The NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Congratulates 2022 National Book Awards Finalists

9 of 25 Finalists Published or Written in NYC

NEW YORK – The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is proud to congratulate the NYC Finalists for the 2022 National Book Awards. Categories for the National Book Awards include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature and Young People’s Literature. In total, 9 of the 25 Finalist titles were written or published in NYC. The winners in all categories will be announced live at the National Book Awards Ceremony on November 16 in NYC.

MOME celebrates these Finalists to spotlight NYC’s role as the preeminent home of the book publishing industry, and to make connections between NYC’s publishing businesses, artists, and smaller literary organizations. NYC’s ecosystem of publishing houses, talented authors, iconic bookstores, and libraries has long fostered the creation of some of the world’s most renowned literature.

Finalists for the 2022 National Book Awards, written or published in NYC are:

Fiction

Author: Tess Gunty
Title: The Rabbit Hutch
Education: NYU
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Author: Sarah Thankam Mathews
Title: All This Could Be Different
Resides: Brooklyn
Publisher: Viking Books

Author: Alejandro Varela
Title: The Town of Babylon
Resides: Brooklyn
Publisher: Astra House

Nonfiction

Author: Meghan O'Rourke
Book: The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
Hails: Brooklyn
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Poetry

Author: John Keene
Title: Punks: New & Selected Poems
Education: NYU
Publisher: The Song Cave

Author: Sharon Olds
Title: Balladz
Resides: NYC
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Author: Jenny Xie
Title: The Rupture Tense
Resides: New York
Publisher: Graywolf Press

Translated Literature

Translator: Mark Polizzotti
Title: Kibogo
Resides: Brooklyn
Publisher: Archipelago Books

Translator: Damion Searls
Title: A New Name: Septology VI-VII
Hails: New York
Publisher: Transit Books

You can see the full list of Finalists at nationalbook.org/awards.

The National Book Awards, presented by the National Book Foundation, are considered one of the world’s most prestigious literary prizes, and have taken place in New York City since its inaugural event at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in 1950. Throughout its history, the National Book Awards have repeatedly honored renowned authors who live and work in New York, such as Robert Caro and Jacqueline Woodson.