Matthew Eck's debut novel, The Farther Shore, winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, is one of three finalists for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. The winner will be announced on February 27, 2008, in New York, after a reading at the Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble store.

Barnes & Noble describes the Discover Award as follows:

"Since 1990, a group of Barnes & Noble booksellers has met seasonally to select the best forthcoming new work by debuting and underappreciated writers. Chosen solely on the basis of literary merit, these exceptional books are promoted throughout Barnes & Noble. Then each spring, a group of distinguished literary jurists name two outstanding writers (one each in fiction and nonfiction) from the previous year's Discover picks for a career-changing prize -- the Discover Award."

The Discover program is featured at more than 700 Barnes & Noble, Bookstop, and Bookstar stores, as well as selected Barnes & Noble College Bookstores.

Winners in the fiction and nonfiction categories each receive $10,000 and a year of promotion through B&N. Second and third place finalists receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.