The 60th annual National Book Awards ceremony was held at Cipriani in New York City with Andy Borowitz as the host. The National Book Foundation presented a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to Gore Vidal and a Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community to Dave Eggers. Then authors spoke after their awards were announced. The 2009 Young People's Literature Award went to Phillip Hoose for Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The 2009 Poetry Award went to Keith Waldrop for Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy (University of California Press). The 2009 Nonfiction Award went to T. J. Stiles for The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (Alfred A. Knopf). The 2009 Fiction Award went to Colum McCann for Let the Great World Spin (Random House).

The program contains language that some may find offensive.