Veteran writers vie for US awards

Actor Steve Martin has traditionally presented the awards

Veteran US authors T Coraghessan Boyle and Marianne Wiggins have received their first ever nominations for the National Book Awards.

The pair, who have written more than 20 books between them, join fellow nominees Shirley Hazzard and Edward P Jones on the shortlist.

Also nominated is Scott Spencer for his novel, A Ship Made of Paper.

The $10,000 (£6,000) awards, organised by the National Book Foundation, are in their 54th year.

Hazzard and Jones both spent more than a decade completing their latest books.

Varied themes

Hazzard is selected for The Great Fire - a post-World War II romance while Jones is nominated for The Known World, a historical novel about a black slave owner.

Boyle is cited for Drop City, the adventures of a hippie commune in Alaska and Wiggins has made the list for the anti-nuclear themed Evidence of Things Unseen.

The results will be announced in New York on 19 November.

Based loosely on the Academy Awards, they have been hosted by actor Steve Martin since 1999.

He has cited other commitments this year - including, ironically, promotion of his novel - and will be replaced by mystery writer Walter Mosley.

Horror writer Stephen King will receive a medal for contributions to publishing, an award given previously to leading writers such as Philip Roth and Arthur Miller.