Franzen had been bypassed for the National Book Awards, judged by fellow authors, but was an obvious choice for a prize voted on by reviewers, many of whom placed "Freedom" on their annual best-of lists. None of the fiction nominees for the National Book Award, including winner Jaimy Gordon's "Lord of Misrule," was chosen for the critics circle prize.

Other nominees included Jennifer Egan's novel "A Visit From the Goon Squad" and memoirs by Christopher Hitchens ("Hitch-22") and singer-poet Patti Smith, whose "Just Kids" won an NBA for nonfiction. German-Dutch novelist Hans Keilson is the oldest finalist, not just for the critics award, but perhaps for any major literary prize. Keilson, cited for "Comedy in a Minor Key," turned 101 in December.