2009 National Book Award Finalists Announced
The National Book Award finalists were announced today.
Fiction
- Bonnie Jo Campbell, American Salvage (Wayne State University Press)
- Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin (Random House)
- Daniyal Mueenuddin, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (W. W. Norton & Co.)
- Jayne Anne Phillips, Lark and Termite (Alfred A. Knopf)
- Marcel Theroux, Far North (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Non-Fiction
- David M. Carroll, Following the Water: A Hydromancer’s Notebook
- (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Sean B. Carroll, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Greg Grandin, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City (Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt)
- Adrienne Mayor, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy (Princeton University Press)
- T. J. Stiles, The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (Alfred A. Knopf)
Poetry
- Rae Armantrout, Versed (Wesleyan University Press)
- Ann Lauterbach, Or to Begin Again (Viking Penguin)
- Carl Phillips, Speak Low (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Open Interval (University of Pittsburgh Press)
- Keith Waldrop, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy (University of California Press)
Young People’s Literature
- Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Henry Holt)
- Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- David Small, Stitches (W. W. Norton & Co.)
- Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
- Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)
Distinguished Contribution To American Letters
- Gore Vidal
Literarian Award
- Dave Eggers
The Winner in each of the four categories – Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and People’s Literature – will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Wednesday, November 18. You may see all the details at the National Book Awards website.
Sadly, I have not read any of these. Particularly in the Young People’s Literature. Glad to see Dave Eggers get the Literarian Award though. I’ve read his book What is the What (my review) which is fantastic. Have you read any of these books? Do you have any that you’d like to see win in November?
(book covers to be edited in – I wanted to get this info up for you)
Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!
Category: Awards, Book Lists
Tags: National Book Award
Enjoy this post? Then subscribe to receive updates in your favorite reader or by email.
I always feel a bit like an idiot when these annoucements come out. I haven’t even heard of any of these! Although, I haven’t seen them on the blogs I frequent either, so I guess I’m not the only idiot.
on October 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pmLike Trish, I haven’t heard of many of these either. A few of the titles are familiar, but I haven’t read any of them.
on October 14th, 2009 at 12:30 pmI’ve heard of Jumped, but not the rest of them. Stiches is a graphic novel!
on October 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pmYou would think with all the book I read, and all the books my blogger friends read, that I would have at least HEARD of one of these! What is wrong with me? Actually, I have seen something about Stitches, but that is it. I guess I’m not the only one though, which makes me feel a tad bit better.
on October 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pmNope, I haven’t read any of them, either.
on October 14th, 2009 at 2:34 pmOh, great info. Looks like my TBR list just grew a bit.
on October 14th, 2009 at 5:22 pmOh boy, I haven’t read any of these either and I normally like the national book award books… So many to explore and potentially add to my wishlist!!!
on October 15th, 2009 at 3:49 amI have met Bonnie Jo Campbell a couple times. She’s really cool and laid back. She got her MFA from Western Michigan University, where I went to college.
I have not read this book, but I have read some short stories and can say that she’s really good.
on October 15th, 2009 at 3:45 pmThe only one I’ve read is Far North by Marcel Theroux (which was excellent) so I guess I’ll cheer for it!
on October 19th, 2009 at 8:48 amI have read American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell and it’s great. She’s a wonderful writer.
on October 20th, 2009 at 4:59 pm