Junot Diaz, Dave Eggers, and Louise Erdrich led the list of fiction finalists for the National Book Awards this year.

Follow the links below to read free samples of the finalists in every category–who is your favorite?

The finalists were announced on MSNBC this year, a new twist for the prestigious award. The winners will be revealed at a gala ceremony on November 14 in New York City at Cipriani Wall Street.

Read more

Ray Bradbury died today, but writers around the world are reflecting on this great author’s legacy. President, science fiction fan and author Barack Obama shared this tribute:

For many Americans, the news of Ray Bradbury’s death immediately brought to mind images from his work, imprinted in our minds, often from a young age.  His gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world.  But Ray also understood that our imaginations could be used as a tool for better understanding, a vehicle for change, and an expression of our most cherished values.  There is no doubt that Ray will continue to inspire many more generations with his writing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Read more

Dave Eggers will publish a new novel with McSweeney’s at the end of the month.

A Hologram For The King tells the story of an aging businessman’s “last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure” and sell digital technology in Saudi Arabia. Over at The Rumpus, Eggers talked with author Stephen Elliott about his upcoming novel.

Eggers explained how he discovered the idea: “My brother-in-law had just been to Saudi Arabia with his company, and he told me about these cities that King Abdullah is trying to construct from scratch, these centers of education and manufacturing and other catalysts for a post-oil economy. I was fascinated by the idea of American businesspeople coming to these nascent cities in the desert, trying to get in on the ground floor. That was the start of it at least, and it gelled with some ideas I was having about this aging businessman who’s painted himself into a corner.”

More than 50 writers have signed a petition condemning “the violent crackdown on peaceful, nonviolent Occupy Oakland protesters” earlier this week. The document includes signatures from authors Michael Pollan, Rebecca Solnit and Dave Eggers.

Here is an excerpt: “As writers, authors, editors, filmmakers and artists from across the country, we believe free speech and assembly are paramount to democracy. We urge you to cease the police crackdowns immediately, and stop trampling on protesters’ First Amendment rights. As Mayor, you are ultimately responsible for the actions of your police department, and by all accounts they have behaved shamefully—attacking, beating, and tear-gassing people who were assembled peaceably in nonviolent protest. Mayor Quan, let free speech and assembly have its day, and its night, and stop your police from these terrible and entirely unnecessary attacks. The country is watching. Let the protesters speak and assemble, and end the attacks—now.”

During Occupy Oakland protests this week, hundreds of police officers have clashed with activists. 24-year-old Scott Olsen was hit in the head by a police projectile. He has been hospitalized ever since and will have surgery to reduce swelling in his brain. Doctors upgraded his condition to “fair” yesterday.

Read more

While accepting the Mason Prize at George Mason University this weekend, novelist Stephen King gave fans a peek at a sequel to his classic novel, The Shining.

Above, we’ve embedded a short video clip from the event. Follow this link to read more about all the topics King discussed while receiving the award–past recipients included Chinua Achebe, Dave Eggers and Greg Mortenson.

Here’s more about the reading: “Doctor Sleep, his upcoming novel about a grown-up Danny Torrance from The Shining. In the book, Danny is a hospice worker who uses his powers to help ill patients to pass away without pain. Unfortunately, he runs afoul of a gang of wandering psychic vampires who feed on people’s energy.” (Via Matt Staggs)

On September 6th, Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak will release Bumble-Ardy. This picture book will be the first publication Sendak has written and illustrated completely on his own since Outside Over There (1981).

Writer Dave Eggers profiled the 83-year-old Sendak for a piece in Vanity Fair (Eggers wrote The Wild Things, a novel loosely based on Where the Wild Things Are). According to the article, Sendak has spent the last three decades illustrating books and designing operas. 

Here’s more from the article: “Like all Sendakian rumpuses, it [Bumble-Ardy] gets out of hand, and for 10 pages we’re treated to the most bizarre tableau of celebrants, all in costume: pigs dressed as monsters, pigs dressed as cowboys and Indians, pigs dressed as old ladies painted garishly. As with any Sendak book, the pictures are full of references and echoes. One pig is reading a newspaper that says, WE READ BANNED BOOKS. A sheriff’s yellow badge calls back to the Warsaw Ghetto. Messages are written in Hebrew, Italian, Russian.” (via The Guardian)

Want to support students in your community? Explore ScholarMatch, a venture that helps donors contribute to the college tuition of promising young students.

Here’s more about the site: “ScholarMatch is a website and service whereby potential donors can learn more about scholars who need assistance paying their college tuition–and by learning more about these extraordinary students, our hope is that potential donors will be more likely to support the educational goals of the scholars in their communities.”

The video embedded above features two ScholarMatch supporters: The Office actor John Krasinski and college freshmen Bianca Catalan. The site was founded by Dave Eggers‘ nonprofit organization 826 Valencia. McSweeney’s tweeted this description: “ScholarMatch is like Kickstarter, but for students hoping to attend college.”

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has announced the seven guest editors for its Best American series. Shelf-Life offered the complete list:

The Best American Short Stories: Geraldine Brooks
The Best American Essays: Edwidge Danticat
The Best American Comics: Alison Bechdel
The Best American Nonrequired Reading: Dave Eggers (with an introduction by Guillermo del Toro)
The Best American Travel Writing: Sloane Crosley
The Best American Science and Nature Writing: Mary Roach
The Best American Sports Writing: Jane Leavy

The Sun Herald has more details about the guest editors’ backgrounds. In years past, the series has also published in the categories of mystery stories, recipes, and spiritual writing.

Read more

On March 5, 2011, 20,000 givers will help donate one million books to U.K. readers for World Book Night.

Jamie Byng, Canongate Books managing director and World Book Night committee chairman, conceived the event back in 2009. A group of booksellers, librarians, authors, broadcasters and others have chosen a list of 25 books to give away (the complete list follows below). Only 20,000 people will be invited to give away books for the program. Prospective givers have until January 4th to sign up–they can go to the World Book Night website and explain in 100 words or less why they want to participate.

John Le Carré‘s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold made the cut, and he had this statement: “No writer can ask more than this: that his book should be handed in thousands to people who might otherwise never get to read it, and who will in turn hand it to thousands more. That his book should also pass from one generation to another as a story to challenge and excite each reader in his time–that is beyond his most ambitious dreams.”

Read more

Author Dave Eggers has been sketching and writing about the World Series this year for San Francisco’s Bay Citizen .

Egger’s home team, the San Francisco Giants, are seeking their first World Series win since 1954. They have won the first two games of the series against the Texas Rangers. Above, we’ve embedded one of Egger’s sketches. Follow this link to see the rest.

Here’s more from the Bay Citizen: “We invited San Francisco author and artist Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney’s literary journal and the nonprofit writing center 826 Valencia, to the first game of the World Series. He spent the afternoon and evening with a sketchbook at AT&T Park; here is some of what he saw.”