Erdrich novel, Graywolf memoir are finalists for Dayton prize

The shortlist for the annual Dayton Literary Peace Prize was announced today, studded with fine titles about life in North Korea, Ceausecu's Romania, American Indian reservations, and the Vietnam War.

The formidable fiction shortlist includes National Book Award-winning "The Round House," Pulitzer-winning "The Orphan Master's Son," and a couple of dark horses.

The nonfiction shortlist also includes a National Book Award winner, Katherine Boo's "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," as well as a Graywolf Press memoir, "Burying the Typewriter," by Carmen Bugan about growing up in Romania.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize was inspired by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia. Winners will receive $10,000 and runners-up will receive $1,000. Winners will be announced Sept. 24.

Here's the whole list, with hyperlinks to our reviews.

FICTION FINALISTS

"The Round House," by Louise Erdrich

"The Orphan Master's Son," by Adam Johnson

"The Life of Objects," by Susanna Moore

"The Coldest Night," by Robert Olmstead

"The Yellow Birds," by Kevin Powers

NONFICTION FINALISTS

"Pax Ethnica," by Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac

"Burying the Typewriter," by Carmen Bugan

"Escape from Camp 14," by Blaine Harden

"Devil in the Grove," by Gilbert King