The National Book Foundation announced the last of their longlists, for fiction, focused on newcomers. Lauren Groff, a nominee in 2015, is a candidate, but no other authors named on the longlist have previously been recognized by the National Book Awards. Of the ten titles, five are published by Penguin Random House, while four are from small presses. The full list:
Jamel Brinkley, A Lucky Man (Graywolf Press)
Jennifer Clement, Gun Love (Hogarth)
Lauren Groff, Florida (Riverhead)
Daniel Gumbiner, The Boatbuilder (McSweeney’s)
Brandon Hobson, Where the Dead Sit Talking (Soho Press)
Tayari Jones, An American Marriage (Algonquin)
Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers (Viking)
Sigrid Nunez, The Friend (Riverhead)
Tommy Orange, There There (Knopf)
Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Heads of the Colored People (Atria)