The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction has announced its shortlist for the 2008 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, which will be presented in early December. (The $10,000 prize is named after the former Doubleday president and CEO, and is funded by his family.) "As the new Center for Fiction, we intend to do everything we can to support and promote emerging writers, said director Noreen Tomassi. With the generous support of the Sargent family, this award is a very important part of that effort—allowing us to bring attention every year to an extraordinary group of debut novels. This year's nominees are:

• Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
• Dervishes by Beth Helms
• The Good Thief byHannah Tinti
• Personal Days by Ed Park
• Songs for the Butcher's Daughter by Peter Manseau
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
• The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

NOTE: As the publisher of Beatrice, I began curating a reading series hosted by the Mercantile earlier this year, where Galchen and Park were among the earliest guests. (The series resumes later this month.)