NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Paul Harding's Maine-based historical novel 鈥淭his Other Eden,鈥� Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah鈥檚 dystopian 鈥淐hain-Gang All-Stars鈥� and Justin Torres' multi-generational 鈥淏lackouts鈥� are among the fiction finalists for the National Book Awards.
Fiction judges also selected Aaliyah Bilal's debut story collection 鈥淭emple Folk鈥� and Hanna Pylv盲inen's 鈥淭he End of Drum-Time,鈥� set in 19th century Scandinavia.
On Tuesday, announced finalists in four other competitive categories: nonfiction, poetry, translation and young people's literature. The foundation, which presents the awards, Winners will be announced at a dinner ceremony in Manhattan on Nov. 15, when and longtime City Lights bookseller Paul Yamazaki will receive honorary prizes, and Oprah Winfrey will be a featured speaker.
Drew Barrymore had been chosen to host the evening after she decided to resume her talk show during the Hollywood writers strike. Barrymore soon changed her mind and paused production, and the strike has since been settled, but the foundation did not invite her back. On Tuesday it announced her replacement, the actor-writer-comedian
In nonfiction, the nominees are Ned Blackhawk's 鈥淭he Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History,鈥� Cristina Rivera Garza's 鈥淟iliana鈥檚 Invincible Summer: A Sister鈥檚 Search for Justice,鈥� Christina Sharpe's 鈥淥rdinary Notes,鈥� Raja Shehadeh's 鈥淲e Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir鈥� and John Vaillant's 鈥淔ire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.鈥�
Monica Youn's 鈥淔rom From鈥� and John Lee Clark's 鈥淗ow to Communicate鈥� are poetry finalists, along with Craig Santos Perez's 鈥渇rom unincorporated territory (氓mot),鈥� Evie Shockley's 鈥渟uddenly we鈥� and Brandon Som's 鈥淭ripas.鈥� The young people's literature nominees are Kenneth M. Cadow's 鈥淕ather,鈥� Huda Fahmy's 鈥淗uda F Cares?鈥�, Vashti Harrison's 鈥淏ig,鈥� Katherine Marsh's 鈥淭he Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine鈥� and Dan Santat's 鈥淎 First Time for Everything.鈥�
Bora Chung's 鈥淐ursed Bunny,鈥� translated from the Korean by Anton Hur, is a translation finalist. Others include David Diop's 鈥淏eyond the Door of No Return, translated from the French by Sam Taylor; St锚nio Gardel's 鈥漈he Words That Remain," translated from the Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato; Pilar Quintana's 鈥淎byss,鈥� translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman; and Astrid Roemer's 鈥淥n a Woman鈥檚 Madness,鈥� translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott.
Publishers submitted a total of 1,931 books for the five competitive categories, which are judged by panels of writers, booksellers and other members of the literary community.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
