The mission of the National Book Foundation and the National Book Awards is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America. The 2013 Finalists are:
FICTION
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (CD book)
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
Tenth of December by George Saunders (audio download, CD book, eBook)
NONFICTION
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore
Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer (audio download)
The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright (eBook)
