003, Jean Valentine
Young People’s Literature: Godless, Pete Hautman

2003
Fiction: The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzard
Non Fiction: Waiting for Snow in Havana , Carlos Eire
Poetry: The Singing, C.K. Williams
Young People’s Literature: The Canning Season, Polly Horvath

2002
Fiction: Three Junes, Julia Glass
Non Fiction: Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro
Poetry: In the Next Galaxy, Ruth Stone
Young People’s Fiction: The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer

2001
Fiction: The Corrections, Jonathon Franzen
Nonfiction: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, Andrew Solomon
Poetry: Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry, Alan Dugan
Young People's Literature: True Believer, Virginia Euwer Wolff

2000
Fiction: In America, Susan Sontag
Nonfiction: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, Nathaniel Philbrick
Poetry: Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000, Lucille Clifton
Young People's Literature: Homeless Bird, Gloria Whelan

1999
Fiction: Waiting, Ha Jin
Nonfiction: Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, John W. Dower
Poetry: Vice: New and Selected Poems, Ai
Young People's Literature: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Kimberly Willis Holt

1998
Fiction: Charming Billy, Alice McDermott
Nonfiction: Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball
Poetry: This Time: New and Selected Poems, Gerald Stern
Young People's Literature: Holes, Louis Sachar

1997
Fiction: Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Nonfiction: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, Joseph J. Ellis
Poetry: Effort at Speech: New & Selected Poems, William Meredith
Young People's Literature: Dancing on the Edge, Han Nolan

1996
Fiction: Ship Fever and Other Stories, Andrea Barrett
Nonfiction: An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us, James Carroll
Poetry: Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey, Hayden Carruth
Young People's Literature: Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, Victor Martinez

1995
Fiction: Sabbath's Theater, Philip Roth
Nonfiction: The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism, Tina Rosenberg
Poetry: Passing Through: The Later Poems, Stanley Kunitz

1994
Fiction: A Frolic of His Own, William Gaddis
Nonfiction: How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter, Sherwin B. Nuland
Poetry: A Worshipful Company of Fletchers, James Tate

1993
Fiction: The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx
Nonfiction: United States: Essays 1952-1992, Gore Vidal
Poetry: Garbage, A. R. Ammons

1992
Fiction: All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Nonfiction: Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, Paul Monette
Poetry: New & Selected Poems, Mary Oliver

Other Awards