"The impact of City Lights on American literature has been revolutionary, which may be the highest compliment one can bestow upon an enterprise whose goal since its inception has been to transform both the realm of literature and society beyond. Since its founding in the early 1950s by Peter D. Martin and Lawrence Ferlinghetti--the latter himself a former Sandrof Award honoree--City Lights has introduced American audiences to audacious new voices, inviting us to lunch with Frank O'Hara, wander with Marie Ponsot, and howl with Allen Ginsberg. Far more than a press or a bookshop, City Lights shines as a beacon for innovation and justice and as a guiding flare for readers and writers across the globe who dream of a better world."
--National Book Critics Circle prize committee chair Jacob M. Appel on City Lights, winner of the second annual Toni Morrison Achievement Award, established by the NBCC in 2021 to honor institutions that have made lasting and meaningful contributions to book culture. (More on the NBCC awards below.)