Think that book bloggers are just a bunch of loners, typing away in obscurity? Think again. They have clout, and they have smarts. And to prove it, they have just announced the winners of the first annual Indie Lit Awards, and they are stellar.
First place in literary fiction goes to Minneapolis writer Peter Geye for his North Shore-based novel, "Safe from the Sea," about a father and son's difficult reconciliation. Second prize went to National Book Award finalist Nicole Krauss for "Great House."
"Talk about a surprise, with that list of finalists," Geye said in an e-mail. "I'm bowled over. I mean, when I saw the other finalists--some of the most talked about and well-received books of the year--I considered it an award just to be mentioned alongside them. To be selected as winner is as humbling an honor as I could ever hope for."
The other finalists in literary fiction were "C" by Tom McCarthy, "Room" by Emma Donoghue (also shortlisted for the Booker Prize), and "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand," a wildly popular debut novel by Helen Simonson.
The nonfiction winner was "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson, with "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot the runner-up.
For a list of all winners, go to the Indie Lit website. And to read Star Tribune reviews of the winners and runners-up, click on the titles.
