National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Winners: Complete List by Year

51 winning results from 1975 to 2025, plus 177 recorded shortlist and finalist results. Explore the chronological list and follow the links to authors, available book guides and other winners from the same year.

Country: United States
Founded: 1975
Frequency: Annual
Official website: Visit site

Award presented by the National Book Critics Circle for the finest fiction published in the US.

Winners by year

Year	Book / recipient	Award	Result
2025	We Do Not Part Han Kang	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2024	My Friends Hisham Matar	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2023	I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Lorrie Moore	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2022	Bliss Montage Ling Ma	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2021	The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Honorée Fanonne Jeffers	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2020	Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2019	Everything Inside Edwidge Danticat	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2018	Milkman Anna Burns	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2017	Improvement Joan Silber	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2016	LaRose Louise Erdrich	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2015	The Sellout Paul Beatty	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2014	Lila Marilynne Robinson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2013	Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2012	Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Ben Fountain	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2011	Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories Edith Pearlman	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2010	A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2009	Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2008	2666 Roberto Bolaño	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2007	The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2006	The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2005	The March E. L. Doctorow	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2004	Gilead Marilynne Robinson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2003	The Known World Edward P. Jones	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2002	Atonement Ian McEwan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2001	Austerlitz W.G. Sebald	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
2000	Being Dead Jim Crace	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1999	Motherless Brooklyn Jonathan Lethem	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1998	The Love of a Good Woman Alice Munro	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1997	The Blue Flower Penelope Fitzgerald	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1996	Women in Their Beds Gina Berriault	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1995	Mrs. Ted Bliss Stanley Elkin	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1994	The Stone Diaries Carol Shields	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1993	A Lesson Before Dying Ernest J. Gaines	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1992	All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1991	A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1990	Rabbit at Rest John Updike	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1989	Billy Bathgate E. L. Doctorow	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1988	The Middleman and Other Stories Bharati Mukherjee	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1987	The Counterlife Philip Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1986	Kate Vaiden Reynolds Price	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1985	The Accidental Tourist Anne Tyler	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1984	Love Medicine Louise Erdrich	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1983	Ironweed William Kennedy	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1982	George Mills Stanley Elkin	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1981	Rabbit Is Rich John Updike	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1980	The Transit of Venus Shirley Hazzard	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1979	The Year of the French Thomas Flanagan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1978	The Stories of John Cheever John Cheever	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1977	Song of Solomon Toni Morrison	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1976	October Light John Gardner	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource
1975	Ragtime E. L. Doctorow	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	winnerSource

Shortlists and finalists

These books reached a shortlist or final round. They are not counted as winners. Coverage depends on the published historical record.

