National Book Awards nominations include debut novel by Tea Obreht

(CBS) Twenty-six-year-old Tea Obreht is being recognized for her debut novel, "The Tiger's Wife," by the National Book Foundation. She is one of the nominees announced on Oct. 12 for the 2011 National Book Awards.

Pictures: British Book Awards

Obreht told Entertainment Weekly, "I am so thrilled and thankful for this honor. I was driving when I heard the news, and it was very difficult to stay in a straight line. I can't wait for November and the chance to meet the other finalists." The young author previously won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction for her first book, which focuses on the bloody history of Serbia. She was also included in the New Yorker's 20 Under 40 list.

Also nominated is Manning Marable's "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention." The author worked on the biography for 15 years, and died days before its release in April 2011, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The National Book Foundation will announce the winners at a gala in New York on Nov. 16 in an event hosted by actor John Lithgow.

The nominees, which can also be found on the official website, are as follow:

Fiction
- Andrew Krivak, ''The Sojourn"
- Téa Obreht, "The Tiger's Wife"
- Julie Otsuka, "The Buddha in the Attic"
- Edith Pearlman, "Binocular Vision"
- Jesmyn Ward, "Salvage the Bones"

Nonfiction
- Deborah Baker, "The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism"
- Mary Gabriel, "Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution"
- Stephen Greenblatt, "The Swerve: How the World Became Modern"
- Manning Marable, "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention"
- Lauren Redniss, "Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout""

Young People's Literature
- Debby Dahl Edwardson, "My Name Is Not Easy"
- Thanhha Lai, "Inside Out and Back Again"
- Albert Marrin, "Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy"
- Lauren Myracle, "Shine"
- Gary D. Schmidt, "Okay for Now"

Poetry
- Nikky Finney, "Head Off & Split"
- Yusef Komunyakaa, "The Chameleon Couch"
- Carl Phillips, "Double Shadow"
- Adrienne Rich, "Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010"
- Bruce Smith, "Devotions"