The National Book Critics Circle ( NBCC ) is an American nonprofit organization ( 501(c)(3) ) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the National Book Critics Circle Awards , a set of literary awards presented every March.
12-496: 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. National Book Critics Circle The organization
24-848: A Roman Catholic family, Miles was a Jesuit seminarian from 1960 to 1970, studying at Xavier University in Cincinnati , Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome , and Hebrew University in Jerusalem before completing a doctorate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages at Harvard University . He later left the Catholic Church and became a member of the Episcopal Church . He is fluent in several languages, including French, Italian, German, Hebrew, and Aramaic . Over
36-2606: A long-standing board member, Carlin Romano , whom half the board members describe as a bully. Overall, the mass resignations amount to a controversy seen as part of an industry-wide reckoning concerning the lack of diversity in publishing and literary awards. Vice President Digby Diehl, Los Angeles Times Secretary Nona Balakian, The New York Times Book Review Treasurer Susan Heath, The Saturday Review John Barkham, John Barkham Reviews Alvin Beam, Cleveland Plain Dealer Alice Cromie, Freelance Critic Martha Duffy, Time Eliot Fremont-Smith, The Village Voice Elizabeth Hardwick, New York Review of Books Herbert A. Kenny, Freelance Critic John Leonard, The New York Times Book Review Thorpe Menn, The Kansas City Star Stanton Peckham, Denver Post Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek Larry Swindell, Philadelphia Inquirer Jonathan Yardley, Miami Herald 1974–1976: Ivan Sandrof, Worcester Telegram-Gazette 1976–1982: Eliot Fremont-Smith, Village Voice 1982–1984: Richard Locke , Vanity Fair 1984–1986: Brigitte Weeks, The Washington Post Book World 1986–1990: Nina King, Newsday 1990–1992: Jack Miles , Los Angeles Times 1992–1994 Herbert Liebowitz, Parnassus 1994–1996 Carlin Romano , Philadelphia Inquirer 1996–1998 Art Winslow, The Nation 1998–2000 Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal 2001–2004 Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune 2004–2006 Rebecca T. Miller, Library Journal 2006–2008 John Freeman , Freelance Critic 2008–2011 Jane Ciabattari, Freelance Critic 2011–2013 Eric Banks, Bookforum 2013–2015 Laurie Muchnick, Bloomberg News 2015–2017 Tom Beer, Newsday 2017–2019 Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe 2019–2020 Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star Tribune 2020-2020: Jane Ciabattari, Freelance Critic (acting) 2020–2022: David Varno, Publishers Weekly 2022–2023: Megan Labrise, Kirkus 2023-present: Heather Scott Partington, Freelance Critic Jack Miles John R. Miles (born July 30, 1942)
48-759: A period of more than 35 years (1975–2010), Miles has been an editor at Doubleday , the executive editor at the University of California Press , the literary (book review) editor at the Los Angeles Times , a member of the Times editorial board, and the Senior Adviser to the Getty Trust at the J. Paul Getty Museum . Miles most recently served on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine , Department of English, teaching religion. Miles
60-662: Is Religion as We Know It: An Origin Story, (Nov. 12, 2019) which examines when religion became a distinct area of thought. Miles' most recent book is co-written with Mark C. Taylor , and is titled A Friendship in Twilight: Lockdown Conversations on Death and Life, (July 5, 2022) a series of emails exchanged during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Born in Chicago , the eldest child in
72-681: Is an American author. He is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize , a Guggenheim Fellowship and the MacArthur Fellowship . His writings on religion, politics, and culture have appeared in numerous national publications, including The Atlantic Monthly , The New York Times , The Boston Globe , The Washington Post , Los Angeles Times , and Commonweal Magazine . Miles treats his biblical subjects neither as transcendent deities nor historical figures, but as literary protagonists. His first book, God: A Biography , won
84-631: Is recognized by the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing (from 1991). The NBCC also recognizes no more than one person or organization for "exceptional contributions to books" with the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award (from 1981 under more than one name).All eight awards are officially dated in the preceding year. As a professional association, NBCC also works to improve
96-684: The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1996, and has been translated into sixteen languages. His second book Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God , was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2002. Miles is general editor of the Norton Anthology of World Religions (November 2014). Miles' book God in the Qur'an was published in 2018, the third in his God in Three Classic Scriptures series. Miles' next related book
108-575: The 24 Directors who formally make nominations and alone make final selections each year. A fifth award category for books (Autobiography/Biography) was added for 1983 and divided in two for 2005. Since 2005, there have been eight awards. Six National Book Critics Circle Awards recognize "best books" published in the United States during the preceding year in six categories: fiction, nonfiction, autobiography, biography, criticism, and poetry. Annually "the most accomplished reviewer" among its members
120-464: The primary purpose "to improve and maintain the standards of literary criticism in an era of diminishing and deteriorating values". At that time there were 140 members, with outreach to freelance critics planned for that year. NBCC first presented its Awards in January 1976 to books published during 1975 in four categories. Only active review editors and reviewers may be voting members; they elect
132-419: The quality of reviews and provides services to its members. In 2020, more than half of the 24 board members resigned over conflicting views on how to address perceived racial disparities both on the board, and within the industry they represent. This demonstrative revolt has also been attributed to breaches in confidentiality stemming from leaked emails, and the dismissive, antagonistic communication style of
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#1732791465779144-769: Was founded in April 1974 in New York City by " John Leonard , Nona Balakian , and Ivan Sandrof intending to extend the Algonquin round table to a national conversation". It was formally chartered in October 1974 as a New York state non-profit corporation, and the Advisory Board voted in November to establish annual literary awards. In the first newsletter three months later, President Ivan Sandrof proclaimed
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