The National Book Critics Circle invites its members to make submissions for the 2010 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. The award is given each year in honor of Nona Balakian, a founding member of the National Book Critics Circle, where she served as the board's first secretary. The eminent critic and longtime editor at the New York Times Book Review also served on the Pulitzer Prize committee, the Board of Directors of PEN, and the Authors Guild board, was the author of Critical Encounters: Essays (1978), and co- wrote The Creative Present (1969) with Charles Simmons. She died in 1991.
Previous winners of the citation include Joan Acocella, Daniel Mendelsohn, Thomas Mallon, Maureen McLane, Steven G. Kellman, Laurie Stone, Scott McLemee, Albert Mobilio, JoAnn Gutin, David Orr, Elizabeth Ward, George Scialabba, and Ron Charles.
Submission Requirements: You must be a member of the NBCC to be considered. If you are not a member, you can join online anytime before December 31, 2010, in order to be eligible for the award. All submitted reviews must have been published in 2010.
Submission Procedures: Submissions must be postmarked no later than Thursday, December 31, 2010. Send up to five book reviews (all published in 2010) of no more than 5,000 words collectively, to each of the board members below. Include a brief cover letter listing the title and word count of each piece submitted. The total word count for the submissions must not exceed 5,000, on pain of the entire submission being disqualified from consideration for the award.
Scott McLemee, Chair
1711 Mass Ave, NW, #321
Washington, DC 20036
David Biespiel
4232 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97215
Stephen Burt
Harvard University
Dept of English
Barker Center
12 Quincy St
Cambridge MA 02138
Jane Ciabattari
36 West 75th Street, 5A
New York, NY 10023
Barbara Hoffert
c/o Library Journal
160 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
Steve Kellman
302 Fawn Drive
San Antonio, TX 78231-1519
Carolyn Kellogg
730 1/2 East Edgeware Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Laurie Muchnick
c/o Bloomberg News
731 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Carlin Romano
3620 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19104
Elizabeth Taylor
c/o Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
David Ulin
1089 South Genesee Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Art Winslow
1014 Wheaton
Kalamazoo, MI 49008