Twenty-one authors honored by the National Book Foundation to appear at 14 events between February and May 2024
The National Book Foundation announced its spring NBF Presents line-up of 14 events taking place in 12 cities from February through May 2024. NBF Presents, the moniker for all of the Foundation’s public programs, represents the Foundation’s commitment to connecting existing and emerging readers across the United States, in-person and virtually, with timely events featuring National Book Foundation–honored authors. NBF Presents is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). This spring season includes public events to celebrate 5 Under 35, which is supported by Amazon Literary Partnership; and Science + Literature, which is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Programming for the spring season will be held in-person, with select events streamed online at no cost to attendees.
Authors confirmed to appear at NBF Presents events in the spring have been honored by the National Book Foundation through the National Book Awards, 5 Under 35, and Science + Literature. They include: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, M. T. Anderson, Mateo Askaripour, Aaliyah Bilal, Susan Choi, Jonathan Eig, Brad Fox, Paul Harding, Vashti Harrison, Chelsea T. Hicks, Malinda Lo, Sarah Thankam Mathews, José Olivarez, Hanna Pylvaïnen, Brandon Som, Arthur Sze, Justin Torres, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, John Vaillant, Jenny Xie, Ada Zhang, and more to be announced. Recognized moderators are educators, writers, and past National Book Foundation committee members and judges, including Ricardo Nuila, January Gill O’Neil, Brian Teare, and Amelia Worsley, with more to be announced.
The Foundation’s national public programs are co-presented with book festivals, cultural centers, two- and four-year colleges, and public libraries. The spring season includes events curated alongside returning partners in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Texas, and Virginia, as well as new partners in Puerto Rico, Vermont, and Wyoming. The Foundation is collaborating with Humanidades Puerto Rico and the Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey on the National Book Foundation’s first-ever in-person programming in the archipelagos.
“We’re excited and honored to collaborate on programming with the National Book Foundation this spring as part of our expanded literary offerings through Puerto Rico’s Center for the Book and the new initiatives led by its new director, Natalia Olivero Huffman,” said Sonya Canetti Mirabal, Executive Director of Humanidades Puerto Rico. “The National Book Foundation is a like-minded partner, focused on celebrating books, connecting authors and readers, and creating space for timely conservations. We look forward to honoring the richness of Puerto Rican literature, together.”
This spring, the National Book Foundation will celebrate two of its literary prizes with special co-presented events—both open to the public—in New York: the 2024 Science + Literature Ceremony at The Cooper Union on Wednesday, March 27, and the 2024 5 Under 35 Ceremony at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday, May 9. The 2024 Science + Literature selected titles were announced last week in an exclusive with the Associated Press, and the Ceremony will feature honored authors Brad Fox, Arthur Sze, and Novuyo Rosa Tshuma for readings and conversation, hosted by writer Emily Raboteau, on their selected works; register here. The 2024 5 Under 35 honorees will be announced in March, and tickets are now available to purchase at the Brooklyn Museum’s website.
“As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Book Awards, we remain committed to providing readers with opportunities for thoughtful, engaging conversations around books—from exceptional debuts to career-spanning selected works,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “This spring season, we look forward to collaborating with our inspiring programming partners to ensure that writers and readers alike—in rural, suburban, and urban communities—are able to immerse themselves in, and build upon, the country’s vibrant book culture.”
The full list of confirmed spring NBF Presents events can be found below with additional details and registration information coming soon, and an updated NBF Presents calendar is available at the Foundation’s website. Events are free unless otherwise noted but tickets are limited, so please RSVP directly at the Foundation or partner website as directed.
NBF Presents Spring Schedule
Thursday, February 8, 12:10pm CST
In-Person & Livestreamed | Kansas City, MO
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
NBF Presents: Crafting Coming-of-Age
Join 2019 National Book Award Winner Susan Choi (Trust Exercise) and 2022 National Book Award Finalist Sarah Thankam Mathews (All This Could Be Different) for a conversation on the impact of contemporary bildungsroman and what it means to grow up in adult fiction. Choi and Mathews read from their novels and discuss how and why coming-of-age stories capture writers and readers alike. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.
