National Book Awards Criticized for Favoring Minority Authors, Says NY Times Columnist

The National Book Awards has favored books by minority authors or about minority subjects significantly over the last decade, leading to criticism from New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who referred to the awards as a "DEI checklist." Since 2015, nine out of ten fiction awards were given to minority authors, while all ten non-fiction awards went to minority authors during the same period. Stephens questioned whether the National Book Foundation was genuinely interested in selecting America's best books or merely engaging in "bald politicization." He stated, "The National Book Awards are no longer national in any meaningful sense," suggesting that they reflect the tastes of a small segment of the population. The finalists for the 2026 awards also showed a similar trend, with nine out of ten finalists being minority authors. Stephens pointed out that only one finalist was a Jewish, white, straight male, arguing that this should not affect the merit of the book. He noted that the non-fiction finalists included works addressing topics such as queer parenthood and Islamophobia. The National Book Award, established in 1950, is regarded as one of the most prestigious literary awards in the U.S., with past winners including Philip Roth and Joan Didion. However, the awards have faced criticism for historically favoring white male authors. Stephens suggested that the National Book Foundation's current focus on minority authors could be seen as a literary form of reparations, but he argued that it might perpetuate existing issues within the literary community. He expressed concern that this trend could lead to a decline in readership and discourage potential writers whose views do not align with the preferences of award committees. He concluded by quoting Ray Bradbury, stating, "You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."