November 12 - 5 Under 35: Celebrating the Next Generation of Fiction Writers

November 12 - 5 Under 35: Celebrating the Next Generation of Fiction Writers

The writers to be recognized this year are:

• Kirstin Allio, Garner (Coffee House Press, 2005)
  Selected by Dana Spiotta, 2006 NBA Fiction Finalist for Eat the Document 
• Dinaw Mengestu, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears (Riverhead Books, 2007)
  Selected by Jess Walter, 2006 NBA Fiction finalist for The Zero 
• Asali Solomon, Get Down: Stories (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2006)
  Selected by Jennifer Egan, 2001 NBA Fiction Finalist for Look at Me
• Anya Ulinich, Petropolis (Viking Press, 2007)
  Selected by Ken Kalfus, 2006 NBA Fiction Finalist for A Disorder Peculiar to the Country
• Charles Yu, Third Class Superhero (Harcourt, 2006)
  Selected by Richard Powers, 2006 NBA Fiction Winner for The Echo Maker

The invitation-only event kicks off National Book Awards Week and will take place at Tribeca Cinemas. Writers will be introduced by the National Book Award author who selected them and will read an excerpt from their most recent book. The evening will be hosted by Sam Lipsyte, author of Home Land.

Photos Allio © Michael K. Allio; Mengestu © Blair Fethers; Solomon © Patrick Hinely;
Ulinich © Lisa Sciascia; Yu ©  Michelle Jue.

Students attending the sold-out event are preparing for the Teen Press Conference by reading one of the five Finalists' books and drafting questions based on the text, the writing life, and what it means to be a National Book Award Finalist. At the event, participating students will receive a professionally designed press kit with biographical information on each author and materials related to the National Book Awards. One student from each of the eleven schools will be seated on the stage with the authors.

Authors will read from their work before the floor is turned over to the students for the Press Conference. Following the Conference, students will be invited to meet with the authors at a reception in Nathan Straus Young Adult Center of the Donnell Library.

This program is made possible by a generous grant from Con Edison.

Hosted by Director of the New School Writing Program Robert Polito and emceed by fiction writer Bret Anthony Johnston, a 2006 "5 Under 35" selection, each Finalist will read for five minutes from his or her nominated work. Tickets for the always sold-out event are on sale at $10.00 per person and are available from the New School Box Office at (212) 229-5488.

* Note: Actor Neal Huff will read in place of Denis Johnson.

The 2007 National Book Award Winners will be listed on the National Book Foundation's Web site http://www.nationalbook.org/ between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. EST. The Awards Ceremony will be filmed by C-Span for later broadcast.

If you are not a registered eNewsletter recipient and would like to receive a list of the four Winners for the 2007 National Book Awards in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature by midnight on November 14, please send an email to nationalbook@nationalbook.org and state in the subject line "Email Winners on November 14."

Photo: Walter © Dan Pelle; Kalfus © Michael Ahearn.