Marlon James, in his Minneapolis apartment in 2017. Renee Jones Schneider
Marlon James, a writer-in-residence and associate professor of English at Macalester College, has landed on the long list for the National Book Award. The novelist, who splits his time between Minneapolis and Brooklyn, was honored for "Black Leopard, Red Wolf," the first in a planned trilogy. (This year, the NBA is rolling out its categories day by day. Thursday, Minnesota writer David Treuer appeared on the nonfiction long list for "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee.")
Finalists for the awards will be announced Oct. 3 and winners will get their medals in November.
The other nine on the fiction long list include "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead, a previous winner for "The Underground Railroad," and eight first-timers: Taffy Brodesser-Akner for "Fleishman Is in Trouble," Susan Choi for "Trust Exercise," Kali Fajardo-Anstine for "Sabrina & Corina: Stories," Laila Lalami for "The Other Americans," Kimberly King Parsons for "Black Light: Stories," Helen Phillips for "The Need," Julia Phillips for "Disappearing Earth" and Ocean Vuong for "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous."
