The National Book Award, 2002-1950
The National Book Awards have become the nation's preeminent literary prizes, and The National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner the most important event on our literary calendar. Today, the Awards are given to recognize achievements in four genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. The Winners, selected by five-member, independent judging panels for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a crystal sculpture.

2002 - Three Junes Julia Glass
2001 - Corrections Jonathan Franzen
2000 - In America Susan Sontag
1999 - Waiting Ha Jin
1998 - Charming Billy Alice McDermott
1997 - Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
1996 - Ship Fever Andrea Barrett
1995 - Sabbath's Theater Philip Roth
1994 - A Frolic of His Own William Gaddis
1993 - The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx
1992 - All The Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy
1991 - Mating Norman Rush
1990 - Middle Passage Charles Johnson
1989 - Spartina John Casey
1988 - Paris Trout Pete Dexter
1987 - Paco's Story Larry Heinemann
1986 - World's Fair E.L. Doctorow
1985 - White Noise Don DeLillo
1984 - Victory Over Japan: A Book of Stories Ellen Gilchrist
1983 - The Color Purple Alice Walker
1982 - Rabbit is Rich John Updike
1981 - Plains Song Wright Morris
1980 - Sophie’s Choice William Styron
1979 - Going After Cacciato Tim O’Brien
1978 - Blood Ties Mary Lee Settle
1977 - The Spectator Bird Wallace Stegner
1976 - J R William Gaddis
1975 - Dog Soldiers Robert Stone/ The Hair of Harold Roux Thomas Williams
1974 - Gravity’s Rainbow Thomas Pynchon/ A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories Isaac Bashevis Singer
1973 - Chimera John Barth/ Augustus John Williams
1972 - The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor Flannery O’Connor
1971 - Mr. Sammler’s Planet Saul Bellow
1970 - Them Joyce Carol Oates
1969 - Steps Jerzy Kosinski
1968 - The Eighth Day Thornton Wilder
1967 - The Fixer Bernard Malamud
1966 - The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter
1965 - Herzog Saul Bellow
1964 - The Centaur John Updike
1963 - Morte D’Urban J. F. Powers
1962 - The Moviegoer Walker Percy
1961 - The Waters of Kronos Conrad Richter
1960 - Goodbye, Columbus Philip Roth
1959 - The Magic Barrel Bernard Malamud
1958 - The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever
1957 - The Field of Vision Wright Morris
1956 - Ten North Frederick John O’Hara
1955 - A Fable William Faulkner
1954 - The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow
1953 - Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
1952 - From Here to Eternity James Jones
1951 - The Collected Stories of William Faulkner William Faulkner
1950 - The Man With the Golden Arm Nelson Algren