Thursday, February 15, 8:00pm EST
In-Person | Miami, FL
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair
Miami Book Fair & NBF Presents: An Evening with the 2023 5 Under 35 Honorees
Each year, the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program recognizes five exceptional debut fiction authors, selected by past National Book Award and 5 Under 35 honorees. Join us for readings and conversation with 2023 5 Under 35 honorees: Mateo Askaripour (Black Buck), Chelsea T. Hicks (A Calm & Normal Heart), Jenny Xie (Holding Pattern), and Ada Zhang (The Sorrows of Others). Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with Books & Books and the Miami Book Fair. Register here.
Friday, February 23, 5:00pm EST
In-Person | Amherst, MA
Amherst College
LitFest and NBF Presents: Fiction of the Past, Present, and Future
2023 National Book Award Fiction Finalist Paul Harding (This Other Eden) and Winner Justin Torres (Blackouts) share readings from their honored works, and discuss the gravitational pull of fictionalizing the past and imagining new futures, both within and outside of literature. Moderated by Amelia Worsley, Assistant Professor of English at Amherst College. This program is part of the 9th Annual LitFest, supported by Amherst College and The Common magazine, and presented in partnership with the Jones Library.
Sunday, March 10, 11:30am MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: Art Is in the Details
The National Book Foundation returns to the Tucson Festival of Books for programming featuring 2023 National Book Award–honored authors across genres. Finalists Aaliyah Bilal (Temple Folk, Fiction), Vashti Harrison (Big, Young People’s Literature), and Hanna Pylvaïnen (The End of Drum-Time, Fiction) discuss the specificity required to write universal stories for readers of all ages, and the power of exceptional storytelling to make the unfamiliar feel known. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Tucson Festival of Books.
Sunday, March 10, 2:30pm MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: Which Comes First—Writer or Subject?
Join 2023 National Book Award–honored authors Jonathan Eig (King: A Life, Nonfiction), Brandon Som (Tripas, Poetry), and John Vaillant (Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World, Nonfiction) for a conversation about narrative voice—from biography to journalism to poetry—and how to tell the truth in a way that resonates with readers, regardless of form or genre. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Tucson Festival of Books.
Wednesday, March 27, 6:30pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
The Cooper Union
2024 Science + Literature Ceremony
Join the National Book Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The Cooper Union for the 2024 Science + Literature Ceremony—celebrating the three remarkable 2024 Science + Literature selected titles in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry: The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths, The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems, and Digging Stars. The program is free and open to the public, and will feature readings and conversation with authors Brad Fox, Arthur Sze, and Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. Hosted by Emily Raboteau, author of Lessons for Survival. Register here.
Wednesday, April 3, 11:15am CDT
In-Person | Clarksdale, MS
Coahoma Community College
NBF Presents: Imagining New Worlds
2023 National Book Award–honored authors Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Chain-Gang All-Stars, Fiction) and José Olivarez (Promises of Gold, Poetry) share readings and discuss their processes to build new worlds through writing—whether real, fantastical, or somewhere in between. Moderated by January Gill O’Neil, author of, most recently, Glitter Road. Presented in partnership with Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center. Register here.
Thursday, April 4, 11:30am CDT
In-Person | Oxford, MS
Oxford Conference for the Book
NBF Presents: Myth Making and Breaking
Join 2023 National Book Award–honored authors Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Chain-Gang All-Stars) and José Olivarez (Promises of Gold) for readings and conversation about how to tackle the myth of the American dream through writing across genres. Presented in partnership with the 29th Oxford Conference for the Book. Register here.
