Previewing the National Book Award Longlist

Literary awards season is upon us. A few weeks ago, the good people over at the Man Booker Prize announced their longlist. What an eclectic and essentially unpredictable bunch that was, but it was, nevertheless, a wonderful list. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it all, really. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was bouncing around in celebration of James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird making the National Book Award (NBA) longlist. Didn’t he just win a few days ago? Time is slipping away.

All my rambling leads to a point: the longlist for the 2014 National Book Award comes out soon. On Wednesday, September 10th, ten fiction titles will officially be in contention to take home the ultimate title on November 19th.

Cracking the code of what might be on the NBA longlist is tough, but it’s a task that I’m willing to tackle. I’ve decided to break the potential longlist into categories:

RESPECTED NOVELISTS RETURNING ON TOP OF THEIR GAME:

Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See
Denis Johnson’s The Laughing Monsters
Richard Powers’s Orfeo
Marilynne Robinson’s Lila
Jane Smiley’s Some Luck

Doerr, Johnson, Powers, Robinson, and Smiley all have nice award mantels, and one of them will probably add another relic (or two) in the coming months. Powers won the NBA in 2006, and Johnson took it in 2007. Maybe it’s too soon for either of them to repeat, but you never know. The reviews are there, and both guys are at the top of their craft. Doerr’s novel is on fire right now, so its absence would be a huge shock. Neither Smiley nor Robinson has won the fiction NBA, and that oversight is looking like it could change. At this point, I say that Marilynne Robinson is our frontrunner.

CRITICAL DARLINGS:

Joshua Ferris’s To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Dinaw Mengestu’s All Our Names

In 2007, Ferris was a finalist for his first (and best) novel, Then We Came to the End. His latest has the same sensibilities going on. Plus, it’s an enjoyable read. I doubt it will be overlooked. As for Mengestu, the National Book Award folks like him, too. He was one of their 5 under 35 Award winners a few years back, and his latest novel is proof of his talent.

THE YOUNG CROWD:

Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State
Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans
Matthew Thomas’s We Are Not Ourselves

It’s always fun to see new writers emerging into the big leagues. I think Gay, Henriquez, and Thomas are the best bets for debut novelists. Gay is so popular right now, and An Untamed State is absolutely riveting (see my review). It would be a shame to not see her name on the longlist. Henriquez has some of the best reviews that I’ve read all year. I think she’s a sure thing. As for Thomas, you’ve heard the buzz. His debut is the best kind of epic. These are three writers to watch (and to read).

THE SMALL SURPRISE:

Norman Lock’s The Boy in His Winter

Norman Lock is my small press pick. The Boy in His Winter has a Huck Finn reemergence, and it seems so timely, with references from the past, present, and future of America. This is a special book, and I hope that the NBA honors it with a longlist nod.

OFFICIAL PREDICTIONS (A RECAP):

Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See
Joshua Ferris’s To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State
Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans
Denis Johnson’s The Laughing Monsters
Norman Lock’s The Boy in His Winter
Dinaw Mengestu’s All Our Names
Richard Powers’s Orfeo
Marilynne Robinson’s Lila
Jane Smiley’s Some Luck
Matthew Thomas’s We Are Not Ourselves

These can be the days that little novels get a big push; they can also be the ones that keep the big one out front—too far ahead for anyone to catch. Either way, it’s fun to watch. What titles did I miss? Who are you championing to be on this year’s NBA longlist? Sound off in the comments below.