On Monday, November 15, National Book Award week kicked off with the annual “5 Under 35” celebration, at which five young fiction writers were feted at the PowerHouse Arena in Brooklyn. Luckily for the Rumpus Glimmer Twins, you didn’t have to be under 35 to attend the party.
The 5 Under 35 are extraordinary writers—they’re also stylish! Tea Obreht’s rose-colored dress was eclipsed only by the beauty of the prose in her forthcoming novel The Tiger’s Wife. Grace Krilanovich’s white lace dress looked vintage and was coveted by many. Tiphanie Yanique proved that maternity dresses can be chic. Sarah Braunstein exuded cool elegance in a crisp button-down and pencil skirt. Paul Yoon—who is rarely spotted in public—proved that he a) actually exists and b) dresses well. And literary agent Bill Clegg (who represents two of the five) turned heads in a sharp leather jacket.
The five writers were selected by previous winners or finalists of the National Book Award for Fiction. After guests enjoyed free tacos (free tacos!) and plenty of wine and beer, a very composed Rosanne Cash took the stage to introduce the award-winning authors who selected the five honorees. Sarah Shun-lien Bynum started by introducing Sarah Braunstein; Scott Spencer introduced Grace Krilanovich; Colum McCann introduced Tea Obreht; Jayne Anne Phillips introduced Tiphanie Yanique; and finally, Kate Walbert gave a short history of Paul Yoon. Each of the young writers read their work to a rapt audience—no one in that room could doubt the vitality of contemporary American fiction. “Sometimes language is all you have to fall back on,” McCann said. And the night was a shimmering reminder of how good it feels to fall back on the written word.
Author Aryn Kyle makes a case for turning the Glimmer Twins into the Glimmer Triplets.
Tiphanie Yanique shows off her many accomplishments. Her book, How to Escape from a Leper Colony, was published by Graywolf this year.
Author Emma Straub and her husband/design partner Michael Fusco have designs on Dustin Kurtz of McNally-Jackson Books.
5 Under 35 puts the “power” in PowerHouse Arena.
Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum of Electric Literature, with author Carson Mell, electrify the scene.
Literary agent PJ Mark signed Ted Thompson because of his taste in glasses. We hear Ted’s forthcoming debut novel, The Land of Steady Habits, is pretty good, too.
Sarah Braunstein dazzles the crowd with a reading from her forthcoming novel, The Sweet Relief of Missing Children.
Grace Krilanovich reads from her novel, The Orange Eats Creeps. As Scott Spencer said of the book, “She can write about vampires without it being crap.”
Author (and professional hermit) Paul Yoon finds reentry a little startling…
… but he quickly adapts to life in the spotlight and signs copies of his story collection, Once the Shore.
Glimmer Twins Laura van den Berg and Elliott Holt feel the great world spin (yes, that’s Colum McCann lurking in the background).
Champion of short fiction Larry Dark, director of the Story Prize, brings the twins back down to earth.
