Big names in the 2012 National Book Award Finalists

It seems like just yesterday that we finished last year’s literary awards season—and here it is, upon us again!

This morning, the National Book Award Finalists were announced on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Whereas last year the list of Fiction Finalists included a highly-acclaimed (but under-appreciated by the general public) short story writer, a debut author and two up-and-coming novelists, this year’s list is filled with authors who have more name recognition—most notably Louise Erdrich, who has written more than 20 books, and Junot Díaz, who already has a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur “Genius” grant under his belt.

I’m especially pleased to report that the list of Finalists includes authors from our September and October cover stories!

The finalists are listed below. The winners will be announced in a ceremony in New York City on November 14.

FICTION:

• Junot Dí­az, This Is How You Lose Her (Read an interview about the novel.)
• Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King
• Louise Erdrich, The Round House (Read an interview about the novel.)
• Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Read a Q&A about the novel.)
• Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds (Read a review of the novel.)

NONFICTION:

• Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956
• Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (Read a review of the book.)
• Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4 (Read a review of the book.)
• Domingo Martinez, The Boy Kings of Texas
• Anthony Shadid, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East

POETRY:

• David Ferry, Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations
• Cynthia Huntington, Heavenly Bodies
• Tim Seibles, Fast Animal
• Alan Shapiro, Night of the Republic
• Susan Wheeler, Meme

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE:

William Alexander, Goblin Secrets
Carrie Arcos, Out of Reach
Patricia McCormick, Never Fall Down (Read a review of the novel.)
Eliot Schrefer, Endangered
Steve Sheinkin, Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon

Which authors do you think should take home the big prize on November 14?