Two University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop grads are National Book Award finalists

IOWA CITY — Two University of Iowa Writers' Workshop graduates are 2015 National Book Award finalists.

'Refund,' by Karen Bender and 'The Turner House,' by Angela Flournoy were announced as finalists for fiction on NPR's 'Morning Edition' Wednesday.

Other fiction finalists are Lauren Groff, for 'Fates and Furies,' Adam Johnson, for 'Fortune Smiles,' and Hanya Yanagihara, for 'A Little Life.' The finalists for Nonfiction, Poetry and Young People's Literature were also announced.

The winners will be unveiled on Nov. 18 in New York City and will each receive $10,000 and a bronze statue; finalists receive $1,000 and a bronze medal.

Publishers submitted a total of 1,428 books for this year's National Book Awards: 419 in fiction, 494 in non-fiction, 221 in poetry, and 294 in young people's literature. To be eligible, a book must have been published in the United States between December 1, 2014 and November 30, 2015, and must have been written by a United States citizen.

Bender is the author of the story collection, 'Refund,' and two novels, 'A Town of Empty Rooms,' and 'Like Normal People.' She has won two Pushcart prizes and grants from the Rona Jaffe Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and lives in North Carolina.

In their citation, the award judges wrote 'Refund' includes, 'Stories that deeply explore the ways in which money and the estimation of value affect the lives of her characters. The stories in 'Refund' reflect our contemporary world-swindlers, reality show creators, desperate artists, siblings, parents — who try to answer the question: What is the real definition of worth?'

Angela Flournoy is a 2011 graduate of the Writers' Workshop and has taught writing at the UI and Trinity Washington University. Her novel, 'The Turner House,' is her fiction debut.

In their citation, the judges wrote the book is, 'a major new contribution to the story of the American family ... The Turner House brings us a colorful, complicated brood full of love and pride, sacrifice and unlikely inheritances. It's a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams and futures, and the ways in which our families bring us home.'

Another Workshop alumni, T. Germonimo Johnson, made the longlist for his novel 'Welcome to Braggsville.'

The longlist was unveiled Sept. 17 and whittled down by a panel of five judges for Wednesday's announcement.

The finalists

Fiction

• Karen E. Bender, 'Refund'

• Angela Flournoy, 'The Turner House'

• Lauren Groff, 'Fates and Furies'

• Adam Johnson, 'Fortune Smiles'

• Hanya Yanagihara, 'A Little Life'

Non-fiction

• Ta-Nehisi Coates, 'Between the World and Me'

• Sally Mann, 'Hold Still'

• Sy Montgomery, 'The Soul of an Octopus'

• Carla Power, 'If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran'

• Tracy K. Smith, 'Ordinary Light'

Poetry

• Ross Gay, 'Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude'

• Terrance Hayes, 'How to Be Drawn'

• Robin Coste Lewis, 'Voyage of the Sable Venus'

• Ada Limón, 'Bright Dead Things'

• Patrick Phillips, 'Elegy for a Broken Machine'

Young People's Literature

• Ali Benjamin, 'The Thing About Jellyfish'

• Laura Ruby, 'Bone Gap'

• Steve Sheinkin, 'Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War'

• Neal Shusterman, 'Challenger Deep'

• Noelle Stevenson, 'Nimona'