The New York Society Library's New York City Book Awards, established in 1995, honor books of literary quality or historical importance that, in the opinion of the selection committee, evoke the spirit or enhance appreciation of New York City. The city must play an essential role beyond that of the setting. A worthy book, whether academic, literary, or popular, must be well written and engaging. It should shed some new or unusual light on New York City. As part of the Book Awards, the Library also presents the Hornblower Award. Established in 2011, this award is given to an excellent New York City-related book by a first-time author.

The 2018-2019 Awards

The 2018 winners are

• Victoria Johnson, American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic (Liveright)
• Stephen L. Carter, Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster (Henry Holt and Co.)
• Philip Ashforth Coppola, Ezra Bookman, and Jeremy Workman, One-Track Mind: Drawing the New York Subway (Princeton Architectural Press)
• Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X (HarperTeen)
• Karina Yan Glaser, The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden (HMH Books for Young Readers)
• The Hornblower Award for a First Book: Albert Samaha, Never Ran, Never Will: Boyhood and Football in a Changing American Inner City (PublicAffairs)

Click here for more details about this year's awards and winners.

Click here for more about the May 1 awards ceremony.

The 2018-2019 New York City Book Awards are generously underwritten by Ellen M. Iseman.

The New York City Book Awards By Year

2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

List of All New York City Book Awards Winners