The National Book Foundation is an American nonprofit organization established "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,the foundation is the administrator and sponsor of the National Book Awards, a changing set of literary awards inaugurated 1936 and continuous from 1950. It also organizes and sponsors public and educational programs. The National Book Foundation states the mission "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America."