National Book Awards open to non-US citizens

In the US, the National Book Foundation (NBF)—which administers the National Book Awards—has introduced a new process whereby authors who are not US citizens are eligible for the awards, reports Publishers Weekly.

The NBF has had a longstanding citizenship requirement for awards participants, but says it has often received submissions by authors who are not citizens in its 68-year history. In recent times, such submissions have increased, and the foundation says it would like to allow more authors to participate in the awards.

The new process is for authors who are not citizens but who have lived in the US for 10 years or more, and the requirement states that authors must consider themselves either ‘an American immigrant who is currently and actively engaged in pursuing citizenship, OR legally unable to pursue traditional pathways to citizenship at this time’. The author’s book must also be first published by a US-based publisher to be eligible.

A source told Publishers Weekly that the NBF is not trying to make a political statement, but aims to accommodate the growing number of submissions from noncitizens. ‘This is about literature, not politics,’ said the source.

Submissions for the award are due on 16 May, but the NBF said it may grant extensions to publishers applying on behalf of authors who are not citizens.

For more information on the awards, see the NBF website.

Category: International news