Miscommunication Leads to Extra Book Being Included in National Book Award Finalists

Posted on October 13, 2011

The National Book Foundation made a rare mistake when it released its list of National Book Award finalists yesterday. The BBC reports that Lauren Myracle's Shine was included in the list instead of Franny Billingsley's Chime due to a "miscommunication." The two titles do sound somewhat alike.

The National Book Foundation decided to include both of the books in the list of finalists. There are six finalists in the young people's literature category this year - instead of the usual five - because of the extra addition.

Harold Augebraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, said, "We made a mistake, there was a miscommunication. We could have taken one of the books away to keep it five, but we decided that it was better to add a sixth one as an exception, because they're all good books."