The finalists for the John Leonard Prize — for a first book in any genre — were announced by the National Book Critics Circle. This year’s finalists are Lesley Nneka Arimah‘s What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, Julie Buntin‘s Marlena, Zinzi Clemmons’ What We Lose, Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas, Carmen Maria Machado‘s Her Body and Other Parties, and Gabriel Tallent‘s My Absolute Darling. The winner will be announced in January. Pair with: Buntin’s 2017 Year in Reading entry.
2017 John Leonard Prize Finalists Announced
Adelle Waldman on Her
‘Nickel and Dimed’–Inspired Novel
"I think too many people—and I include myself in this—find ways of staying insulated from that reality."
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Yael van der Wouden Wants to Touch Everything
"The moment the sex turns gratuitous you lose the tension, and therein the emotional investment of your readers."
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Want to Write Better Fiction? Become a Translator
For K.E. Semmel, Jenny Croft, Idra Novey, and Bruna Dantas Lobato, translation was a crucial training ground for writing fiction.
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Becca Rothfeld’s Exuberant Ode to the Risks of Rapture
There is no experience of longing that is not, at the same time, an ethical revelation.
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