And then there were 20. National Book Foundation has determined the shortlist for the four categories in the National Book Awards. The 10-book longlists for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and Young People's Literature were all sliced in half and from this smaller pool will emerge this year's winners.

On the fiction boat, one of the shortlisted authors is Hanya Yanagihara, whose book "A Little Life," lost to Marlon James' "A Brief History of Seven Killings" in the running for the Man Booker Prize. She, however, is now one step closer to winning the National Book Award.

For Bustle, also a stand out contender in the group is Lauren Groff, who has enjoyed massive following and attention with her latest release "Fates and Furies," where the author examined all sides of marriage—its good, its bad and its worse.

Meanwhile, looking at how "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates easily became a cult-favorite, media outlets say that it wouldn't be so hard to imagine the author winning the National Book Award for Nonfiction for the book fashioned as a letter bearing answers to the author's teenage son.

As per The Guardian, the poetry side has Terrance Hayes, who already won the same award back in 2010. The other four in the list are new to the National Book Award field.

While this may give Hayes the upper hand, Bustle says that Robin Coste Lewis, who has a spot in the list for a book she wrote when she was just a student, may win this thing from behind.

Lastly, Young People's Literature has the youngest contender all across the categories, which isn't a shocker. Noelle Stevenson is up for a National Book Award for her bi-weekly web series turned graphic novel "Nimona" and her young age doesn't stop her from snagging this win.

Here is the complete list of National Book Award finalists as provided by NPR:

Fiction

• Karen E. Bender, Refund
• Angela Flournoy, The Turner House
• Lauren Groff, Fates and Furies
• Adam Johnson, Fortune Smiles
• Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

Nonfiction

• Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
• Sally Mann, Hold Still
• Sy Montgomery, The Soul of an Octopus
• Carla Power, If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran
• Tracy K. Smith, Ordinary Light

Poetry

• Ross Gay, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
• Terrance Hayes, How to Be Drawn
• Robin Coste Lewis, Voyage of the Sable Venus
• Ada Limón, Bright Dead Things
• Patrick Phillips, Elegy for a Broken Machine

Young People's Literature

• Ali Benjamin, The Thing About Jellyfish
• Laura Ruby, Bone Gap
• Steve Sheinkin, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
• Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep
• Noelle Stevenson, Nimona

Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Nov. 18 in New York, where they will be handed a bronze sculpture and a $10,000 prize.