National Book Award Winners: Matthiessen, Gordon-Reed, Doty, Blundell

I couldn't be at the National Book Awards ceremony tonight (tux at the cleaners; also, 3,000 miles away; also, not invited), but they twittered the event at the NBA site, announcing these results:

• Young People's Literature: What I Saw and How I Lied, Judy Blundell
• Poetry: Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems, Mark Doty
• Nonfiction: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, Annette Gordon-Reed
• Fiction: Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen

Matthiessen's book had gotten the most attention of the nominees, but mainly because of the question of whether his novel, which was a condensation and reworking of three previous books, Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone, should be eligible for the award as a new work. (It seemed clear to me that he had transformed it so much that it was.) He won an NBA almost 30 years ago for The Snow Leopard, one of the books of nature writing that he has been best known for, although that may finally change now: "I've had a hard time over the years persuading people that fiction was my natural thing," he said at the ceremony.

Gordon-Reed, who turned 50 today, marveled at what a wonderful and surprising November it's been. As it happens, I did a Q&A with her recently and this gives me the perfect opportunity to post it, which I'll do separately. My favorite detail about the Young People's winner (besides its title, one of the best of the year), is the short line in the New York Times account of the ceremony, which captures a career of anonymous work in a few short words: "Ms. Blundell, who has spent most of her career as a writer for hire, said this was the 'first book I put my name on.'"

Videos from the ceremony will be posted at some point in the near future on the NBA site. One reason to come back, according to the Twitter feed: "I can not do justice to Daniel Handler's intro [to the Young People's award], so please watch it on the NBF's website in the coming weeks." If you need something to tide you over till then, here's Dan (Lemony Snicket) Handler's high school graduation speech. --Tom

P.S. There's a typo right now on the National Book Foundation home page that I hope somehow becomes permanent: "National Book Awards Pictures (including 5 Under 53...)." "5 Under 53"? Finally, a young writers award I'm still eligible for...