When the National Book Award longlists were announced a few weeks ago, there was a lot of murmuring in my social media feeds and on text threads. The nonfiction list was heavy on memoir and cultural studies, and there were only two works that could be categorized as histories. Most of the books had not received a ton of buzz, even though their authors had previously won prestigious fellowships and they had work published in well-regarded magazines and newspapers.
“What was the committee thinking?” my friends and colleagues asked. “How did they come up with such a random list?”
The work of all book prize committees, from the National Book Award to the annual prize from a tiny organization, is often opaque. This is deliberate; the organization does not want to reveal their methods, lest they draw even more criticism.
I have served on several of these committees, and in an effort to make the process a bit less mysterious, I am sharing my experiences below. As always, these thoughts are my own. If you have served on similar committees, your mileage may vary—tell us about it in the comments!
The first thing that happens is you receive an email. It is usually from a Big Name, because the ask is coming from the president of an organization you belong to. Sometimes it comes because you have been the recipient of the prize in previous year, and this is your chance to pay it forward. Other times, it is totally random. In the latter case, you can’t help but be flattered. The Big Name has thought of you! (or the nominating committee has). The Big Name will think well of you if you say yes! Or owe you a favor!