Roz Chast’s graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? has been named a finalist for the National Book Award in the Nonfiction category (see "'Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?' Nominated"), moving closer to being the first graphic novel in any category to ever win the coveted literary prize.  The winners will be announced on November 19th.
 
Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese (2006) was the first graphic novel ever nominated for a National Book Award, in the Young People’s Literature category (see "'American Born Chinese'").  Stitches by David Small (2009) and Yang’s Boxers & Saints (2013) were both finalists for the National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category as well, but no graphic novel has ever won.
 
Graphic novels, and graphic memoirs in particular, have gained wider acceptance among the literary elite as legitimate literature, especially with cartoonist and graphic memoirist Alison Bechdel being awarded a "Genius Grant" this summer (see "Alison Bechdel Wins 'Genius Grant'" and "New Bechdel GN in 2017").