Following are the honorees with their book titles, the National Book Award authors who selected them, and dates and times for the chats:
Justin Torres (via @HMHbooks) We the Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)
Selected by Jessica Hagedorn, Fiction Finalist for Dogeaters, 1990
• Wednesday, October 17, 2:00-3:00pm ET
Haley Tanner (@haleytanner)
Selected by Téa Obreht, Fiction Finalist for The Tiger’s Wife, 2011, and 5 Under 35 Honoree, 2010
• Tuesday, October 23, 2:00-3:00pm ET
Stuart Nadler (@stuartnadler)
Selected by Edith Pearlman, Fiction Finalist for Binocular Vision, 2011
• Thursday, October 25, 2:00-3:00pm ET
Claire Vaye Watkins (@clairevaye)
Selected by Julie Otsuka, Fiction Finalist for The Buddha in the Attic, 2011
• Tuesday, October 30, 4:00-5:00pm ET
Jennifer duBois (@jennifer_dubois)
Selected by Andrew Krivak, Fiction Finalist for The Sojourn, 2011
• Thursday, November 1, 2:00-3:00pm ET
Any questions can be directed to Katie McDonough at kmcdonough@nationalbook.org.
For more information on this year's 5 Under 35 honorees, visit: www.nationalbook.org.
The 2012 5 Under 35 writers’ books take readers from Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach in Vaclav & Lena to the wilds of Nevada in Battleborn, through short stories, linked stories, and novels. Both Jennifer duBois and Justin Torres are former Stegner Fellows, and duBois now teaches at Stanford University. Stuart Nadler was a Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellow at the University of Wisconsin. The publishing rights for Haley Tanner’s debut novel have been sold in thirteen countries, and Claire Vaye Watkins has received fellowships from the writers’ conferences at Sewanee and Bread Loaf. Two of this year’s 5 Under 35 titles were published by The Dial Press, the first time a publisher has had two selections in one year. Téa Obreht, a 2011 Fiction Finalist who selected Haley Tanner, was herself a 5 Under 35 author in 2010, selected by Colum McCann. She is the first 5 Under 35 author to become a National Book Award Finalist. Past 5 Under 35 writers include Danielle Evans, Keith Gessen, Samantha Hunt, Nam Le, Fiona Maazel, Dinaw Mengestu, ZZ Packer, John Corey Whaley, Tiphanie Yanique, Paul Yoon, and Charles Yu.
The 5 Under 35 program is now in its seventh year. For the first time, thanks to the generous support of Amazon.com, the Foundation will offer the 5 Under 35 writers a cash award of one thousand dollars each.
Monday, October November 12 at powerHouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn, the National Book Foundation will kick off National Book Awards Week with a party to celebrate this year’s 5 Under 35 authors. Host for the evening will be musician Neko Case, with poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis as DJ. Author Anya Ulinich, a 2007 5 Under 35 honoree, will moderate a conversation between the young writers. Musician and author Alina Simone will interview all of the authors at the event, to be shared in clips on the Foundation’s website.
This year’s group of accomplished young writers will be joined by host Neko Case. Case, whose song lyrics often weave tales full of surreal images, is working on a book of fiction and recording her next album. An avid reader, Case says, “Reading led me to writing and writing to music and art. It exploded my world of possibilities. All those disciplines are intertwined and become more powerful the more you use them together.” Special guest DJ Thomas Sayers Ellis weaves many musical references into his poems, and he has documented the Go-Go community in Washington, DC both in writing and through a collection of photographs. The 5 Under 35 event at powerHouse Arena will feature cocktails by Beloved, Beck’s beer, Brooklyn Oenology wine, food by Palenque, and live photos of guests from photographer Sam Morgan’s The Photo Booth Party.
