Harold Augenbraum

The National Book Awards ceremony is getting the Oscars treatment, reports the New York Times. In addition to adding a red carpet, hiring a DJ and inviting celebs like, ahem, Molly Ringwald, the awards board appears to be making a push toward higher-profile nominees, noting, as per the report: “Fame or obscurity, small press or large, should have no bearing on your deliberations."

In addition, as per the Times' Leslie Kaufman, the finalists (Junot Díaz, Dave Eggers, Louise Erdrich, Ben Fountain and Kevin Powers) were announced on Morning Joe. —Brian Howard

 

 

A “who’s who” of the book industry convened in the Big Apple last month to mingle as the annual National Book Awards were bestowed on this year’s batch of winning authors. The black-tie affair, the award’s 57th ceremony, took place at New York’s Marriott Marquis on Nov. 15. This year, the judges chose from 1,259 books submitted by publishers for what has become a leading literary prize for Americans since it was first given in 1950. Richard Powers’ “The Echo Maker,” published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, earned the top award for fiction this year, while Timothy Egan took home the nonfiction award for “The Worst

The National Book Awards, an annual celebration of American literature, now entering its 57th year, were presented during a ceremony at New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel on Nov. 15. Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation, which organizes the awards, talks with Book Business EXTRA! about the impact the awards have had on the book industry since they were first given in 1950. Book Business EXTRA!--How has the National Book Foundation maintained the prestige of its awards for more than half a century? Augenbraum--Prestige comes from a variety of sources. Part of the prestige comes from the integrity of the Awards. One reason

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