Ethan Rutherford, 46, recalls the moment in September that his day “went sideways in the best possible way.”

He was lying on his couch, waiting for his kids to get ready to go somewhere, when he got a “Congratulations!” text from a friend. Then his editor called with clarifying news: his debut novel, “North Sun: Voyage of the Whaleship Esther” had made the longlist for the National Book Award for Fiction.

Published by a small press, his novel was one of 10 chosen by judges out of a field of 424 works.

Rutherford spent formative writing time in Minnesota. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in fiction at the University of Minnesota in 2009, and he lived and taught in the Twin Cities for several years.

He has published two short story collections, one of which won a Minnesota Book Award. R

See Full Page