9/11, King Works Among Book Award Nominees

In this, his first book, Chandrasekaran said he also tried to pull the curtain back on the selection of personnel assigned to work for the occupation administration, which was based in many cases on "political connection and loyalty instead of experience in post-conflict reconstruction."

In poetry, the finalists are: "Averno" by former U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Gluck; "Chromatic" by H.L. Hix; "Angle of Yaw" by Ben Lerner; "Splay Anthem" by Nathaniel Mackey; and "Capacity" by James McMichael.

And in young people's literature: "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson; "Keturah and Lord Death" by Martine Leavitt; "Sold" by Patricia McCormick; "The Rules of Survival" by Nancy Werlin; and "American Born Chinese," a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.

This last group, Augenbraum said, is fascinating because it includes a variety of narrative structures, including McCormick's novel, which is told in free verse, and Werlin's, which is written as a long letter. "It makes it an unconventional list," he said. "People will be surprised."

Many of the writers are not that surprising. Besides Branch, Powers and Anderson have also been finalists in the past; Gluck has made it to the final round twice. None has won. Yet.

The awards will be handed over at a black-tie dinner, hosted by comic scribe Fran Lebowitz, in New York on Nov. 15. Each winner will be presented with $10,000 and a bronze statue; runners-up will take home $1,000 apiece.

More than 1,250 books -- the most ever -- were entered in this year's competition. To be eligible, the work had to have been written by a U.S. citizen and published in this country between Dec. 1, 2005, and Nov. 30, 2006.

This year's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters goes to poet Adrienne Rich and the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community will be given to Epstein and Robert Silvers, founders of the New York Review of Books. Epstein died in June.