
“North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther” by Ethan Rutherford follows a whaling crew in the late 19th century, during the waning days of America’s whaling industry.
A Strange Object
A book from Dallas’ Deep Vellum publishing house has been shortlisted for a National Book Award.
Ethan Rutherford’s debut novel, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther, made the cut in the fiction category. Released in March through Deep Vellum’s A Strange Object imprint, the novel follows a whaling crew in the 1870s, during the waning days of America’s whaling industry.
North Sun is up against four other finalists: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine, A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar, The Antidote by Karen Russell and Palaver by Bryan Washington.
This is the first time Deep Vellum has been shortlisted for the English-language fiction category. The annual awards are also given for best nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people’s literature.
Winners will be announced Nov. 19 at the 76th National Book Awards ceremony in New York City.