Which novels are the heavyweights?
Which first-time novelists the breakouts?
You had one job,Washington Postcritic Ron Charles tweeted.
Credit: Illustration by Ryan Snook for EW
cried a headline in the localTimes Literary Supplement.
To Oscar watchers, this may feel like a small drama.
Heres a cheat sheet to get you in on the fun.
THE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Lets start withAtwoodsThe Testaments, her Booker-winning sequel toThe Handmaids Tale.
But as with aBlack PantherorGet Outon the movies side, sometimes that popular success translates to hardware, too.
THE INGENUE
Sally Rooneyis riding a very long awards tail for her sophomore novel,Normal People.
(Note: Non-American authors are ineligible for the NBA.)
Her trajectory feels a little like J.
Laws at the height of her breakout: Will there ever be a time when sheisntup for something?
THE SNUBS
No awards season is complete without the unjustly ignored.
And whither Elizabeth McCrackensbizarro American epicBowlaway?
Was it released too early, like so many Oscar near-contenders?
Consider this our official FYC.
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