Williamstown Author's Book Up For National Award
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NEW YORK — Williamstown author Ali Benjamin is on the short list for the 2015 National Book Award, the National Book Foundation announced on Wednesday.
Benjamin's "The Thing About Jellyfish" is one of five titles nominated in the Young People's Literature category for the prize, which will be awarded on Nov. 18.
"The Thing about Jellyfish" tells the story of Suzy, who is convinced that her friend's death in a drowning accident is caused by a jellyfish sting.
"Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory - even if it means traveling the globe, alone," according to the publisher's description on Amazon.com. "Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe ... and the potential for love and hope right next door."
Benjamin is he co-author of the "The Keeper," a memoir of athlete Tim Howard, that was a Junior Library Guild selection earlier this year, and "Positive," a memoir dealing with bullying and HIV, that also was a Junior Library Guild selection.
The other contenders on the short list for the National Book Award include Laura Ruby's "Bone Gap," Steve Sheinkin's "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War," Neal Shusterman's "Challenger Deep" and Noelle Stevenson's "Nimona."
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