[1] The judging panel is made up of five "writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field".
[2] The category for Poetry was established in 1950 and has been awarded annually apart from the period 1984 to 1990.
It was restored in 1991, for current-year publications, with a standard five finalists announced a few weeks prior to the main event.
The National Book Foundation accepts nominations from publishers until June 15, requires mailing nominated books to the panelists by August 1, and announces five finalists in October.
The award is $10,000 and a bronze sculpture; other finalists receive $1000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel.