Big Night for National Book Critics Circle

At last Thursday's National Book Critics Circle Awards dinner, Roberto Bolaño and Dexter Filkins were the winners in the fiction and nonfiction categories at a well-attended ceremony at the New School in New York City. The status of book reviewing was the theme for the evening, and in his acceptance speech after receiving the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, Ron Charles, of the Washington Post (which recently announced the closure of its stand-alone book review), urged reviewers to pick the books they review carefully and to pick books they can celebrate. There were no major upsets among the winners, though there was an unprecedented tie for the poetry award. For a full listing of the winners, click here.