National Book Foundation Names 3 Board Members

In its latest effort to expand its profile beyond the publishing world, the National Book Foundation has appointed three new board members from the fields of academia, journalism and education. The foundation is the presenter of the National Book Awards, which are given every fall.

The new board members are Anthony W. Marx, the president and chief executive of the New York Public Library; Deborah Needleman, the editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine; and Annette Gordon-Reed, the historian and Harvard professor.

Board members cast votes for two awards presented by the foundation, but do not vote on the actual book awards, which are presented to authors in four categories â€" fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature. Separate panels of judges made up of writers and others in the literary community vote on those awards.

David Steinberger, the chairman of the foundation’s board, said in a statement: “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.”

Mr. Steinberger has pushed for more visibility for the awards, which have historically had a lower profile than the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.