NBA finalists include 2 novels that were a decade in the making

Shirley Hazzard's novel is her first work of fiction since 1980.
By HILLEL ITALIE
AP NATIONAL WRITER
NEW YORK -- Patience has been rewarded by National Book Award judges.
Shirley Hazzard and Edward P. Jones, both of whom needed more than a decade to complete their current novels, are among this year's nominees.
Other fiction finalists announced Oct. 15 include T. Coraghessan Boyle's "Drop City" and Marianne Wiggins' "Evidence of Things Unseen." It was the first nomination for both writers, despite more than 20 books combined.
None of the 20 finalists, five each in four separate categories, has ever received a National Book Award. The winners will be announced Nov. 19.
Hazzard was cited for "The Great Fire," a romance set right after World War II and the author's first fiction work since the beloved "The Transit of Venus," published in 1980. Jones was nominated for "The Known World," a historical novel about a black slave owner and his first book since the story collection "Lost in the City," an NBA finalist published in 1992.
This year's nonfiction nominees include Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City," a best seller set around the 1893 Chicago's World Fair, and John D'Emilio's "Lost Prophet," a biography of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.
Eighty-year-old poet Louis Simpson, a four-time finalist first cited in 1964, was nominated for the anthology "The Owner of the House."
Drama won't be limited to the competitive categories. Horror writer Stephen King will receive a medal for contributions to publishing, an award given in the past to Philip Roth, Arthur Miller and others with more literary reputations.