The awards, which honor works in the categories of poetry, young adult literature, nonfiction and fiction, will recognize the winners at a ceremony Nov. 19, hosted by Daniel Handler. The biography of the award-winning playwright, written by Lahr, "gives intimate access to the mind of one of the most brilliant dramatists of his century, whose plays reshaped the American theater and the nation's sense of itself," press notes state. "This astute, deeply researched biography sheds a light on Tennessee Williams's warring family, his guilt, his creative triumphs and failures, his sexuality and numerous affairs, his misreported death, even the shenanigans surrounding his estate."
Williams is known for his plays A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie, among others.
For a complete list of nominations and more information, visit nationalbook.org.