45th Annual Northern California Book Awards

August 1, 2026
By Kim McMillon

Get ready for an exciting night celebrating the best in Northern California writing on Saturday, September 19th at 2:00 PM at the SFPL.

45th Annual Northern California Book Awards
Northern California’s vibrant literary scene will celebrate on Saturday, September 19, 2026, 2:00pm, Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, Civic Center, San Francisco, when the 45th annual Northern California Book Awards will recognize books published in 2025 by Northern California authors and California translators. The NCBAs are presented by the Northern California Book Reviewers, Poetry Flash, and the San Francisco Public Library, with our community partners Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter and Mechanics’ Institute Library. The event is free and open to the public. You may receive a ticket from Eventbrite, but they are not needed to attend this free event.

Winning authors will accept their awards and present remarks on their books. Finalists and honored books will be available for purchase and signing. A reception follows in the San Francisco Main Library’s Latino/Hispanic Community Room.

The Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service will be presented for lifetime achievement and distinguished service to the literary community. The NCBA Recognition Award will be presented to a book or literary project that falls outside of NCBA categories. The NCBA Groundbreaker Award will be presented to a literary figure, work, or project representing pioneering and innovative work in the literary community. The California Translation Awards in Poetry and Prose will honor works of translation by translators based anywhere in California.

Northern California reviewers and editors, members of Northern California Book Reviewers, select the awards. Membership is open to eligible Northern California reviewers and editors. All of the nominated books, the NCBR Recommended Reading List, will be acknowledged and celebrated at the ceremony. Jurors’ statements by members of the Northern California Book Reviewers will be available in the event program and after the awards on the NCBA page at Poetryflash.org.

The list of honorees and more information will be posted on Poetryflash.org later this summer.

The categories are: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, General Nonfiction,

Children’s Literature, and the California Translation Awards: Poetry and Prose.

History of the Northern California Book Awards
Since 1981, the Northern California Book Reviewers, a volunteer group of book reviewers and book review editors, have honored the work of Northern California authors. One of the group’s founders was Fred Cody, proprietor of the late great independent bookstore in Berkeley. The Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement is presented every year to a member of the literary community. Previous recipients include Rebecca Solnit, Jane Hirshfield, Brenda Hillman, Isabel Allende, Juan Felipe Herrera, Daniel Ellsberg, Sandra M. Gilbert, Jack Hirschman, Judy Grahn, Susan Griffin, Willis Barnstone, Adam Hochschild, Kay Ryan, Michael Pollan, Al Young, Tamim Ansary, Andrew Hoyem, Diane di Prima, Orville Schell, Philip Levine, Ronald Takaki, Francisco X. Alarcón, Carolyn Kizer, Ishmael Reed, Maxine Hong Kingston, Robert Hass, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Malcolm Margolin, Adrienne Rich, Wallace Stegner, Kay Boyle, William Everson, Alice Walker, Gary Snyder, Jessica Mitford, Tillie Olsen, M.F.K. Fisher, Robert Duncan, and Nancy J. Peters.