Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s first novel saw the light of day last month. And just like that, the Oakland resident — a New Orleans native and graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law — is now one of the contenders for the National Book Award for Fiction.

“A Kind of Freedom,” published by Berkeley’s Counterpoint Press, is one of 10 titles that made the longlist, announced Friday morning.

The novel tells of an African American family in New Orleans over three generations. In her review of the book for The Chronicle, R.O. Kwon wrote, “Sexton details some of the many ways racism adds to the difficulties faced by [its characters]. ... The white police officer who extorts money ... in 1944 is comparable to the white officers who, decades later, in 1986, brutalize a young black man. ... The inequities go on and on, a point powerfully emphasized by the novel’s structure, which splits ‘A Kind of Freedom’ into short sections.”

In all, eight of the 10 novels on the National Book Award longlist were written by women. They include Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan, for “Manhattan Beach” (out Oct. 3); Jesmyn Ward, for “Sing, Unburied, Sing” (she won the 2011 National Book Award for her novel “Salvage the Bones”); and Min Jin Lee, for “Pachinko,” a multigenerational saga set in South Korea and the United States.

Two story collections were also longlisted: Daniel Alarcón’s “The King Is Always Above the People” and Carmen Maria Machado’s “Her Body and Other Parties.”

Immigration, oppression against minority groups, and violence against women figure prominently in several of the books — selections that reflect the somber times — and there’s little humor in them.

The judges for fiction were Alexander Chee, Dave Eggers, Annie Philbrick, Karolina Waclawiak and (chair) Jacqueline Woodson. Their list is notable for the inclusion of several small publishing houses: Algonquin Books, Counterpoint Press, Graywolf Press and New Issues Poetry & Prose.

Here is the full longlist for the National Book Award for Fiction:

“A Kind of Freedom,” by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (Counterpoint Press)

“Barren Island,” by Carol Zoref (New Issues Poetry & Prose)

“Dark at the Crossing,” by Elliot Ackerman (Knopf)

“Her Body and Other Parties: Stories,” by Carmen Maria Machado (Graywolf Press)

“The King Is Always Above the People: Stories,” by Daniel Alarcón (Riverhead Books)

“The Leavers,” by Lisa Ko (Algonquin Books)

“Manhattan Beach,” by Jennifer Egan (Scribner)

“Miss Burma,” by Charmaine Craig (Grove Press)

“Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee (Grand Central)

“Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward (Scribner)

The fiction finalists will be announced Oct. 4.

More information: www.nationalbook.org

John McMurtrie is The San Francisco Chronicle’s book editor. Email: jmcmurtrie@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @McMurtrieSF