Despite the monster snow storm that socked the northeast this weekend and shut down much of New York City, the show went on at the Housing Works Bookstore Café in Soho, where critics from around the country gathered to hear the announcement of the nominees for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle awards. Nor did the snowstorm stop Hillel Italie from breaking the news in short order in an Associated Press wire story. Bob Dylan was a finalist in the biography/autobiography category for his memoirs, along with Ron Chernow for his bio of Alexander Hamilton, and Stephen Greenblatt for his bio of Shakespeare. In fiction the nominees were Philip Roth, Marilynne Robinson, Edwidge Danticat, David Mitchell, and Booker-winner Alan Holinghurst. Among the poetry nominees were Adrienne Rich, Gary Snyder, and Brigit Pegreen Kelly, while the nonfiction nominees included Kevin Boyle, Timothy B. Tyson, Diarmaid MacCulloch, and Edward Conlon. Poet and critic David Orr was given a special award for criticism.