The National Book Foundation has unveiled the Longlist for the 2026 National Book Award for Poetry in collaboration with The New Yorker. Finalists in all categories will be announced on October 6, and the winners will be revealed during the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on November 18, 2026. For more details and to sign up for the livestream, visit nationalbook.org/awards.
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Four of the ten poets on the Longlist have previously received honors from the National Book Award for Poetry. Victoria Chang was Longlisted in 2020 for *Obit*, Brenda Hillman in 2013 for *Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire*, Fady Joudah was a Finalist in 2024, and Layli Long Soldier was a Finalist in 2017 for *WHEREAS*. This year's Longlist includes four titles from independent publishers and three from university presses.
The poets have been recognized by various prestigious organizations, including the Academy of American Poets, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. They have also received multiple awards, such as the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.
Among the Longlisted poets are a former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and the current Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation. Two of the works explore language as a means of understanding identity and heritage. Layli Long Soldier's *We* examines communal ties through storytelling and art, blending English and Lakota. Carolina Ebeid's *Hide* reconstructs her ancestral journey through the languages of her Palestinian and Cuban heritage.
Three collections address themes of place and belonging. Victoria Chang's *Tree of Knowledge* reflects on displacement and cultural identity through the metaphor of a eucalyptus tree. Jake Skeets's *Horses* responds to environmental issues within the Navajo Nation, while Brenda Hillman's *Still House in the Desert* meditates on personal and ecological connections.
Two works focus on witnessing trauma and resilience. Fady Joudah's *Exhibit G* intertwines poetry and images to affirm Palestinian life amidst conflict, while Jonah Mixon-Webster's *Promise/Threat* explores personal and cultural rebirth against the backdrop of Flint, Michigan.
Other poems draw from mythology and history. Richie Hofmann's *The Bronze Arms* investigates themes of love and survival through Greek myths, while Jake Rose’s *JOAN* reinterprets Joan of Arc’s legacy in the context of queer identity. Susan Stewart's *Bramble* reflects on contradiction and change through a blend of poetry and elegy.
A total of 285 books were submitted for consideration in the Poetry category. The judges, who operate independently from the National Book Foundation staff and Board of Directors, are Rob Arnold, Aracelis Girmay (Chair), Jon Pineda, Roger Reeves, and Rosanna Warren.
2026 Longlist for the National Book Award for Poetry:
- Victoria Chang, *Tree of Knowledge*, Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers
- Carolina Ebeid, *Hide*, Graywolf Press
- Brenda Hillman, *Still House in the Desert: An eco-contemplation*, Wesleyan University Press
- Richie Hofmann, *The Bronze Arms*, Knopf / Penguin Random House
- Fady Joudah, *Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza*, Milkweed Editions
- Layli Long Soldier, *We*, Graywolf Press
- Jonah Mixon-Webster, *Promise/Threat*, Knopf / Penguin Random House
- Jake Rose, *JOAN*, University of Chicago Press
- Jake Skeets, *Horses*, Milkweed Editions
- Susan Stewart, *Bramble*, University of Chicago Press.