Five Authors Make the Fiction Shortlist At National Book Awards 2026

On 6 October, the National Book Foundation announced the 2026 National Book Award for Fiction shortlist, which brings five authors into contention for one of the United States' leading literary honours.

The shortlist reflects the range of voices and approaches that define contemporary American fiction, bringing together writers at different stages of their careers. It also places internationally informed perspectives alongside questions of identity, family and social change, highlighting the breadth of work considered by this year's judging panel.

The five finalists were selected from 451 submissions:

• Hannah Lillith Assadi, Paradiso 17 - Knopf / Penguin Random House

• Edwidge Danticat, Dèy - Knopf / Penguin Random House

• Julián Delgado Lopera, Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You - Liveright / W. W. Norton & Company

• Valeria Luiselli, Beginning Middle End - Knopf / Penguin Random House

• Morgan Thomas, Mad Eden - MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers

The winner will be announced on 18 November 2026 at the 77th National Book Awards ceremony in New York.