NBCC Award Finalists Named

Posted on March 28, 2002

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) recently announced the finalists for its annual book awards. The awards ceremony was held Monday, March 11, 2002, at New York University Law School. The National Book Critics Circle, founded in 1974, consists of nearly 700 active book reviewers, interested in communicating with one another about common concerns. In recent years, the NBCC has made efforts to become a truly national organization by offering forums in locations outside of New York.

The centerpiece of NBCC activities is the annual awards for the best book in five categories: fiction, general nonfiction, biography/autobiography, poetry, and criticism. Each year the organization salutes the most accomplished reviewer, from within the membership, with the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing.

NBCC Award Winners

Fiction
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald (Random House)

General Nonfiction
Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper by Nicholson Baker (Random House)

Biography and Autobiography
Boswell's Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson by Adam Sisman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Poetry
Saving Lives by Albert Goldbarth (Ohio State University)

Criticism
The War Against Clich: Essays and Reviews, 1971-2000 by Martin Amis (Talk Miramax)

Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award
Jason Epstein

Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing
Michael Gorra