The National Book Award, one of America’s most prestigious literary honors, is facing fresh criticism over its 2026 fiction longlist, with a Daily Wire opinion piece arguing that nine of the ten selected novels overtly advance diversity, equity, and inclusion themes. The article, written by Liza Libes, contends that the prize has shifted away from rewarding literary merit toward promoting ideological narratives centered on race, gender, and sexuality.
Libes, a writer and founder of Pens and Poison who holds degrees in English from Columbia University, opens by invoking William Faulkner’s 1950 Nobel Prize speech, in which he declared that the writer’s duty is to write about “the human soul.” Faulkner, she notes, won the National Book Award in 1951 and later a Pulitzer. She argues that contemporary literary institutions no longer honor that standard, instead favoring novels that tackle themes of oppression.
A Prize Under Scrutiny
The Daily Wire piece points to a New York Times opinion column by Bret Stephens, who acknowledged “the identitarian drift and ideological leanings in the prize’s elevation of the authors and their themes.” Libes seizes on that admission, writing that if the Times is reporting on a DEI problem, then one exists.
The article then catalogs the longlisted novels using publishers’ own descriptions. Morgan Thomas’s “Mad Eden” follows a trans telehealth worker recently diagnosed with autism whose safety is threatened after finding happiness with a partner. Julián Delgado Lopera’s “Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You” explores Colombia’s queer culture through a young man in Bogotá who meets a travesti at a nightclub. Edwidge Danticat’s “Dèy” examines trauma, mourning, and joy through a Haitian American lens. Hannah Lillith Assadi’s “Paradiso 17” tells of a Palestinian man’s search for home after the 1948 Nakba. Marlon James’s “The Disappearers,” which the Times has called “the novel of the decade, if not the century,” follows eight gay men in Kingston, Jamaica, rehearsing a play.
Libes clarifies that she is not dismissing the books solely because of their descriptions. She cites her appreciation for the novels of Jean-Paul Sartre, despite disagreeing with his philosophy, to argue that artists with objectionable views can produce great work. But after reading the opening chapters of all ten longlisted novels, she concludes that none were selected for literary merit.
She offers an excerpt from James’s “The Disappearers” as evidence, quoting a passage laden with explicit language that she says reveals more about the author’s preoccupations than about the human condition.
A Broader Cultural Shift
The op-ed situates the controversy within a larger pattern. Libes writes that the corporate world has already begun retreating from progressive initiatives, and she expresses hope that literary institutions will follow. She suggests that awareness, signaled by the Times column, is the first step toward change.
The National Book Foundation, which administers the awards, has not publicly responded to the Daily Wire piece. The longlist announcement itself typically draws attention from literary circles, but this year’s selections have ignited a broader debate about the role of identity in arts funding and recognition.
Critics of the award have argued for years that publishing has become increasingly homogeneous in its ideological outlook, with agents, editors, and prize committees favoring manuscripts that fit certain social themes. Defenders counter that literature has always engaged with the pressing issues of its time, and that diverse voices have historically been underrepresented in prestigious awards.
Libes closes by advising readers to skip the 2026 nominees, but she remains optimistic that the literary world may eventually correct course. Her article is part of The Daily Wire’s Upstream section, which focuses on culture and lifestyle commentary.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-national-book-award-has-a-dei-problem