The New York Society Library is proud to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 New York City Book Awards. Founded in 1995, these awards honor the best books about New York City published in a given year, regardless of genre. 

The 2021 winners are

Debby Applegate
Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age
Doubleday

Colson Whitehead
Harlem Shuffle
Doubleday

C.G. Esperanza
Boogie Boogie Y'all
Katherine Tegen Books

Brian Merlis and Clarence Taylor
Historic Black Brooklyn: 400 Years of Struggle and Hope
Israelowitz Publishing

THE HORNBLOWER AWARD FOR A FIRST BOOK
Ly Tran
House of Sticks: A Memoir
Scribner

The winners were honored in an awards ceremony at the Library on May 19, 2022. Ceremony details and images can be found here.

More details are available in this downloadable press release.

More general information and a complete list of winners from the awards’ past 25 years can be found here.

The 2021-2022 New York City Book Awards are generously underwritten by Ellen M. Iseman. The 2021-2022 Hornblower Award is generously underwritten by Jenny Lawrence.