Minnesota writer Leif Enger's new novel on Andrew Carnegie Medal fiction long list

"Virgil Wander" is listed, along with Anne Tyler's "Clock Dance," Tayari Jones' "An American Marriage," and 22 others. The short list will be announced Oct. 24.

October 2, 2018 at 3:41PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Leif Enger. Star Tribune photo by David Joles.
Leif Enger. Star Tribune photo by David Joles. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"Virgil Wander," the first novel in 10 years by Minnesota writer Leif Enger, has been long-listed for this year's Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence.

Enger will speak at Talking Volumes at the Fitzgerald Theater tomorrow night. Also on the list are Tayari Jones' "An American Marriage," Anne Tyler's "Clock Dance," and 23 other novels. The nonfiction long list includes Wil Haygood's "Tigerland" (Haygood will be in St. Paul on Oct. 30 for Club Book), Susan Orlean's "The Library Book," and Clemantine Wamariya's "The Girl Who Smiled Beads." The short lists will be announced Oct. 24 and the winners will be announced in January. Here are the lists. Fiction

Ackerman, Elliot. Waiting for Eden. (Knopf)

Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame. Friday Black. (HMH/Mariner)

Ball, Jesse. Census. (Ecco)

Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. (Knopf)

Emezi, Akwaeke. Freshwater. (Grove)

Enger, Leif. Virgil Wander. (Grove/Atlantic)

Evans, Diana. Ordinary People. (Norton/Liveright)

Faye, Gaël. Small Country. (Hogarth)

House, Silas. Southernmost. (Algonquin)

Jones, Tayari. An American Marriage. (Algonquin)

Kingsolver, Barbara. Unsheltered. (Harper)

Kushner, Rachel. The Mars Room. (Scribner)

Kwon, R.O. The Incendiaries. (Riverhead)

Makkai, Rebecca. The Great Believers. (Viking)

Miller, Madeline. Circe. (Little, Brown)

Mosley, Walter. John Woman. (Grove)

Ondaatje, Michael. Warlight. (Knopf)

Orange, Tommy. There There. (Knopf)

Powers, Richard. The Overstory. (Norton)

Shteyngart, Gary. Lake Success. (Random)

Sittenfeld, Curtis. You Think It, I'll Say It. (Random)

Tamirat, Nafkote. The Parking Lot Attendant. (Holt)

Tyler, Anne. Clock Dance. (Knopf)

Winman, Sarah. Tin Man. (Putnam)

Winthrop, Elizabeth. The Mercy Seat. (Grove)

Nonfiction

Clemantine Wamariya, author of "The Girl Who Smiled Beads." Photo by Julia Zave.
Clemantine Wamariya, author of "The Girl Who Smiled Beads." Photo by Julia Zave. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Albright, Madeleine. Fascism: A Warning. (Harper)

Anderson, Sam. Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-Class Metropolis. (Crown)

Austen, Ben. High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing. (Harper)

Chee, Alexander. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. (HMH/Mariner)

De Hart, Jane Sherron. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Knopf)

Gerald, Casey. There Will Be No Miracles Here. (Riverhead)

Hilsum, Lindsey. In Extremis: The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin. (FSG)

Hinton, Anthony Ray and Lara Love Hardin. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. (St. Martin's)

Johnson, Kirk Wallace. The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. (Viking)

Laymon, Kiese. Heavy: An American Memoir. (Scribner)

Levy, Deborah. The Cost of Living. (Bloomsbury)

Klinenberg, Eric. Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. (Crown)

Macy, Beth. Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America. (Little, Brown)

Mohr, Tim. Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. (Algonquin)

Orlean, Susan. The Library Book. (Simon & Schuster)

Perry, Imani. Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry. (Beacon)

Wamariya, Clemantine and Elizabeth Weil. The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After. (Crown)

Westover, Tara. Educated. (Random)

about the writer

about the writer

Laurie Hertzel

Senior Editor

Freelance writer and former Star Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel is at lauriehertzel@gmail.com.

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