Web posted on: Tuesday, November 17, 1998 1:52:03 PM EST

ATLANTA (CNN) -- When asked, many successful writers will tell you that awards mean nothing, that their craft shouldn't be whittled down to the arbitrary decisions of a small panel seeking to name the "best" work in a field as varied as apples and oranges.

Then there's the National Book Awards, one of the preeminent honors in American writing. The winning scribes stand to gain an unhealthy supply of ego-stroking, while pocketing a healthy gob of cash through a rush of sales following the announcement.

After years of laboring in a lonesome, thankless trade, what writer wouldn't want this?

Fiction nominees

Well, Tom Wolfe might not be poor or in desperate need of attention, but he certainly wouldn't mind being so honored. The author, who has already captured the National Book Award in nonfiction in 1980 for "The Right Stuff," might win it again, this time in fiction. His latest book, "A Man in Full," has received so much hype, including a nomination by the National Book Foundation before it was published, that taking home the award would only seem justified.

Of course, don't say that to Allegra Goodman, Gayl Jones, Alice McDermott or Robert Stone, who are also finalists for this year's National Book Awards. The winners in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature will be announced on Wednesday evening at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.

In the category of fiction, Wolfe's work, an Atlanta-based tale of a bigoted southern real estate magnate who experiences a life-change, takes on Goodman's "Kaaterskill Falls," a tale of conflict that breaks out between Liberal and Orthodox Jews in a summer resort in New York State; Jones' "The Healing," her first work in more than 10 years, the story that revolves around faith healer Harlan Jane Eagleton; McDermott's "Charming Billy," which depicts the title character's family and friends as they try to understand Billy's death to alcoholism, and realizing their answers might be found with his lost love; and Stone's "Damascus Gate," the story of an American journalist in Jerusalem who uncovers a plot to bomb the sacred Temple Mount. Stone previously won the award in 1975 for "Dog Soldiers."

So, who's favored to win this coveted crown? If you count hype, Wolfe seems to have a Secretariat-like lead over the rest of the pack.

Along with the pre-publishing nomination, "A Man in Full" has been the most talked about book this year, particularly in Atlanta. The southern city has been buzzing in anticipation of Wolfe's two-day appearance beginning Wednesday, during which he will attend several affairs, including a black-tie dinner -- in his honor -- benefitting the Margaret Mitchell House. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gushed over the excitement the book was generating, claiming, "Not since 'Gone With the Wind' has the city been thrust into as bright a spotlight.

Goodman, Jones, McDermott and Stone might have outstanding works, but they can only wish for such comparisons. Of course, there's always the possibility of early backlash against Wolfe's tome.

A win by Jones would be an ironic end to a tragic year for the novelist. In February, soon after her novel was published, Jones and husband Bob Higgins barricaded themselves in their Lexington, Kentucky, home as police tried to serve Higgins with a 15-year-old warrant from Michigan.

Higgins killed himself when police stormed the house. Jones was taken to a state mental hospital and has been in seclusion since.

Updike to be honored

Though he isn't nominated this year, John Updike will be a focus of attention at this year's awards. The foundation says that the prolific author will be the recipient of the 1998 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Updike won the National Book Award in 1964 for "The Centaur," and again in 1982 for "Rabbit Is Rich."

The National Book Awards began in 1950, when a group of publishing groups sponsored the first ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Their goal was to enhance the public's awareness of exceptional books written by fellow Americans, and to increase the popularity of reading in general.

The winners, selected by five-member panels for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a crystal sculpture.

Listed below are the nominees in the three other categories:

Nonfiction

- "Slaves in the Family," by Edward Ball
- "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human," by Harold Bloom
- "There Once Was a World: A 900-Year Chronicle of the Shtetl of Eishyshok", by Yaffa Eliach
- "A Slant of Sun: One Child's Courage," by Beth Kephart
- "All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of American Slavery," by Henry Mayer

Young people's literature

- "The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods," by Ann Cameron
- "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key," by Jack Gantos
- "No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War," by Anita Lobel
- "A Long Way From Chicago," by Richard Peck
- "Holes," by Louis Sachar

Poetry

- "The Art of the Lathe," by B.H. Fairchild
- "The Little Space: Poems Selected and New, 1968-1998," by Alicia Suskin Ostriker
- "Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998," by Linda Pastan
- "From the Devotions," by Carl Phillips
- "This Time: New and Selected Poems," by Gerald Stern

• National Book Award finalists include Wolfe's pending book
• Tom Wolfe's 'A Man in Full' makes 'unprecedented' launch
• Has Wolfe created a Bonfires of Atlanta?
• His characters allow Updike to 'be free'

• The National Book Foundation