Massachusetts Book Awards: Jill Lepore wins

Jill Lepore was named the 2026 Massachusetts Book Awards winner in nonfiction for “We the People,” and Stuart Nadler won in fiction for “Rooms for Vanishing,” according to the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s Sept. 2 announcement. The awards recognize books written, illustrated or translated by current Massachusetts residents across categories including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novel/memoir and children’s or young adult literature. Boston.com, which published the winners list on Sept. 2, described the prizes as the state’s top book awards. ### Which book did Jill Lepore win for? Jill Lepore won the nonfiction award for “We the People,” published by Liveright/W.W. Norton, the Massachusetts Center for the Book said in its winners list. The same list named Maria Pinto’s “Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless” and Michelle Young’s “The Art Spy” as nonfiction honors. Boston.com’s Sept. 2 report matched the center’s list and said Lepore was among the 2026 winners announced that day. (boston.com) The report also said the awards covered the “most outstanding” books by Massachusetts writers. ### Who else was honored alongside Lepore? Stuart Nadler won the fiction award for “Rooms for Vanishing,” published by Dutton, according to the Massachusetts Center for the Book. (massbook.org) The fiction honors went to Lesley Pratt Bannatyne for “Lake Song” and Allegra Goodman for “Isola.” Cameron Awkward-Rich won the poetry award for “An Optimism,” the center said. The same announcement listed Laura Cresté’s “In the Good Years” and Noah Davis’s “The Last Beast We Revel In” as poetry honors. (boston.com) ### What exactly are the Massachusetts Book Awards? The Massachusetts Center for the Book says the Massachusetts Book Awards recognize significant works written, illustrated or translated by current Commonwealth residents. (massbook.org) The program also gives an annual “notable contribution to publishing” award to a Massachusetts-based press. The 2026 awards were the 26th annual Massachusetts Book Awards, according to the center’s awards page. (massbook.org) That page says the winners were announced on Sept. 2, 2026. ### How broad was this year’s field? The Massachusetts Center for the Book published longlists in multiple categories before naming this year’s winners and honors books. In fiction, the longlist included Mona Awad, Jennifer Haigh, Annie Hartnett and others; in nonfiction, it included Geraldine Brooks, Imani Perry and Ray Madoff, according to the center’s awards page. (massbook.org) The center’s site says the awards span fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, graphic novel or memoir, and children’s or young adult literature. (massbook.org) That structure places Lepore’s win within a statewide awards program rather than a single-category prize. ### Where can readers find the full winners list and what comes next? Boston.com published the full 2026 winners list on Sept. 2, and the Massachusetts Center for the Book posted the same day’s announcement on its awards page. (massbook.org) The center’s site also says readers can learn more about the honorees through its linked materials. The Massachusetts Center for the Book says submissions for the next awards cycle — books published in 2026 — opened on Sept. 1, 2026 and will close on Dec. 15, 2026. (massbook.org) The organization’s press page shows the awards are typically followed by additional coverage and a later ceremony in the fall. (boston.com)