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    The 2019 National Book Award Finalists are…

    Literary Hub

    October 8, 2019, 10:40am

    Here are the 25 finalists up for the National Book Awards in of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature:

    Finalists for Fiction:

    Trust Exercise_Susan ChoiSusan Choi, Trust Exercise
    Henry Holt and Company / Macmillan Publishers

    Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & CorinaKali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories
    One World / Penguin Random House

    marlon james, black leopard red wolfMarlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf
    Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House

    The Other AmericansLaila Lalami, The Other Americans
    Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House

    Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth
    Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House

     

    Finalists for Nonfiction:

    Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House
    Grove Press / Grove Atlantic

    thickTressie McMillan Cottom
    , Thick: And Other Essays
    The New Press

    Carolyn Forché, What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and ResistanceCarolyn Forché
    , What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance
    Penguin Press / Penguin Random House

    The Heartbeat of Wounded KneeDavid Treuer
    , The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present
    Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House

    woodfox solitaryAlbert Woodfox
    with Leslie George, Solitary
    Grove Press / Grove Atlantic

     

    Finalists for Poetry:

    Jericho Brown, The TraditionJericho Brown, The Tradition
    Copper Canyon Press

    Toi Derricotte, “I”: New and Selected PoemsToi Derricotte, “I”: New and Selected Poems
    University of Pittsburgh Press

    Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf RepublicIlya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic
    Graywolf Press

    Carmen Giménez Smith, Be RecorderCarmen Giménez Smith, Be Recorder
    Graywolf Press

    Arthur Sze, Sight LinesArthur Sze, Sight Lines
    Copper Canyon Press

     

    Finalists for Translated Literature:

    Khaled Khalifa, Death is Hard WorkKhaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work
    Translated from the Arabic by Leri Price
    Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers

    Baron Wenckheim's HomecomingLászló Krasznahorkai, Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming
    Translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet
    New Directions

    Scholastique Mukasonga, The Barefoot WomanScholastique Mukasonga, The Barefoot Woman
    Translated from the French by Jordan Stump
    Archipelago Books

    memory policeYoko Ogawa, The Memory Police
    Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder
    Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House

    Pajtim Statovci, CrossingPajtim Statovci, Crossing
    Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston
    Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House

     

    Finalists for Young People’s Literature:

    petAkwaeke Emezi, Pet
    Make Me a World / Penguin Random House

    Jason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten BlocksJason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
    Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books / Simon & Schuster

    Randy Ribay, Patron Saints of NothingRandy Ribay, Patron Saints of Nothing
    Kokila / Penguin Random House 

    Laura Ruby, Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them AllLaura Ruby, Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
    Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins Publishers

    Martin W. Sandler, 1919: The Year That Changed AmericaMartin W. Sandler, 1919 The Year That Changed America
    Bloomsbury Children’s Books / Bloomsbury Publishing

    The Winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 20 at the 70th National Book Awards Ceremony which is hosted by LeVar Burton. Two lifetime achievement awards will also be presented at the Awards dinner: Edmund White will be recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by John Waters, and Oren J. Teicher will receive the Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented by Ann Patchett. Congrats to the finalists!

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