The National Book Foundation, which presents the National Book Awards, elected three new members to its board of directors. The new members are: Annette Gordon-Reed, Anthony Marx and Deborah Needleman. Gordon-Reed is a professor at Harvard Law School and has won both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer. Marx has been president and CEO of the New York Public Library since 2011. Needleman is the editor-in-chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

The election of new board members, the NBF said, is part of a campaign to "broaden the reach" of the literary awards. David Steinberger, chairman of the NBF board and president and CEO of Perseus, said: "Our goal is to increase the impact that the best American writing has on our culture. With that objective in mind, we are gratified to be welcoming three new Board members of such extraordinary stature.”