14 National Book Award Winners You Must Experience

Since its establishment in 1950, the National Book Award in Fiction has been honoring the finest works in literature. Over the years, many influential authors have been celebrated for their extraordinary contributions, and here are a few that stand out.

1., 2., and 3. The Adventures of Augie March (1954), Herzog (1965), and Mr. Sammler’s Planet (1971) // Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow's debut National Book Award came in 1954 for The Adventures of Augie March, a richly descriptive tale in the Dickensian tradition that chronicles the energetic adventures of the eponymous Augie March. In 1965, he won again with Herzog, a novel that delves into the fractured psyche of a troubled academic, using a unique narrative structure with unsent letters to friends, family, and foes. His final National Book Award came in 1971 for Mr. Sammler’s Planet. 

4. and 5. Goodbye, Columbus (1960) and Sabbath’s Theater (1995) // Philip Roth

Philip Roth, a two-time National Book Award winner, received his first in 1960 for Goodbye, Columbus, a novella that explores the struggles faced by two young Jewish Americans from different social backgrounds as they navigate a summer romance. Later, in 1995, he won again for Sabbath’s Theater, a darkly humorous tale of a depraved puppeteer searching for purpose in his later years.

6. Them // Joyce Carol Oates (1970)

Them—the title alone seems to express the disdain with which Joyce Carol Oates portrays a brutal and desperate version of America, filled with violence and hopelessness. This novel follows the tragic story of a dysfunctional working-class family in mid-20th century America, offering a narrative that can simultaneously break your heart and make you recoil in revulsion.

7. The Complete Stories // Flannery O'Connor (1972)

For the 60th anniversary of the National Book Award in 2009, the National Book Foundation conducted an online poll to determine the best fiction book ever to win the award. Flannery O'Connor's The Complete Stories emerged as the winner, surpassing works by authors like John Cheever, William Faulkner, and Ralph Ellison. Despite passing away at the young age of 39, O'Connor left an indelible mark on 20th-century literature, and this 31-story collection showcases her mastery of Southern Gothic fiction.

8. Gravity’s Rainbow // Thomas Pynchon (1974)

At over 700 pages, Gravity’s Rainbow is less of a traditional book and more of an immersive experience. Filled with sharp satire, pervasive paranoia, and numerous musings on death, its plot is as complex as it is intriguing. Depending on who you ask, it’s either an inaccessible jumble or a masterpiece of modern literature.

9. White Noise // Don DeLillo (1985)

Don DeLillo’s sharp satire, White Noise, is a scathing critique of everything from consumer culture to the pharmaceutical industry to academia. When it was released in 1985, it delivered a powerful commentary on the anxiety of 20th-century life, and its relevance continues to resonate today. In addition to winning the National Book Award for Fiction, the novel also earned a place on TIME's list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

10. The Corrections // Jonathan Franzen (2001)

The Lambert family is beginning to unravel: Alfred, the father, is rapidly deteriorating from Parkinson’s disease, while his three children, all living on the East Coast, are grappling with faltering careers, strained marriages, and declining mental health. Despite their individual struggles, Alfred’s wife, Enid, desperately tries to bring her children together for one final Christmas.

11. and 12. Salvage the Bones (2011) and Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) // Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward made history as both the first woman and the first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice, with Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing taking the prize in 2011 and 2017, respectively. In Salvage the Bones, set in the fictional town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, Ward portrays a close-knit family’s struggle in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. The novel served as a personal reflection for Ward, who lived through the storm, as she explored the real-life devastation of the event and the disappointment with its aftermath.

Sing, Unburied, Sing is once again set in Bois Sauvage, which draws inspiration from Ward's hometown of DeLisle, Mississippi. The novel centers on Jojo, a young boy, and the hardships his family faces as they travel through the rural South. Alongside accolades from renowned outlets like The New York Times and TIME magazine, former President Barack Obama named it one of his favorite books of 2017.

13. The Round House // Louise Erdrich (2012)

In The Round House, Louise Erdrich takes readers to the Ojibwe Native American reservation in North Dakota, where she tells a powerful story about the far-reaching consequences of a violent crime on a community. The novel tackles difficult topics such as bigotry, injustice, and misogyny, offering a poignant reflection of the broader social challenges we face.

14. Trust Exercise // Susan Choi (2019)

While Trust Exercise may appear to be a standard high school drama, Susan Choi masterfully uses unreliable and contrasting narrators to investigate the way each character in the story perceives the truth. By constructing a narrative only to deconstruct it later, Choi keeps readers intrigued and uncertain until the very end.