Every year at QPB, we nominate about a half-dozen fiction debuts--either first-time novels or short story collections--to vie for our $5000 New Voices Award, which celebrates outstanding, audacious, innovative, unforgettable and emerging talents in the literary world. Past winners have included Yann Martel, Toni Morrison, Mark Danielewski and Colson Whitehead.  Later this month our committee will convene (over a sumptuous feast somewhere--ah, the price of literary excellence!) to choose this year's winner.  And the nominees are . . .

And She Was by Cindy Dyson

Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson

Send Me by Patrick Ryan 

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li