Colson Whitehead on fiction longlist for National Book Award

Whitehead's novel, in which he imagines that the 19th-century network of escape routes and hiding places for slaves is an actual train, was highly anticipated even before Winfrey picked it for her book club in August and raised it high on best-seller lists.

Publishers submitted more than 1,000 books combined for the four competitive categories, voted on by five-member panels of judges, who have included writers, critics, booksellers and others.