--- description: The nominees for the National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced Tuesday naming Michael Chabon and Zadie Smith among the nominees. title: These Are All the Books Nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Awards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d22712c4ed7e06c/6988b5cc524fc04836dfabef/untitled-21.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Are All the Books Nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Awards by [Isabella Biedenharn / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Isabella Biedenharn / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 3:28 PM CUT  Harper/Hamish Hamilton by [Isabella Biedenharn / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Isabella Biedenharn / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2017 3:28 PM CUT The nominees for the National Book Critics Circle Awards were [announced Tuesday](http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/national-book-critics-circle-announces-finalists-for-2016-awards "undefined"), with established novelists [Louise Erdrich](http://ew.com/article/2016/05/06/larose-louise-erdrich-review/ "undefined"), [Michael Chabon](http://ew.com/article/2016/11/18/moonglow-michael-chabon-ew-review/ "undefined"), [Zadie Smith](http://ew.com/article/2016/11/11/swing-time-zadie-smith-ew-review/ "undefined"), and [Ann Patchett](http://ew.com/article/2016/10/05/ann-patchett-commonwealth-ew-review/ "undefined") leading the fiction category. Erdrich is nominated for [_LaRose_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062277022/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062277022&linkId=045bad05a3b4c0e7b33f8eac024ef9b8 "undefined")_,_ Chabon for [_Moonglow_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062225553/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062225553&linkId=f54d4e4f8661721f21babef57e20c415 "undefined")_,_ Smith for [_Swing Time_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594203989/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594203989&linkId=fe71e2ab3c9e1c58e7aa29ba3485c467 "undefined")_,_ Patchett for [_Commonwealth_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062491792/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062491792&linkId=fa06ba36396078432e43156a2376d020 "undefined")_,_ and [Adam Haslett](http://ew.com/article/2016/04/29/imagine-me-gone-adam-haslett-review/ "undefined") for [_Imagine Me Gone_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316261351/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0316261351&linkId=b4f8a9463601f2a4ea457edf45d9bc29 "undefined")_._ Notably excluded from the slate is [Colson Whitehead](http://ew.com/article/2016/08/02/underground-railroad-colson-whitehead-ew-review/ "undefined")‘s [_The Underground Railroad_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385542364/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0385542364&linkId=12661d0827c4c1e7adc32ce7744f9ff0 "undefined"), which won this year’s [National Book Award for Fiction](http://ew.com/article/2016/11/16/national-book-awards-2016-winners/ "undefined") and boasts high-profile fans like [Oprah Winfrey](http://ew.com/article/2016/08/02/oprah-winfrey-book-club-underground-railroad/ "undefined") and [President Barack Obama](http://ew.com/books/2017/01/16/barack-obama-reading-presidency/ "undefined"). The winners will be announced March 16 in New York City. In addition to the awards in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Autobiography, Biography, and Criticism, the NBCC will present [Margaret Atwood](http://ew.com/article/2015/08/12/margaret-atwood-interview/ "undefined") with The Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement, Yaa Gyasi with the John Leonard Prize for a [first book](http://ew.com/article/2016/06/10/homegoing-yaa-gyasi-review/ "undefined") (for her novel [_Homegoing_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101947136/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1101947136&linkId=29d878019ef5ec9d4872bc786650b86f "undefined")), and Michelle Dean with the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. See the rest of the NBCC nominees below. **GENERAL NONFICTION** * Matthew Desmond, [_Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553447432/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0553447432&linkId=5b9277f64dbfc1f82fec8172ef5eeef0 "undefined") * Ibram X. Kendi, [_Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568584636/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1568584636&linkId=9e08d0f29a031a36c3ce33868bf41682 "undefined") * Jane Mayer, [_Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307947904/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307947904&linkId=a714b72575a852ce36e57fc828df033e "undefined") * Viet Thanh Nguyen, [_Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067466034X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=067466034X&linkId=82fd1d39446d84f6de362f776807c6b4 "undefined") * John Edgar Wideman, [_Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501147285/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1501147285&linkId=47a6387b16e771417515e5a39c411fe2 "undefined") **AUTOBIOGRAPHY** * Marion Coutts, [_The Iceberg_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802124607/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0802124607&linkId=ce25876df7294c07d355da4e77651f99 "undefined") * Jenny Diski, [_In Gratitude_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632866862/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1632866862&linkId=8d81da51835c9d8c4ab8113632ce4037 "undefined") * Hope Jahren, [_Lab Girl_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101874937/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1101874937&linkId=65bffc3ccde5a6cfccc5166b8a437874 "undefined") * Hisham Matar,[ _The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812994825/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812994825&linkId=c8d8d903415e2edf4c4367c6941603a5 "undefined") * Kao Kalia Yang, [_The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1627794948/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1627794948&linkId=2378072e0ec7d6172b6842759f843f2a "undefined") **BIOGRAPHY** * Nigel Cliff, [_Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006233316X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=006233316X&linkId=dcc1e40b00c15ccf2d714e0dc64a5a38 "undefined") * Ruth Franklin, [_Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871403137/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0871403137&linkId=6933ebd989d0d646064581b02e217218 "undefined") * Joe Jackson, [_Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374253307/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374253307&linkId=6c79c224a08ed337a3550ef42bbe4df4 "undefined") * Michael Tisserand, [_Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061732990/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061732990&linkId=927dcd365906b3d9f29fe09924419f44 "undefined") * Frances Wilson, [_Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374167303/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374167303&linkId=e5afd2a06775f03c348dba56cb7ff586 "undefined") **POETRY** * Ishion Hutchinson, [_House of Lords and Commons_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374173028/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374173028&linkId=4c8864436ae64a705ed74944f9ea0a70 "undefined") * Tyehimba Jess, [_Olio_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940696208/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1940696208&linkId=94ddfbbe276c8993f6df1c76ce381652 "undefined") * Bernadette Mayer, [_Works and Days_ ](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811225178/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0811225178&linkId=c6e8384c94b5a2c3b19b2e91238fbf19 "undefined") * Robert Pinsky, [_At the Foundling Hospital_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374158118/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374158118&linkId=901fa3e965d753231f5b261eefed3468 "undefined") * Monica Youn, [_Blackacre_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1555977502/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1555977502&linkId=2935cd5f10185f0dee063d7acc554030 "undefined") **CRITICISM** * Carol Anderson, [_White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632864126/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1632864126&linkId=d1c3f80eef9f4879b959662dc822bb9f "undefined") * Mark Greif, [_Against Everything: Essays_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101871156/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1101871156&linkId=5622525597990c4ab9a96aba24544ebf "undefined") * Alice Kaplan, [_Looking for The Stranger: Albert Camus and the Life of a Literary Classic_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/022624167X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=022624167X&linkId=7d9299a28aade27fbacdd03b631cafb2 "undefined") * Olivia Laing,[ _The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250039576/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1250039576&linkId=20c816ded3195122acedccf5f20cd7ea "undefined") * Peter Orner, [_Am I Alone Here?: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936787253/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timesyndnationalbookcriticsnominees-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1936787253&linkId=5ed7f847e0b9cc690be8c5f63e90f0ae "undefined") _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/books/2017/01/17/national-book-critics-circle-award-nominees-2017/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4636855/national-book-critics-circle-nominees/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4636855/national-book-critics-circle-nominees/"},"headline":"These Are All the Books Nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Awards","datePublished":"2017-01-18T15:28:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:46:06.270Z","description":"Michael Chabon and Zadie Smith are among the 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