National Book Award Panel Criticized

Posted on November 25, 2004

The panel responsible for this year's National Book Awards is being criticized for selecting a group of unknown authors according to the Boston Globe. The Globe writes that the, "main beef seemed to be that the finalists, all New Yorkers, are not well known, and that their books are obscure or esoteric or both, as well as poor sellers -- this in a year when several literary heavyweights published books." Several critics have spoken out against the choices including The New York Times Book Review critic Laura Miller.