Tuesday, April 9, 7:00pm EDT
In-person & Livestreamed | Burlington, VT
Vermont Humanities & South Burlington Public Library & Brownell Library
Vermont Reads & NBF Presents: Stories From the 1950s to Now
To celebrate the Vermont Reads 2023 selection Last Night at the Telegraph Club, join National Book Award Winner Malinda Lo as she discusses writing about queer life in the 1950s, and shares how young adult fiction can speak to readers at any age. Moderated by M. T. Anderson, author of Feed, a National Book Award Finalist. Presented in partnership with Vermont Humanities, the South Burlington Public Library, and the Brownell Library.
Tuesday, April 9, 7:30pm CDT
In-person | Houston, TX
Baylor College of Medicine’s Humanities Expression and Arts Lab, Hermann Park Conservancy & Inprint
Science + Literature: Written in the Stars
In the National Book Foundation’s 2024 Science + Literature selected title Digging Stars, author Novuyo Rosa Tshuma tells the story of Rosa, a protagonist preoccupied both with space, and with what it means to be human. Join Tshuma in conversation with author and 2024 Science + Literature committee chair Ricardo Nuila (The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine) on writing fiction through a scientific lens. Presented in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine’s Humanities Expression and Arts Lab, Hermann Park Conservancy’s Garden and Nature Series, and Inprint.
Friday, April 19
In-person & Livestreamed | Cayey, PR
Centro para el libro Humanidades Puerto Rico & Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey
Humanidades PR and NBF Presents: Puerto Rican Literature Within the Island and Its Diaspora / Literatura Puertorriqueña de la Isla y su diáspora
Join National Book Award–honored authors, and independent editors from the archipelago and its diaspora for readings and conversation about Puerto Rican literature from/in the diverse places where the Boricua experience and imagination unfolds. Presented in partnership with Center for the book Humanities Puerto Rico, University of Puerto Rico in Cayey, and the National Book Foundation. More event details coming soon. / Únase a autores reconocidos por los National Book Awards y editores independientes del archipiélago y sus diásporas para lecturas y diálogo sobre la literatura puertorriqueña de/en los lugares diversos donde se manifiesta la experiencia e imaginación boricuas. Presentado en colaboración con Centro para el libro Humanidades Puerto Rico, la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey y la National Book Foundation. Próximamente, se ofrecerán más detalles del evento.
Thursday, April 25, 7:00pm EDT
In-person | Roanoke, VA
Roanoke Public Libraries & Virginia Center for the Book & The Grandin Theatre
Science + Literature: Nature’s Poetry and Peril
The Glass Constellations: New and Collected Poems by Arthur Sze, a 2024 Science + Literature selected title, features poems across ten poetry collections and five decades of work, varied in form but aligned in their interest with the natural world. Sze joins Brian Teare, author and 2024 Science + Literature committee member, in conversation on environmental poetry, and what we can read, write, and think through to save our endangered planet. Presented in partnership with the Roanoke Public Libraries, Virginia Center for the Book, and the Grandin Theatre. Register here.
Wednesday, May 1, 7:00pm MDT
In-person | Lander, WY
Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival
Science + Literature: A Research Voyage
The National Book Foundation’s 2024 Science + Literature selected title The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Depth plunges readers into the deep sea while simultaneously questioning life on land. Join author and journalist Brad Fox in conversation on why the scientific explorations and discoveries of 1930 feel so timely today, and how to make research come to life in narrative nonfiction. Presented in partnership with Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival. Register here.
Thursday, May 9, 7:00pm EDT
In-person & Livestreamed | Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Reads: National Book Foundation Celebrates 5 Under 35
Join the Brooklyn Museum and National Book Foundation in celebrating five debut fiction authors whose work promises to leave a lasting impression. The 2024 5 Under 35 honorees will be se introduced on stage by their selectors—five literary luminaries previously honored by the National Book Awards or 5 Under 35. The 2024 5 Under 35 honorees will be announced in March. The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program is supported by Amazon Literary Partnership. More information on the 5 Under 35 program can be found here, and tickets are available at the Brooklyn Museum’s website here.
For times and locations for events, please visit www.nationalbook.org or the websites of any of our partners.