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National Book Foundation names its 5 under 35

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Tuesday the National Book Foundation announced its 5 under 35 -- five young writers selected for recognition by previous National Book Award winners and finalists.

The program, now in its ninth year, is designed to focus attention on promising writers. Previous recipients include Dinaw Mengestu and Karen Russell, who each went on to become MacArthur “genius” fellows; Téa Obreht, winner of the Orange Prize; Claire Vaye Watkins, who won the Story Prize; and Nam Le, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize.

This year’s recipients are:

--Yelena Akhtiorskaya, author of the novel “Panic in a Suitcase,” published by Riverhead. Selected by Aleksandar Hemon, 2008 National Book Award Finalist for “The Lazarus Project”

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--Alex Gilvarry, author of the novel “From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant,” published by Viking. Selected by Amy Bloom, 1993 National Book Award Finalist for “Come to Me”

--Phil Klay, author of the short story collection “Redeployment,” published by the Penguin Press, March 2014. Selected by Andrea Barrett, 1996 National Book Award Winner for “Ship Fever and Other Stories”

--Valeria Luiselli, author of the novel “Faces in the Crowd,” published by Coffee House Press. Selected by Karen Tei Yamashita, 2010 National Book Award Finalist for “I Hotel”

--Kirstin Valdez Quade, author of the short story collection “Night at the Fiestas,” to be published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2015. Selected by Andre Dubus III, 1999 National Book Award Finalist for “House of Sand and Fog”

The 5 under 35 winners will be feted Nov. 17 as part of the lead-up to the National Book Awards in New York. The event will be hosted by the musician Questlove and DJ’d by Ben Greenman, cowriter of Questlove’s bestselling memoir “Mo Meta Blues.”

Book news and more; I’m @paperhaus on Twitter

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