Christopher Hitchens, Sherman Alexie Among National Book Award Finalists

NEW YORK (AP) _ ``God is Not Great'' author Christopher Hitchens, ``Tree of Smoke'' novelist Denis Johnson and former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass are among the finalists for the National

Wednesday, October 10th 2007, 8:51 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ ``God is Not Great'' author Christopher Hitchens, ``Tree of Smoke'' novelist Denis Johnson and former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass are among the finalists for the National Book Awards.

Other nominees announced Wednesday include Sherman Alexie, cited in the young people's literature category for ``The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian''; debut author Joshua Ferris for his novel ``Then We Came to the End''; and scholar Arnold Rampersad for ``Ralph Ellison: A Biography.''

Winners in the four competitive categories _ fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature _ will each receive $10,000. Other finalists get $1,000. The results will be announced at a Nov. 14 ceremony in Manhattan hosted by author-humorist Fran Lebowitz.

The awards, founded in 1950, are sponsored by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization.