Paul Harding, author of Tinkers
Paul Harding’s novel Tinkers, published by Bellevue Literary Press, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
One of five finalists, it is the sole small-press offering to receive this distinction this year, which is particularly gratifying for a nonprofit press whose first list was published in the spring of 2007. Editorial Director Erika Goldman is overjoyed by the news: “From the start, Tinkers has inspired an impassioned following among readers and critics alike; this is a remarkable affirmation for them and an unforeseen chance to further spread the word of this extraordinary novel.”
Other finalists for the First Fiction Prize include:
- American Rust by Philipp Meyer (Spiegel & Grau)
- The Cradle by Patrick Somerville (Little, Brown and Co.)
- The Vagrants by Yiyun Lin (Random House)
- Woodsburner by John Pipkin (Doubleday/Nan A. Talese)
The winner will be announced at an Awards dinner on November 9th in New York City and presented with a $10,000 cash prize. The Center was founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library and the First Fiction Prize is a vital part of its mission to promote the art of fiction in the United States.
Tinkers has received praise from such literary luminaries as Marilynne Robinson and Elizabeth McCracken, as well as numerous reviews including from Publishers Weekly (starred), Booklist (starred), the New Yorker, and the Los Angeles Times as well as being chosen as an IndieNext selection.
[BLP press release with a selection of reviews]
The nomination for Tinkers comes on the heels of two other major honors for the Press: Galileo’s Gout by Gerald Weissmann was awarded The Best Interdisciplinary Book published by NYU Faculty in 2007 by the NYU Humanities Initiative and The Lives They Left Behind by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny, is the winner of the 2009, 11th Annual Ken Book Award, from the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City Metro, Inc. (NAMI-NYC)
Bellevue Literary Press (BLP), founded in 2005, publishes literary and authoritative fiction and nonfiction at the nexus of the arts and the sciences, with a special focus on medicine. Their authors explore cultural and historical representations of the human body, illness, and health, and address the impact of scientific and medical practice on the individual and society.
Tinkers
by Paul Harding, 192 pages, $14.95 (paperback)
5 x 7, ISBN: 978-1-934137-12-3,
Pub. Date: January, 2009; Distributed to the trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution: 1-800-283-3572 For more information contact: Janna Rademacher, 651-592-1688, janna.rademacher@comcast.net
Buy a copy
Contact:
Bellevue Literary Press
Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212.263.7802
Fax: 212.263.7803
Email: egoldman@blreview.org
Web: Bellevue Literary Press
