Congratulations to the nominess for the 2010 Northern California Book Awards. Among the fiction nominees is Catherine Brady’s wonderful story collection, The Mechanics of Falling, and Yiyun Li’s unforgettable novel, The Vagrants (which I reviewed here for The Rumpus.)

I was also happy to see Tamim Ansary’s Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes nominated in the General Nonfiction category. The Creative Nonfiction category includes heavy-hitters Dave Eggers (Zeitoun) and Michael Chabon (Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son)–a reminder how much literary talent exists in the Bay Area–along with a first book by Novella Carpenter (Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer). I had the pleasure of sharing a ride from the airport to our hotel with Novella a couple of weeks ago in Tuscon, where we were both appearing at a book festival, and though I haven’t yet read her book, I was intrigued by her stories of growing vegetables from seeds in her small yard in Oakland. Brenda Hillman’s Practical Water shares a spot among the poetry nominees with Kim Addonizio’s Lucifer at the Starlite.

Read the full list of nominees here. The award ceremony will be held on April 18 from 1:00 – 2:30 in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library.