CULTURE

The 2024 National Book Awards Longlist

This week, The New Yorker is announcing the longlists for the 2024 National Book Awards, beginning with Young People’s Literature and Translated Literature. Check back on Thursday and Friday for the Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction lists. Sign up for the Books & Fiction newsletter to receive each 2024 longlist.


Young People’s Literature

The titles on this year’s longlist interweave stories of self-acceptance with explorations of broader issues. The list includes two début young adult novels, one writer who has been previously honored by the National Book Awards—Randy Ribay, the author of “Everything We Never Had”—and a remarkable five novels in verse.

Olivia A. Cole, “Ariel Crashes a Train
Labyrinth Road / Penguin Random House

Violet Duncan, “Buffalo Dreamer
Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin Random House

Margarita Engle, “Wild Dreamers
Atheneum Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster

Josh Galarza, “The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky
Henry Holt and Company (BYR) / Macmillan Publishers

Erin Entrada Kelly, “The First State of Being
Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins Publishers

Randy Ribay, “Everything We Never Had
Kokila / Penguin Random House

Shifa Saltagi Safadi, “Kareem Between
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House

Angela Shanté, “The Unboxing of a Black Girl
Page Street Publishing

Ali Terese, “Free Period
Scholastic Press / Scholastic, Inc.

Alicia D. Williams, “Mid-Air
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books / Simon & Schuster

The judges for the category this year are Rose Brock, the co-founder of the North Texas Teen Book Festival; Huda Fahmy, whose novel “Huda F Cares?” was a National Book Award Finalist in 2023; Leah Johnson, the author of the novel “You Should See Me in a Crown” and the founder of Loudmouth Books; Mike Jung, the author of the novel “Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities”; and Brein Lopez, the general manager of Children’s Book World in Los Angeles.


Translated Literature

The ten books on this year’s longlist were originally published in six different languages: Arabic, Danish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Swedish. Several consider political violence and memory. Others use satire to invert reality. One author, Samar Yazbek, and three translators—Leri Price, Sophie Hughes, and Heather Cleary—have been recognized by the National Book Awards before.

Nasser Abu Srour, “The Tale of a Wall: Reflections on the Meaning of Hope and Freedom
Translated from the Arabic by Luke Leafgren
Other Press

Bothayna Al-Essa, “The Book Censor’s Library
Translated from the Arabic by Sawad Hussain and Ranya Abdelrahman
Restless Books

Linnea Axelsson, “Ædnan
Translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel
Knopf / Penguin Random House

Solvej Balle, “On the Calculation of Volume” (Book I)
Translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland
New Directions Publishing

Layla Martínez, “Woodworm
Translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott
Two Lines Press

Fiston Mwanza Mujila, “The Villain’s Dance
Translated from the French by Roland Glasser
Deep Vellum / Deep Vellum Publishing

Fernanda Trías, “Pink Slime
Translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary
Scribner / Simon & Schuster

Fernando Vallejo, “The Abyss
Translated from the Spanish by Yvette Siegert
New Directions Publishing

Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, “Taiwan Travelogue
Translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
Graywolf Press

Samar Yazbek, “Where the Wind Calls Home
Translated from the Arabic by Leri Price
World Editions

The judges for the category this year are Aron Aji, who directs the Translation programs at the University of Iowa; Jennifer Croft, a translator and the author of the novel “The Extinction of Irena Rey”; Jhumpa Lahiri, whose most recent book, “Roman Stories,” was originally written in Italian and partly translated by the author; Gary Lovely, the store manager of Prologue Bookshop and publisher of Harpoon Books; and Julia Sanches, who translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English.


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