AP: Carol Oates Leads Book Critics Nominees

The Associated Press: Carol Oates Leads Book Critics Nominees: "Joyce Carol Oates led a field of National Book Critics Circle finalists announced Saturday, with nominations in both fiction and autobiography categories.

Oates was nominated in fiction for 'The Gravedigger's Daughter,' along with Junot Diaz's 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,' which was passed over for a National Book Award nomination last fall.

Other nominees were Marianne Wiggins' 'The Shadow Catcher,' Hisham Matar's 'In the Country of Men' and Vikram Chandra's 'Sacred Games.'

Missing from the list was Denis Johnson's 'Tree of Smoke,' a 600-page journey through the physical, moral and spiritual extremes of the Vietnam War, which captured the National Book Award.

Winners of the 34rd annual National Book Critics Circle prize will be announced March 6 in New York City. There are no cash prizes."