What Is Going On, National Book Award?!
In which I offer my quick, tipsy thoughts on what is going on with this longlist.
Hi, Y’all! Glad You’re Here—
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last twenty-four hours being gagged and gooped. Yesterday was the announcement of the 2023 National Book Award longlist for Fiction, and like most book lovers and NBA enthusiasts, I was a little shook at the omission of so many heavy hitters, especially in a year where we had so many new works by major writers. Previous winners Jesmyn Ward, Colson Whitehead, Andrea Barrett, Alice McDermott, Sigrid Nunez, and James McBride all had highly publicized new releases—Lauren Groff’s latest novel, The Vaster Wilds was considered a lock for the longlist, if not an eventual win, after her last three books in a row made their respective shortlists. Many other previous finalists and longlisters, like Jamel Brinkley, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Rebecca Makkai had new books. There were books by previous Booker finalists—Brandon Taylor—and Pulitzer winners and finalists, as well as new books from writers who have been around for decades—Joyce Carol Oates. Some of these new books weren’t great, admittedly, it’s silly to pretend otherwise, but there were many that exceeded our expectations, and that we all expected to see on a list meant to honor the best written books by a U.S.-based writer.
Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that just because I think certain books should have made the list isn’t meant to take anything from the books that made this list. I haven’t read most of these books, and I would never want to take away from someone’s much deserved celebration of their hard work. This has less to do with which specific books were selected than about the motivation behind leaving off so many major works, and the possible direction that the National Book Award is headed.
If any of you were around for last year’s longlist announcement, you might remember that it was…divisive. There were eight debuts on the list. This isn’t to say that a debut can’t be one of the best written books of any given year. Some of my favorite books are debuts. There are some debuts that I have even rooted for to make the longlist each year. Sarah Blake’s Naamah, Brandon Taylor’s Real Life, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Edinburgh by Alexander Chee—there are a ton of debuts that are amazing and so deserving of, if not the win, at least a placement on the list. But to say that eight debuts were better than some of the stellar works out by major writers…just doesn’t seem realistic to me. I read that longlist and only really remember three of those books, and only really liked two of them. I thought it also took away some of the feeling of importance. Like, if I had made that list, knowing that there were other, stronger books that didn’t make the list, I’d almost feel like there was a glitch in the system, doubt if my work was actually the best written or just part of a narrative. Some said that last year’s list wanted to highlight new voices, show where the state of literature was headed. That’s all well and good, but is it the reason for this award?
People often confuse what this award is looking for—some think it’s the book that most accurately captures American life, but that’s the Pulitzer Prize; there are people who think the National Book Award is looking for the books that are the most socially engaged, but that would be the Pen/Bellweather prize. There are all sorts of misconceptions, but the reality is that this award has always claimed to simply be looking for the best written books by a U.S.-based writer. This already presents the issue of what makes a book well written. Of course a book has to have good sentences, as to be well constructed, has to have good ideas that are well executed. There have been some judges who’ve talked about loving a book, but having seen the ideas explored before, or loving the concept of the book but not its technical merits. I also can’t help but wonder if judges are considering what defines their own taste. I spent years thinking certain books were bad because they didn’t conform to certain styles or structures, when in reality, I just had no idea how many other styles and structures were outside of the U.S. canon, and that some writers bring these new ideas to their work, and we have to check ourselves and do our homework.
(I can’t tell if it’s obvious I’m writing this while tipsy, but if i’m not making any sense, that is why.)
Anyway, here’s my question: If the judges read all of these books, why did they think books like Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward and The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff weren’t good enough to make the list? I mean, could you imagine if the list had come out and there had been five or six major authors fighting for the chance to win this award? How exciting would that be! And then the rest could be lesser known people who would be the ones we would all cheer for because we were so excited to discover them. On instagram I talked about this formula, of three or four heavy hitters, two or three writers who were overdue, and then two or three new writers whose work just shown as brightly as everyone else’s. Like, it seems so simple as I type it now. Who knows, maybe it’s just not how their judging works. I know that someone said each judge gets a certain number of the books and they have to read at least a little portion of the book before passing on it, but that they all have to offer up their selections from the pile for consideration and…like, can y’all not just peel pack the curtain? We need to understand!
Just kidding, it ain’t none of my business. But I am nosy.
I am very excited for some of these books. There are some that don’t sound like they’re my kind of vibe, but I will try them out anyway, just to see. I genuinely hope that I fall head over heels for all of these books, so I can feel silly for even questioning the judges in the first place. But I will say now, if their goal is to highlight newer voices, or if they just want to tell certain narratives or have a weird agenda behind their selections, we may see a new award coming along soon enough, that will counter this frustration we’re seeing now.
So far, the one I’m most excited about is Ponyboy, because I love queer stories and it sounds like a vibe. I enjoyed Blackouts by Justin Torres, so rooting for it to be on the shortlist. Holler, Child sounds like the kind of collection I love, Loot has a great cover, though I don’t know what exactly it’s about yet. I’ll keep y’all up to date as I make my way through it all!
Y’all stay tuned!
Until then,
XOXO