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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Three Oregon State University faculty and staff authors and an alumnus have been named by Literary Arts as finalists for the 2006 Oregon Book Awards. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec.1, at the Portland Art Museum.

Tracy Daugherty, professor and chair of the Department of English at OSU, is a finalist for the H.L. Davis Award for Short Fiction for "Late in the Standoff" (Southern Methodist University Press). This collection of stories focuses on social and cultural forces shaping people's behavior. Daugherty has won the Oregon Book Award three times, including the Ken Kesey Award for the Novel in 2004 for "Axeman's Jazz."

Scott Nadelson, an alumnus of OSU's Creative Writing program, also is a finalist for the short fiction award for his book, "The Cantor's Daughter" (Hawthorne Books). Nadelson is a 2004 Oregon Book Award winner.

William G. Robbins, distinguished professor emeritus of history at OSU, has been named a finalist for the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction for "Oregon, This Storied Land," (Oregon Historical Society Press) an exploration of Oregon's past. This is Robbins' third book that has been selected as a finalist.

Deborah Hopkinson, director of foundation relations for the OSU Foundation, is a finalist for the Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children's Literature for "Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building" (Schwartz and Wade Books). Hopkinson was a finalist last year for her book "Apples to Oregon."

The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually for the finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama and young readers. It is a program of Literary Arts, a statewide, nonprofit organization.