The National Book Foundation recently announced the winners of its 5 Under 35 category, which “now in its seventh year, honors five young fiction writers selected by past National Book Award Winners and Finalists.” In an article from the news site examiner.com, Rebecca Keith, Program Manager for the National Book Foundation, explains the beginning of the program and also why it’s important:
“When the National Book Foundation introduced 5 Under 35 in 2006, we felt it was important to begin acknowledging the next generation of writers, and to do so by having our National Book Award Winners and Finalists pass the torch, in a sense, to the writers who might go on to become award winners themselves.
For many of the young writers, 5 Under 35 is the first honor they receive, a boost at the beginning of their careers. Indeed, many of them have gone on to win other awards, most notably Téa Obreht who was a National Book Award Finalist and won the Orange Prize, among other accolades. 5 Under 35 has also been an important program for the National Book Foundation, allowing us to reach out to a younger audience.”
This year’s winners are, drumroll please….
Jennifer DuBois for her novel A Partial History of Lost Causes
Stuart Nadler for his short story collection The Book of Life
Haley Tanner for her novel Vaclav and Lena
Justin Torres for his novel We the Animals
Claire Vaye Watkins for her short story collection Battleborn
Congratulate these lauded new voices in fiction, and now you know, in case you’re in the market for a new voice, that you need not look any further. Here are your guys (and gals). I, for one, can’t wait to dig into The Book of Life and A Partial History of Lost Causes.
by Kaycie
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