Ten young people's novels on National Book Award longlist

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Growing up gay, the impact on technology on education and futuristic Brazil are a few of the topics covered in the 10 novels that have been chosen for the 2013 Young People's Literature Longlist for the National Book Award. The longlist selections, announced by the National Book Foundation this week, were picked by five judges from nearly 300 books submitted for the award, which is one of the top awards for young people's fiction. "They are diverse voices, very different ideas," said Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation. The list includes three former National Book Award finalists: Kathi Appelt, for "The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp," Kate DiCamillo for "Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures," and Gene Luen Yang who was nominated for "Boxers & Saints." Cynthia Kadohata was selected for "The Thing About Luck" and Tom McNeal was picked for "Far Far Away." Other authors on the list are Lisa Graff for "A Tangle of Knots," Alaya Dawn Johnson for "The Summer Prince," David Levithan for "Two Boys Kissing," Meg Rosoff for "Picture Me Gone" and Anne Ursu for "The Real Boy." The finalists will be announced on October 16 and the winner will be revealed on November 20 in New York. National Book Awards are given each year in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature. This is the first year the National Book Awards have announced a longlist of selections. (Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Leslie Gevirtz)