For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
Awarded to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (Alfred A. Knopf).
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: "After This" by Alice McDermott (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and "The Echo Maker" by Richard Powers (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).