The National Book Foundation concluded the rollout of its nominees for the National Book Awards with the release of the longlist for its fiction prize.
Percival Everett made the longlist for James, his retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of the enslaved Jim. James was previously shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize and longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was nominated for her debut novel, Catalina; she was previously a finalist for the 2020 nonfiction National Book Award for The Undocumented Americans. Rachel Kushner, previously shortlisted for Telex From Cuba and The Flamethrowers, made this year’s list for Creation Lake.
Miranda July was shortlisted for All Fours, alongside 'Pemi Aguda for Ghostroots, Jessica Anthony for The Most, and Hisham Matar for My Friends.
Kaveh Akbar made the shortlist for Martyr!, as did Sam Sax for Yr Dead and Tony Tulathimutte for Rejection.
The judges for the fiction award are Jamie Ford, Lauren Groff, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chawa Magaña, and Reginald McKnight.
The shortlist for the prize will be unveiled on Oct. 1, with the winner announced at a ceremony in New York on Nov. 20.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
