The Notable Book Collection at the Macdonald DeWitt Library consists of award winning items in various categories from a curated list of book awards.

While there are many noteworthy book awards, the list represented in this collection were selected for their reputation in the book community and for their commitment to honoring diverse voices. The collection is added to annually and contains representative titles from the last 5 years. Each year, award winning titles that fall outside of the 5 year window will be absorbed into the General Collection. 

The list of awards and categories represented are listed below:

• Pulitzer (Fiction, History, Biography, Poetry, Nonfiction, Drama)

  • For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.

  • For a distinguished and appropriately documented book upon the history of the United States.

  • For a distinguished and appropriately documented biography, autobiography or memoir by an American author.

  • For a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author.

  • For a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category.

  • For a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life

• Man Booker (Fiction and International Fiction)

  • Awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

  • Awarded annually for a single book, translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.

• National Book Award (Fiction and Nonfiction)

  • The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American Culture. Books must be published by U.S. Publishers and authors must be U.S. citizens, or if authors are non-U.S. citizens there is a petition process.

• Nobel Prize Literature -awarded “to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction…” (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel).

• Stonewall (Fiction and Nonfiction)

  • sponsored by the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table, the Stonewall Award honors titles for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience. 

• Anisfield-Wolf Award (Fiction,Nonfiction, Poetry)

  • Administered by The Cleveland Foundation, The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures.

• Asian/Pacific American Book Award (Adult Fiction, Nonfiction)

  • sponsored by the Asian Pacific American LIbrarians Association (APALA), the goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.

• International Latino Book Awards (Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Nonfiction, History)

  • A program of Empowering Latino Futures (ELF), the awards aim to recognize the greatness in both Latino writers and in non-Latinos who are writing on Latino topics. 

• BCALA Literary Award (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry)

  • sponsored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Literary Awards acknowledge outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors.

• Hugo (Science Fiction Novel)

  • annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works.