The National Book Critics Circle honors outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature, with nearly 1,000 member critics, literary bloggers and student members. The NBCC Awards are given annually in March to honor the best literature published in the United States. Learn more about the organization at bookcritics.org.

You must be a member of the NBCC to be considered. If you are not a member, you can join online before December 2, 2024, in order to be eligible for the award. All submitted reviews must have been published between December 1, 2023, and November 30, 2024.

Submissions must be entered through Submittable before midnight PST on Monday, December 2, 2024.

What to submit: Send up to five book reviews (all published between December 1, 2023, and November 30, 2024) of no more than 5,000 words collectively. The total word count for the submissions must not exceed 5,000, or the entire submission is disqualified from consideration for the award. Make sure to note the venue, title, and word count of each piece submitted.

Please be prepared to upload PDFs or screenshots of your book reviews as they appeared online or in print. Also, provide a link if available online. PLEASE NOTE: A link alone is not sufficient as some venues have paywalls.

National Book Critics Circle