The National Book Awards were recently announced at a ceremony in New York. The nonprofit National Book Foundation administers the awards, and each prize carries a $10,000 cash award. Here's a list of the winners and finalists.

F I C T I O N

The NBA judges cited "Cold Mountain" for being a novel "in which we again see war breeding craziness, a story like 'The Odyssey,' about attempting to heal by going home."

We had this to say in the June issue of BookPage: "Lyrical and magnificent in its narrative power, this is one of the most promising literary debuts in some time. And we truly are glad that Charles Frazier remembered all those marvelous Civil War yarns his great-great-granddaddy passed along."

Other FICTION finalists:

Echo House by Ward Just
The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick
Le Divorce by Diane Johnson
Underworld by Don DeLillo

N O N F I C T I O N

"American Sphinx" is a balanced reassessment of the life, image, and career of Thomas Jefferson, examining his complex personality, controversies about the man and his beliefs, and his accomplishments. Ellis also wrote "Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams."

"Joseph J. Ellis's American Sphinx is a brief and elegant return to Monticello. Mr. Ellis . . . is a remarkably clear writer, mercifully free of both the groveling and the spirit of attack that have dominated the subject in the past. . . . American Sphinx is fresh and uncluttered but rich in historical context."
-- Brent Staples, The New York Times Book Review

Other NONFICTION finalists:

The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara by David Kertzer
My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid
The Undertaking by Thomas Lynch
Whittaker Chambers by Sam Tanenhaus

P O E T R Y

A contemporary of John Berryman, Elizabeth Bishop, and Robert Lowell, William Meredith shared neither the bohemian excesses of the Beats nor the exhibitionist excesses of the "confessional" poets. Rather, Meredith was known from the beginning of his career as a poet whose unadorned, formal verse marked him as a singular voice. From his early, deeply personal poems to the later, less formal poems concerned with tolerance, civility, and shared values, Meredith's craft is marked by a thoughtfulness not often seen in poets of his, or successive, generations. He is the master of the poem that seems colloquial at first glance, but is in fact deliberately voiced, measured out, and shaped. His is a voice of unequaled honesty and clarity.
(From the card catalog description.)

Other POETRY finalists:

Locusts at the Edge of Summer: New & Selected Poems by John Balaban
Desire by Frank Bidart
Primate Behavior by Sarah Lindsay
The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems by Marilyn Nelson

Y O U N G  P E O P L E ' S  L I T E R A T U R E

For the first time in the history of the National Book Awards, an author was nominated two years in a row. Han Nolan was nominated in 1996 as well, for "Send Me Down a Miracle."

"Dancing on the Edge" is a poignant story of a young girl teetering on the edge of insanity. Miracle McCloy has always known that there is something different about her. Having been raised according to a set of mystical rules and beliefs, she is unable to cope in the real world. After accidentally setting herself on fire, Miracle meets a kind psychiatrist who helps her through the painful struggle to take charge of her life.

"The shadows of truth, suffering, self-expression, and repression are examined without psychobabble in this sad, funny, and tender story. ... an intense, exceptionally well-written novel." -- Kirkus Reviews

Other YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE finalists:

The Facts Speak for Themselves by Brock Cole
Sons of Liberty by Adele Griffin
Where you Belong by Mary Ann McGuigan
Mean Margaret by Tor Seidler

THE MEDAL FOR DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTION TO AMERICAN LETTERS

This award went to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and syndicated radio commentator Studs Terkel. The award is given to an individual who has enriched the nation's literary heritage through a lifetime of work.

©1997, ProMotion, inc.

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