Sigrid Nunez, National Book Award finalist!

Sigrid Nunez, Distinguished Visiting Writer in the Creative Writing MFA program (2015), was announced as one of five finalists for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her novel, The Friend, released earlier this year, has received rave reviews. The New York Times Book Review writes, "Nunez’s prose itself comforts us. Her confident and direct style uplifts—the music in her sentences, her deep and varied intelligence."

The Friend is "[a] moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog."

Nunez joins other finalists Jamel Brinkley, Lauren Groff, Brandon Hobson, and Rebecca Makkai. You can read the full list of finalists for all categories on BuzzFeed Books.