National Book Award
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Judging the Judges
This year’s judges of the National Book Award seem to agree that women’s nonfiction writing is abundant and prize-worthy. The 2015 nonfiction longlist includes seven female-authored books, out of 10, the largest percentage of female nominees in the prize’s history.…
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Literary Cooties
A recent study by author Nicola Griffith reveals that books written about men were more likely to win major literary prizes over the last fifteen years than books written about women. During this timeframe, 12 Man Booker Prize winners and 10 National Book Award winners were…
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The Rumpus Interview with Elliot Ackerman
Elliot Ackerman discusses his debut novel Green on Blue, fighting with the Marine Corps in the Second Battle of Fallujah, and being labeled as a journalist .
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The Rumpus Interview with Edward Hirsch
Dean Rader talks with Edward Hirsch about his new book Gabriel, the pain of losing a child, and the challenges of writing grief.
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Jacqueline Woodson and the End of the World
I think I was pretty nervous about it as a kid. I think I did [have] that fear of the world coming to an end. I think also it’s kind of how kids exist anyway, you know? You’re always fearing…
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Chance Encounters
A newspaper columnist, a National Book Award winner, and some strangers get on a train… At the Times, Alexandra Alter writes about bumping into Phil Klay on the F train.
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Final Tour
Phil Klay’s just won the National Book Award, and he talks with Rumpus Interviews Editor Emeritus Rebecca Rubenstein about the repercussions. They also hit on the burden of multiple voices, “entry points”, and what qualifies you to tell a true war story:…
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A Loss of Translation
The mismatch between quality and recognition in the world of translated fiction and nonfiction is surely more extreme than in any category of literature, and while this category has a growing number of great advocates, it deserves to have them…
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The Rumpus Interview with John Darnielle
The Rumpus talks to John Darnielle about his debut novel, Wolf in White Van, the differences between writing prose and songwriting, and what it’s like to be a dad.
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
This weekend, Heather Partington reviews Fridays at Enrico’s, Don Carpenter’s posthumous novel about novelists, and Inside Madeleine, a collection of stories by Paula Bomer that takes an unblinking look at femininity. While the former will strike a familiar chord for…
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JHUMPA LAHIRI’S LOWLAND
The final key moment was when, suddenly, I was able to write the novel without feeling as though I needed the crutch of all the research and all of the books, and I felt that the characters were strong enough…
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National Book Award Finalists Announced
Here is the complete list of finalists for the National Book Award in the fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult categories. The finalists include Rumpus interviewee Rachel Kushner and Rumpus book club participant George Saunders—plus one of the judges in the young adult category…