Gayl Jones, Tommie Smith among National Book Award finalists
Finalists for the National Book Awards were announced Tuesday
NEW YORK (AP) — Gayl Jones' “The Birdcatcher,” a short, lyrical novel about a writer's trip to Ibiza and the gifted, unstable couple she stays with, is a National Book Award finalist for fiction.
The nonprofit National Book Foundation announced Tuesday five finalists in each of five competitive categories — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature and translated books — winnowed from the 10 longlisted last month.
Nominees include the activist and former Olympics gold medalist Tommie Smith, a young people's literature nominee for “Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice,” co-authored with Derrick Barnes and Dawud Anyabwile. Sharon Olds, whose previous honors include the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle award, is a poetry finalist for “Balladz," and “His Name Is George Floyd,” by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, is a nonfiction nominee.
Jones, author of the acclaimed “Corregidora” and six other previous works of fiction, is the most established writer in a category that features three debut novels.
