John Leonard Prize

The John Leonard Prize for Best First Book, established in 2013, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) for authors' first books in any genre. Unlike other NBCC awards, recipients are selected by members, not the board.

The prize is named after John Leonard, a renowned literary critic and NBCC co-founder.

Recipients

John Leonard Prize winners and honors
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2013 Anthony Marra A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Winner
2014 Phil Klay Redeployment Winner
2015 Kirstin Valdez Quade Night at the Fiestas Winner
2016 Yaa Gyasi Homegoing Winner
2017 Carmen Maria Machado Her Body and Other Parties Winner
2018 Tommy Orange There There Winner
2019 Sarah M. Broom The Yellow House Winner
2020 Raven Leilani Luster Winner
Megha Majumdar A Burning Finalist
C Pam Zhang How Much of These Hills Is Gold
Kerri Arsenault Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains
Brandon Taylor Real Life
Douglas Stuart Shuggie Bain
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio The Undocumented Americans
2021 Anthony Veasna So Afterparties: Stories Winner
Torrey Peters Detransition, Baby Finalist
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson My Monticello
Devon Walker-Figueroa Philomath: Poems
Larissa Pham Pop Song: Adventures in Art & Intimacy
Ashley C. Ford Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir
2022 Morgan Talty Night of the Living Rez Winner
Jessamine Chan The School for Good Mothers Finalist
Jonathan Escoffery If I Survive You
Tess Gunty The Rabbit Hutch
Zain Khalid Brother Alive
Maud Newton Ancestor Trouble
Vauhini Vara The Immortal King Rao

See also