At this year's Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Joan Didion will receive the Robert Kirsch Award previously accepted by Carolyn See, Tony Hillerman, Wallace Stegner and a list of other distinguished authors. Finalists in the prize categories were announced yesterday in New York; here's the full list. Of local interest, Michael Connelly is up for Lincoln Lawyer. The winners are announced April 28 at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Photo: California magazine