Author James McBride won the National Book Award for fiction for his novel "The Good Lord Bird" Wednesday night, edging out well-respected authors such as Jhumpa Lahiri and Thomas Pynchon.
McBride said he would have been happy if any of the other four writers shortlisted alongside him in the fiction category would have won, but, he added, "It sure is nice to get it."
The awards, known as the Oscars of the publishing industry, were announced in four categories at Cipriani Wall Street in Downtown Manhattan, New York.
George Packer's "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America" won in the nonfiction category, while Mary Szybist won with "Incardine" for poetry.
"The miracle, of course, is how much [poetry] can do, how much it does do," Szybist said in her acceptance speech.
Cynthia Kadohata's "The Thing About Luck" won for young people's literature.
The four winners were chosen by five member panels of writers, booksellers and others from the publishing community. Each winner received $10,000.