National Book Critics Circle Award 2003: Complete list of winners

The National Book Critics Circle announced its 2003 awards, and William Taubman’s monumental Khrushchev: The Man and His Era made an impressive double showing, winning both the Biography and Autobiography categories. This substantial work, which captures the life and political trajectory of the Soviet leader, demonstrates the circles’ recognition of ambitious historical scholarship that brings complex figures into sharper focus for contemporary readers. Meanwhile, Edward P. Jones’s debut novel The Known World claimed the Fiction prize, marking a significant moment for this sweeping narrative about an African American slaveholder in antebellum Virginia.

The breadth of the 2003 honorees speaks to the awards’ commitment to recognizing excellence across multiple forms of literary expression. Rebecca Solnit’s River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West won Criticism for its innovative examination of the pioneering photographer and his cultural moment, while Paul Hendrickson’s Sons of Mississippi took the Nonfiction award with its powerful exploration of the children of Mississippi civil rights figures. Susan Stewart’s Columbarium rounded out the winners with the Poetry prize, showcasing the Circle’s continued championing of innovative verse.

Here’s the complete breakdown of the 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award winners:

Autobiography

• Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Taubman

Biography

• Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Taubman

Criticism

• River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West by Rebecca Solnit

Fiction

• The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Nonfiction

• Sons of Mississippi by Paul Hendrickson

Poetry

• Columbarium by Susan Stewart