The 2008 National Book Award finalists were announced last night. They are:

• Fiction: Shadow Country by Peter Mathteissen
• Nonfiction: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Ann Gordon-Reed
• Poetry: Fire to Fire: New and Collected Poems by Mark Doty
• Young People’s Literature What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Full details, including interviews with all the nominated authors and video of the announcement, are here.–David E

UPDATE: The Star Tribune posted a nice write-up of the event, including coverage of the winners’ acceptance speeches. Read it here.