Year	Book / recipient	Award	Result
2025	The Wilderness Angela Flournoy	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2025	The Antidote Karen Russell	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2025	Audition Katie Kitamura	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2025	On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) Solvej Balle	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2024	Godwin Joseph O'Neill	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2024	Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2024	Us Fools Nora Lange	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2024	James Percival Everett	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2023	North Woods Daniel Mason	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2023	Blackouts Justin Torres	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2023	Vengeance Is Mine Marie NDiaye	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2023	Tremor Teju Cole	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2022	A New Name Jon Fosse	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2022	All the Lovers in the Night Mieko Kawakami	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2022	The Furrows Namwali Serpell	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2022	Dr. No Percival Everett	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2021	Harlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2021	The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family Joshua Cohen	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2021	Second Place Rachel Cusk	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2021	Burntcoat Sarah Hall	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2020	Memorial Bryan Washington	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2020	Inside Story Martin Amis	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2020	If I Had Two Wings Randall Kenan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2020	How to Pronounce Knife Souvankham Thammavongsa	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2019	The Topeka School Ben Lerner	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2019	The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2019	Feast Your Eyes Myla Goldberg	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2019	Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2018	The Largesse of the Sea Maiden Denis Johnson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2018	The House of Broken Angels Luis Alberto Urrea	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2018	Slave Old Man Patrick Chamoiseau	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2018	The Mars Room Rachel Kushner	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2017	The Ninth Hour Alice McDermott	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2017	The Ministry of Utmost Happiness Arundhati Roy	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2017	Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2017	Exit West Mohsin Hamid	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2016	Imagine Me Gone Adam Haslett	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2016	Commonwealth Ann Patchett	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2016	Moonglow: A Novel Michael Chabon	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2016	Swing Time Zadie Smith	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2015	The Tsar of Love and Techno Anthony Marra	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2015	Fates and Furies Lauren Groff	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2015	Eileen Ottessa Moshfegh	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2015	The Story of My Teeth Valeria Luiselli	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2014	On Such a Full Sea Chang-rae Lee	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2014	Euphoria Lily King	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2014	A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2014	An Unnecessary Woman Rabih Alameddine	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2013	Someone Alice McDermott	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2013	The Goldfinch Donna Tartt	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2013	The Infatuations Javier Marías	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2013	A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2012	The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2012	HHhH Laurent Binet	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2012	Magnificence Lydia Millet	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2012	NW Zadie Smith	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2011	The Stranger's Child Alan Hollinghurst	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2011	Stone Arabia Dana Spiotta	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2011	The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2011	Open City Teju Cole	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2010	To the End of the Land David Grossman	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2010	Comedy in a Minor Key Hans Keilson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2010	Freedom Jonathan Franzen	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2010	Skippy Dies Paul Murray	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2009	American Salvage Bonnie Jo Campbell	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2009	Lark and Termite Jayne Anne Phillips	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2009	The Book of Night Women Marlon James	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2009	Blame Michelle Huneven	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2008	The Lazarus Project Aleksandar Hemon	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2008	Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2008	The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart M. Glenn Taylor	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2008	Home Marilynne Robinson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2007	In the Country of Men Hisham Matar	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2007	The Gravedigger's Daughter Joyce Carol Oates	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2007	The Shadow Catcher Marianne Wiggins	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2007	Sacred Games Vikram Chandra	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2000	A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You Amy Bloom	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2000	Assorted Fire Events David Means	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2000	The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Michael Chabon	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
2000	White Teeth Zadie Smith	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1999	Midnight Champagne A. Manette Ansay	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1999	Wonders of the Invisible World David Gates	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1999	The Night Inspector Frederick Busch	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1999	Disgrace J. M. Coetzee	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1998	Preston Falls David Gates	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1998	Birds of America Lorrie Moore	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1998	No Lease on Life Lynne Tillman	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1998	The Hours Michael Cunningham	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1997	Dreams of My Russian Summers Andrei Makine	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1997	Cold Mountain Charles Frazier	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1997	Underworld Don DeLillo	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1997	American Pastoral Philip Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1996	Dancing After Hours Andre Dubus	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1996	From Bondage Henry Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1996	The Autobiography of My Mother Jamaica Kincaid	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1996	About Schmidt Louis Begley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1995	Moo Jane Smiley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1995	The Tent of Orange Mist Paul West	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1995	Independence Day Richard Ford	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1995	Galatea 2.2 Richard Powers	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1994	The Prince of West End Avenue Alan Isler	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1994	In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1994	And All Our Wounds Forgiven Julius Lester	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1994	A Frolic of His Own William Gaddis	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1993	Feather Crowns Bobbie Ann Mason	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1993	The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1993	Vindication Frances Sherwood	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1993	The Jade Cabinet Rikki Ducornet	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1992	Black Water Joyce Carol Oates	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1992	Let the Dead Bury Their Dead Randall Kenan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1992	Clockers Richard Price	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1992	Outerbridge Reach Robert Stone	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1991	Typical American Gish Jen	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1991	Wartime Lies Louis Begley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1991	Mating Norman Rush	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1991	The Gold Bug Variations Richard Powers	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1990	Middle Passage Charles Johnson	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1990	Family Pictures Sue Miller	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1990	The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1990	Collected Stories Wallace Stegner	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1989	The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1989	Ordinary Love & Good Will Jane Smiley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1989	Spartina John Casey	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1989	The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love Oscar Hijuelos	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1988	Libra Don DeLillo	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1988	Wheat That Springeth Green J. F. Powers	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1988	Paris Trout Pete Dexter	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1988	Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories Raymond Carver	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1987	The Age of Grief Jane Smiley	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1987	The Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1987	Beloved Toni Morrison	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1987	Crossing to Safety Wallace Stegner	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1986	Roger's Version John Updike	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1986	The Beet Queen Louise Erdrich	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1986	A Summons to Memphis Peter Taylor	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1986	The Moon Pinnacle Thomas Williams	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1985	White Noise Don DeLillo	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1985	Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1985	The Old Forest and Other Stories Peter Taylor	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1985	Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance Richard Powers	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1984	Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1984	Family Dancing David Leavitt	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1984	Stones for Ibarra Harriet Doerr	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1984	Machine Dreams Jayne Anne Phillips	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1983	During the Reign of the Queen of Persia Joan Chase	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1983	The Anatomy Lesson Philip Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1983	Cathedral Raymond Carver	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1983	Magnetic Field (s) Ron Loewinsohn	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1982	The Color Purple Alice Walker	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1982	Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Anne Tyler	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1982	Shiloh and Other Stories Bobbie Ann Mason	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1982	Levitation: Five Fictions Cynthia Ozick	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1981	Sixty Stories Donald Barthelme	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1981	The Men's Club Leonard Michaels	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1981	A Flag for Sunrise Robert Stone	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1981	Riddley Walker Russell Hoban	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1980	Morgan's Passing Anne Tyler	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1980	Loon Lake E. L. Doctorow	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1980	The Second Coming Walker Percy	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1980	So Long, See You Tomorrow William Maxwell	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1979	Sleepless Nights Elizabeth Hardwick	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1979	King of the Jews: A Novel of the Holocaust Leslie Epstein	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1979	The Executioner's Song: A True Life Novel Norman Mailer	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1979	The Ghost Writer Philip Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1979	Sophie's Choice William Styron	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1978	Wrinkles Charles Simmons	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1978	The World According to Garp John Irving	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1978	The Coup John Updike	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1978	Final Payments Mary Gordon	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1977	A Book of Common Prayer Joan Didion	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1977	Falconer John Cheever	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1977	Union Dues John Sayles	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1977	The Professor of Desire Philip Roth	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1976	Bloodshed and Three Novellas Cynthia Ozick	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1976	Speedboat Renata Adler	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1976	The Easter Parade Richard Yates	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource
1976	Details of a Sunset and Other Stories Vladimir Nabokov	National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction	finalistSource

Sources and coverage

Records retrieved 2026-09-18. Every winning year in the 1975–2025 coverage period is represented, allowing for the exceptions below. This completeness check covers years, not an independently verified count of every finalist. Each row links to its source.

Official prize website · Explore other prize winners