The New York Society Library is proud to announce the winners of the 2017-2018 New York City Book Awards.

Founded in 1995, these awards honor the best books about New York City published in a given year, regardless of genre. As New York City’s oldest cultural institution, the Library is uniquely suited to present the New York City Book Awards.

The winning books:

Mike Wallace, Greater Gotham: A History of New York City from 1898 to 1919 (Oxford University Press)



Roz Chast, Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York (Bloomsbury Publishing)



Francis Spufford, Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York (Scribner)



Anthony W. Robins, New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture (SUNY Press)



Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach: A Novel (Scribner)



Hornblower Award for a First Book: Lisa Ko, The Leavers: A Novel (Algonquin Books)



Members of the book awards selection committee read and reviewed approximately 140 books published in 2017 with New York City as their major topic or setting. The winners qualify as titles of literary quality or historical importance that evoke the spirit or enhance appreciation of New York City, shedding some new or unusual light on it. The Hornblower Award, established in 2011, is presented to an excellent New York City-related book by a first-time author.

The selection committee itself includes many New York City-based authors. It was chaired by Warren Wechsler and comprised Bianca Calabresi, Barbara Cohen, Ellen Feldman (Terrible Virtue, Next to Love), Ella M. Foshay (John James Audubon), Karl E. Meyer (The China Collectors, Pax Ethnica), Janice P. Nimura (Daughters of the Samurai), Stephen Raphael, and Peter Salwen (Upper West Side Story).

The winning authors and publishers will be celebrated at a reception and awards presentation on Tuesday, May 1, at the New York Society Library. The ceremony is by invitation.

More general information and a complete list of winners from the awards’ past 22 years can be found here.

The 2017-2018 New York City Book Awards are generously underwritten by Ellen M. Iseman.