The 20 finalists in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature for the 2010 National Book Awards were to be announced for the first time at Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home in Savannah on Oct. 13.

The site was selected from among more than 75 venue suggestions for the 2010 National Book Award finalist announcement from readers of the National Book Foundation’s monthly e-newsletter.

“The Complete Stories” by Flannery O’Connor won the National Book Award for fiction in 1972 and was also voted the best of the National Book Awards fiction last fall.

Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the foundation, said, “We are thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2010 National Book Awards at the home of one of the great American writers of the past half-century, whose work resonates with a broad public across the United States and around the world.”

Author and Georgia native Pat Conroy was to announce the names of the finalists. Conroy is best known for his novels, including “The Great Santini” (1976), “The Prince of Tides” (1986), and most recently, “South of Broad” (2009). He is also the author of two nonfiction works: “The Water Is Wide” (1972) and “My Losing Season” (2002).

Over the years, the announcement has been made by a variety of acclaimed authors at institutions and venues that symbolize literary endeavor: Walter Mosley on the steps of the New York Public Library in New York City; Garrison Keillor at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn.; John Grisham at William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, Miss.; Lawrence Ferlinghetti at City Lights Books in San Francisco, Calif.; Camille Paglia at The Library Company of Philadelphia; and Scott Turow at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.