The National Book Awards are a prestigious institution in the United States, ranking close to the Pulitzer Prizes. Together, they represent the most prominent awards in the American literary world. The National Book Awards were founded in 1950, and have been administered by the National Book Foundation since 1989. The awards consist of a bronze sculpture and a monetary prize of $10,000, but writers are usually more excited about the prospect of increased sales upon winning the award.

This year, the nominated books that made the cut to the final stage are mostly related to American conflicts. For instance, Jane Mayer (The New Yorker) wrote “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals,” which recounts significant events of Bush’s administration after 9/11. Another finalist is Drew Gilpin Faust, with “This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War,” a book which focuses on the massive death toll of the Civil War, but also Annette Gordon-Reed with her book “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” centering on the life of a family of slaves belonging to Thomas Jefferson. Joining their ranks are also Jim Sheeler, with “Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives,” about soldiers killed in America’s most recent wars, and Joan Wickersam’s memoir entitled “The Suicide Index: Putting My Father’s Death in Order.”

The fiction category sported consecrated authors, like Marilynne Robinson (Pulitzer winner) with “Home”, Peter Matthiessen with “Shadow Country”, Aleksandar Hemon with “The Lazarus project” but also debutants such as Rachel Kushner and “Telex from Cuba” and Salvatore Scibona with “The End”.

The winners for all the categories will be announced during the traditional awarding ceremony, which will take place in New York, September 19th.