The finalists for the annual National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Award are now out. The fiction list includes four books by women, three of which have already gotten some award love from the National Book Award and the Booker Prize. The other two books have received strong notices from reviewers and buzz from bloggers. Here are the finalists for fiction and non-fiction with excerpts and other links where available. As a side note, the NBCC award is particularly interesting in that it is one of the few major awards that pits American books against overseas (usually British) books.
Fiction
- Bonnie Jo Campbell, American Salvage (excerpt, NBA shortlisted)
- Marlon James, The Book of Night Women (excerpt)
- Michelle Huneven, Blame (excerpt, Huneven’s writing at The Millions)
- Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (excerpt, Booker winner)
- Jayne Anne Phillips, Lark and Termite (excerpt, NBA shortlisted)
Nonfiction
- Wendy Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History
- Greg Grandin, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City (excerpt, NBA shortlisted)
- Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (excerpt)
- Tracy Kidder, Strength in What Remains (excerpt)
- William T. Vollmann, Imperial (excerpt, a Millions Most Anticipated book)
For more on the NBCC Awards and the finalists in the other categories, check out the NBCC’s blog.
