National Book Awards Long Lists Include Marlon James, Louise Erdrich and Karl Ove Knausgaard

Marlon James' "The Disappearers," a deeply personal novel about the persecution and perseverance of gay men in Jamaica in the 1980s, is among the nominees on this year's National Book Awards long lists.

The National Book Foundation released lists of 10 nominees in five competitive categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, books in translation and young people's literature. Judges will narrow the field to five finalists in each category, with those names to be announced on October 6. Winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Manhattan on November 18, where honorary medals will be presented to Salman Rushdie for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and to Perri Klass for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

James' novel, which also appeared on the long list for the Booker Prize, is a fiction nominee. Other fiction contenders include Louise Erdrich's "Python's Kiss," Edwidge Danticat's "Dèy," Valeria Luiselli's "Beginning Middle End" and Alexander Maksik's "Passengers."

In young people's literature, Chanel Miller was cited for "The Moon Without Stars." Miller is also the author of "Know My Name," an acclaimed memoir about being a victim of sexual assault.

Karl Ove Knausgaard's "The School of Night," translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken, features on the translation long list, alongside Taiwanese author Ping Lu's "To the East of the East" and Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha's "Night of a Thousand Hells," among others.

Nonfiction nominees include Colin Asher's "The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music" and Camonghne Felix's "Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom." Among the poetry nominees are Layli Long Soldier's "We," Victoria Chang's "Tree of Knowledge" and Richie Hofmann's "The Bronze Arms."