By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also:
US National Book Awards 2022 Longlist: Translation
US National Book Awards 2022 Longlist: Young People’s Literature
‘Maus’ Author Art Spiegelman Honored by US National Book Foundation
ALA’s Tracie Hall Receives the National Book Award’s Literarian Award
Third of Five Categories’ Longlists
The United States’ National Book Foundation—with a prize ceremony set for November 16—today (September 15) continues announcing its longlists for the 2022 National Book Awards. As this program likes to do, it’s parsing the announcements in five categories across three days.Finalists—the shortlisted entries—are to be named October 4.
The longlist provided today to members of the news media is for the National Book Award for poetry.
Three of this year’s longlisted poets are past National Book Award-honored writers:
- Jay Hopler was a poetry finalist in 2016
- Sharon Olds was a poetry finalist in 2002
- Jenny Xie was a poetry finalist in 2018
This year’s longlist includes a MacArthur Fellow, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and three Whiting Award winners. One of the books represented here comes from a university press and seven come from independent publishers, including two publishers appearing on the National Book Award longlists for the first time–Song Cave and YesYes Books.
The Longlist includes two debut poetry collections.
Publishers submitted a total of 260 books for the 2022 National Book Award for poetry.
The judges for poetry are Kwame Dawes (chair), Juan Felipe Herrera, Keetje Kuipers, January Gill O’Neil, and Mai Der Vang.
Poetry 2022 Longlist
Writer | Title | Publisher / Imprint |
Rio Cortez | Golden Ax | Penguin Random House / Penguin Books |
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke | Look at This Blue | Coffee House Press |
Jay Hopler | Still Life | McSweeney’s |
John Keene | Punks: New & Selected Poems | Song Cave |
Sharon Olds | Balladz | Penguin Random House / Alfred A. Knopf |
Roger Reeves | Best Barbarian | WW Norton & Company |
Sherry Shenoda | Mummy Eaters | University of Nebraska Press |
Quincy Troupe | Duende | Seven Stories Press |
Shelley Wong | As She Appears | YesYes Books |
Jenny Xie | The Rupture Tense | Graywolf Press |
As always, the jury’s decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and board of directors and deliberations are strictly confidential.
This is the third of five categories. Coming up:
- The National Book Award longlist in in nonfiction
- The National Book Award longlist in fiction
This is Publishing Perspectives’ 163rd report on awards-related news published in the 171 days since our 2022 operations began on January 3.

National Book Awards trophies. Image: NBA
More from Publishing Perspectives on the National Book Awards in the United States is here and more on the huge field of international book awards and prizes is here. More from us on the United States’ market is here.
More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.