Two Minnesota writers finalists for National Book Award

Adrienne Mayor

By Laurie Hertzel

The National Book Awards finalists were announced this morning, and Minnesota is looking pretty good.

T.J. Stiles, born in Foley, Minn., educated at Carleton College, is a finalist in non-fiction for "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt," published by Alfred A. Knopf.

And Adrienne Mayor, raised in Hopkins, educated at the University of Minnesota, is also a finalist in nonfiction for her book, "Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates the Great, Rome's Deadliest Enemy," published with Princeton University Press.

Mayor is currently a visting scholar at Stanford University.

Stiles tells me in an e-mail that he was notified yesterday, and that it was very hard to keep the news under his hat for 24 hours. Mayor says it's very exciting, and she is looking forward to meeting Stiles at the awards ceremony in November. My guess is that Stiles is looking forward to meeting her, too.

Other nominees in nonfiction are:

David M. Carroll, "Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook"

Sean B. Carroll, "Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species"

Greg Grandin, "Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City"

and, in fiction:

Bonnie Jo Campbell, "American Salvage"

Colum McCann,"Let the Great World Spin"

Daniyal Mueenuddin, "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders"

Jayne Anne Phillips, "Lark and Termite"

Marcel Theroux, "Far North"

Poetry

Rae Armantrout, "Versed"

Ann Lauterbach, "Or to Begin Again"

Carl Phillips, "Speak Low"

Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, "Open Interval"

Keith Waldrop, "Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy"

Young People's Literature

Deborah Heiligman, "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith"

Phillip Hoose, "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice"

David Small, "Stitches"

Laini Taylor, "Lips Touch: Three Times"

Rita Williams-Garcia, "Jumped."

The winners will be announced Nov. 18.