Spencer Piece

Scott Spencer talks about the thrills of being nominated for the National Book Award, for A Ship Made of Paper. (The other finalists are T.C. Boyle, Shirley Hazzard, Edward P. Jones and Marianne Wiggins.) For Spencer, the accolades are great, but not nearly as exciting as publishing his first book

”I’ve had a lot of really good things happen to me in my career, but I don’t think I’ve had anything that meant as much to me as having my first novel published,” he said, leaning forward slightly in his armchair. ”It was like having my identity validated. I got my ticket punched, I wasn’t going to be asked to leave the room.”