Last night, the National Book Awards were presented at a black-tie dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan. The winners:
- Fiction: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Random House)
- Nonfiction: The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles (Knopf)
- Young people's literature: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (FSG)
- Poetry: Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop (University of California Press)
"As fiction writers and people who believe in the word, we have to enter the anonymous corners of human experience to make that little corner right," said McCann in his acceptance remarks, the New York Times reported.
Stiles thanked his supporters, "including editorial assistants, copy editors and marketing staffers, at his publishing house," the Times wrote. "The advent of the e-book is fooling people into thinking that none of these people are necessary anymore," he said. "If they cease to exist, the books will only be worth the paper they are not printed on."
Gore Vidal was honored with the award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and Dave Eggers received the 2009 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.