The nominations for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced Saturday evening, and there are more than a couple authors among them associated with the University of Chicago.
Bonnie Jo Campbell (B.A. '84) is nominated in the Fiction category for her novel American Salvage. She was also a finalist for the National Book Award. (A quick act of self promotion: The Chicago Maroon conducted an interview with her last November.)
Div School professor Wendy Doniger is nominated in the General Non-fiction category for The Hindus: An Alternative History.
Finally, recent Poem Present guest Rae Armantrout is nominated in the Poetry category for her collection Versed. (The Maroon did an interview with her too!) Rae was also a National Book Award finalist.
Most newspapers have just reported the nominees, but Bloomberg has a nice little introduction explaining a couple of the books nominated (None of the above were mentioned) and describing the nomination and selection process.
"Nominees and winners are chosen by the group’s 22-member board of directors, which includes Bloomberg book editor Laurie Muchnick, staffers from the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Publishers Weekly and other newspapers, and a number of freelance critics and bloggers. Though not accompanied by a monetary prize, the NBCC awards are well-respected in the literary world."
Looks like Chicago has even invaded the judging panel! Winners will be announced March 12.
