Who received the first National Book Award for Fiction? July 21, 2020February 27, 2012 by Pamela Landy Nelson Algren received the first National Book Award for Fiction in 1950 for The Man with the Golden Arm. Related Answers Who created the Academy Award statuette? How many female directors have been nominated for an Academy Award? Who gave the Academy Award statuette the name “Oscar”? What is the source of the title of Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940)? What country received the most aid under the Marshall Plan? Which movie received the most Oscar nominations?