John Leonard Prize

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The John Leonard Prize for Best First Book, established in 2013, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) for authors' first books in any genre. [1] Unlike other NBCC awards, recipients are selected by members, not the board. [1]

Contents

The prize is named after John Leonard, a renowned literary critic and NBCC co-founder. [1]

Recipients

John Leonard Prize winners and honors
YearAuthorTitleResultRef.
2013 Anthony Marra A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Winner [2]
2014 Phil Klay Redeployment Winner [3] [4]
2015 Kirstin Valdez Quade Night at the FiestasWinner [5]
2016 Yaa Gyasi Homegoing Winner [6]
2017 Carmen Maria Machado Her Body and Other Parties Winner [7] [8] [9]
2018 Tommy Orange There There Winner [10] [11] [12]
2019 Sarah M. Broom The Yellow House Winner [13] [14]
Julia Phillips Disappearing Earth Finalist
2020 Raven Leilani Luster Winner [15] [16]
Megha Majumdar A Burning Finalist [16]
C Pam Zhang How Much of These Hills Is Gold
Kerri Arsenault Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains
Brandon Taylor Real Life
Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio The Undocumented Americans
2021 Anthony Veasna So Afterparties: StoriesWinner [17]
Torrey Peters Detransition, Baby Finalist [18] [19] [20]
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson My Monticello
Devon Walker-Figueroa Philomath: Poems
Larissa Pham Pop Song: Adventures in Art & Intimacy
Ashley C. Ford Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir
2022 Morgan Talty Night of the Living RezWinner [21]
Jessamine Chan The School for Good Mothers Finalist [22]
Jonathan Escoffery If I Survive You
Tess Gunty The Rabbit Hutch
Zain Khalid Brother Alive
Maud Newton Ancestor Trouble
Vauhini Vara The Immortal King Rao

See also

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References

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  13. "2019". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  14. Reiter, Amy (2020-03-13). "National Book Critics Circle Announces 2019 Awards". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
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  16. 1 2 "2020". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
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  19. Pineda, Dorany (2022-01-21). "Here are the finalists for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
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  21. "Announcing the 2022 NBCC Award Winners". 2023-03-24.
  22. "NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR PUBLISHING YEAR 2022". National Book Critics Circle. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-07-14.