National Book Awards

"The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture."

The first awards were given out in 1950.  Although the categories have changed and expanded over the years the primary categories have been fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. 

The National Book Award is considered one of the world's most prestigious honors, along with the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.