The National Book Foundation narrowed the race to 25 finalists, announced Oct. 7, competing across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people's literature, as USA TODAY's Clare Mulroy reports. Winners take home $10,000, a bronze medal and a statue, with the ceremony livestreaming from New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The fiction slate includes Hannah Lillith Assadi's 'Paradiso 17,' Edwidge Danticat's 'Dèy,' Julián Delgado Lopera's 'Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You,' Valeria Luiselli's 'Beginning Middle End' and Morgan Thomas's 'Mad Eden.'

Alongside the competitive categories, the National Book Foundation will honor two literary figures, according to the USA TODAY report. Perri Klass will receive the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, while Salman Rushdie will be given a lifetime achievement award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. The nonfiction field is similarly wide-ranging, spanning Colin Asher's 'The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music,' Abdelrahman ElGendy's memoir 'Huna,' Camonghne Felix's 'Let the Poets Govern,' Sara Nović's 'Mother Tongue' and Joseph Osmundson's 'Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenting.'

The translated literature list gives a global cast its moment, per USA TODAY: Karl Ove Knausgaard's 'The School of Night' (translated from Norwegian by Martin Aitken), Vicente Luis Mora's 'Centroeuropa' (Spanish, Rahul Bery), Intan Paramaditha's 'Night of a Thousand Hells' (Indonesian, Stephen Epstein and Tiffany Tsao), Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's 'Pure Men' (French, Lara Vergnaud) and Samar Yazbek's 'Your Presence Is a Danger to Your Life' (Arabic, Leri Price). Young people's literature finalists, as AOL relays, are Elana K. Arnold's 'Holloway,' Tae Keller's 'When Tomorrow Burns,' Keala Kendall's 'That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic,' David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels's 'The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America' and Julian Randall's 'Shook.'

The National Book Awards are what the outlets call the biggest night in books, and the Nov. 18 ceremony will settle five category winners from the 25 finalists, each walking away with $10,000, a bronze medal and a statue if they win. The poetry field, reported by USA TODAY, pits Victoria Chang's 'Tree of Knowledge,' Carolina Ebeid's 'Hide,' Brenda Hillman's 'Still House in the Desert: An eco-contemplation,' Fady Joudah's 'Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza' and Susan Stewart's 'Bramble' against one another.