Three books have been nominated by The Story Prize:
- In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
- Drift by Victoria Patterson
- Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
Well, I guessed the winner last year, so I'll take another stab for 2010. It seems the two frontrunners would be Mueenuddin and Tower, both of whom I've read, but it's a nice nod to nominate Patterson as well — I'd heard good things about Drift. It also fits into the normal pattern of nomination for The Story Prize — two favored collections and a worthy up and comer.
It's a good move because prizes are, at the bottom of things, a way of gaining recognition and cachet, and so prize nominations should be generous and diversified (I think The Story Prize does a much better job of this than the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize, which has a free-for-all "longlist" and once skipped the shortlist).
In Other Rooms was a National Book Award Finalist, but Everything Ravaged was a New York Times Editor's Choice. I might pick Everything Ravaged, but I think the judges might pick In Other Rooms. Either one would be worthy.
The judges are "writer A.M. Homes, journalist/blogger Carolyn Kellogg, and librarian Bill Kelly."
Winner announced on March 3rd!
