Yarmouth writer Lily King has been nominated for another major national book award. Her 2014 novel “Euphoria” is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award in fiction, which is among the most prestigious in American literature, representing the best books published last year.
“I was really shocked, surprised and so thrilled,” King said.
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She learned of the news Monday night in a text from her friend and fellow Portland writer Sara Corbett, who wrote, “I can’t believe the news. I’m so happy for you” with multiple emoticons. King had no idea what Corbett was talking about at the time.
Other fiction finalists are Chang-rae Lee’s “On Such a Full Sea,” Marlon James’ novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” Rabih Alameddine’s “An Unnecessary Woman,” and Marilynne Robinson’s “Lila.” King’s “Euphoria” is based on the life and work of the anthropologist Margaret Mead.
Nominations were announced Tuesday. Awards will be presented March 12 in New York.
In October, King won the inaugural Kirkus Prize in literature, which included a $50,000 award. She did not know if the National Book Critics Circle award carries a cash prize, and the website announcing the nominees didn’t offer information about it.
King is focused on writing a new novel and trying not to give the nomination “too much heed.”
“What’s truly important to me is the work and the new book I’m working on and just trying to get better at this job,” she said.
The National Book Critics Circle awards are bestowed by a jury of working critics and book-review editors.
King has said many times how surprised she was at the success of “Eupphoria.” In addition to winning one major writing award and being nominated for another, “Euophia” was named a top 10 book of 2014 by The New York Times.
Writing the novel, she said, was a struggle. “I never felt completely comfortable, and I never got into a groove.”
Further, she thought the subject might be too specialized for a general readership audience. “I figured there would be a few people who would be interested in Margaret Mead, but a fictionalization of three anthropologists from the 1930s? I just never expected it,” she said.
Joshua Bodwell, director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, said King’s nomination continues a run of accomplishments for Maine writers, and bodes well for others. Farmington writer Bill Roorbach and Rockport children’s book illustrator Melissa Sweet also were Kirkus finalists.
Unlike the Kirkus, which is a new award, the National Book Critics Circle awards have been around nearly four decades and have a legacy of winners who also have won Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, he noted.
“The awards, nominations, and attention Lily has been receiving is good for all Maine writers in its ripple effect,” Bodwell said. “Because Lily frequently discusses how fertile Maine has been for her writing life, I have to believe curious readers are also poking around to see what her fellow Mainers are writing.”
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