SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, January 30, 2016 – The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce the finalists in all eight categories for the 28th Annual Minnesota Book Awards. Chosen on Saturday, January 30, by 24 judges from around the state – writers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and others from the literary community – the finalists for each category are:
Children’s Literature, sponsored by Books For Africa:
Behold! A Baby by Stephanie Watson, illustrated by Joy Ang (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Dad’s First Day by Mike Wohnoutka (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson (Orchard Books/Scholastic)
General Nonfiction, sponsored by The Waterbury Group at Morgan Stanley:
Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—and What We Can Do About It by Kate Harding (Da Capo Press/Perseus Books Group)
John H. Howe, Architect: From Taliesin Apprentice to Master of Organic Design by Jane King Hession and Tim Quigley (University of Minnesota Press)*
No House to Call My Home: Love, Family, and Other Transgressions by Ryan Berg (Nation Books/Perseus Books Group)
Secrets from the Eating Lab: The Science of Weight Loss, the Myth of Willpower, and Why You Should Never Diet Again by Traci Mann (HarperWave/HarperCollins Publishers)
Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College:
The Devereaux Decision by Steve McEllistrem (Calumet Editions)*
The Grave Soul by Ellen Hart (Minotaur Books)
He’s Either Dead or in St. Paul by D.B. Moon (Three Waters Publishing, LLC)*
Season of Fear by Brian Freeman (Quercus)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction:
In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley (Milkweed Editions)*
The War Came Home with Him: A Daughter’s Memoir by Catherine Madison (University of Minnesota Press)*
Water and What We Know: Following the Roots of a Northern Life by Karen Babine (University of Minnesota Press)*
We Know How This Ends: Living While Dying by Bruce Kramer, with Cathy Wurzer (University of Minnesota Press)*
Minnesota, sponsored by St. Mary’s University of Minnesota:
Minnesota Modern: Architecture and Life at Midcentury by Larry Millett, photographs by Denes Saari and Maria Forrai Saari (University of Minnesota Press)*
Minnesota State of Wonders by Brian Peterson, stories by Kerri Westenberg (Mark Hirsch Publishing)
North Shore: A Natural History of Minnesota’s Superior Coast by Chel Anderson and Adelheid Fischer (University of Minnesota Press)*
Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe by Anton Treuer (Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group)
The Patron Saint of Lost Comfort Lake by Rachel Coyne (New Rivers Press)*
Prudence by David Treuer (Riverhead Books/Penguin)
There’s Something I Want You to Do by Charles Baxter (Pantheon Books/Random House)
Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Beautiful Wall by Ray Gonzalez (BOA Editions, Ltd.)
Borrowed Wave by Rachel Moritz (Kore Press)
Home Studies by Julie Gard (New Rivers Press)*
Modern Love & Other Myths by Joyce Sutphen (Red Dragonfly Press)*
Young People’s Literature, sponsored by The Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University:
The Bamboo Sword by Margi Preus (Amulet Books/Abrams)
The Firebug of Balrog County by David Oppegaard (Flux/Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.)*
Isabelle Day Refuses to Die of a Broken Heart by Jane St. Anthony (University of Minnesota Press)*
See No Color by Shannon Gibney (Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Publishing Group)*
*Indicates a Minnesota Publisher
Award winners will be announced at the 28th Annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 16, at St. Paul’s historic Union Depot, 214 Fourth Street East. The Preface reception begins at 7 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 and available by visiting www.thefriends.org or calling 651-222-3242. The official hashtag for social media is #MNBA16. All are encouraged to use it when posting comments, status updates or tweeting about any of the authors or their books.
Three special awards for contributions to Minnesota’s literary and artistic community will be presented on April 16, as well. Wendy Fernstrum will receive the ninth annual Book Artist Award, sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group and presented with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). Fernstrum has been making artist’s books for more than 20 years under the press name of Fernwerks. An exhibit of her work will run February 19 – April 11 at Open Book (1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis), with an opening reception on Friday, February 19.
The 2016 Kay Sexton Award, sponsored by St. Catherine University’s Masters of Library Information & Science Program, honors Jim Sitter for his contributions to the literary community through national and local advocacy for literary non-profits, and as the founding Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The Award, named for Kay Sexton, a book buyer for many years at Dayton’s and B. Dalton Bookstores in the Twin Cities, is presented annually to an individual or organization in recognition of long-standing dedication and outstanding work in fostering books, reading and literary activity in Minnesota.
The third biennial Hognander Minnesota History Award, sponsored by the Hognander Family Foundation will be awarded, as well. The Award honors the best scholarly research and writing related to Minnesota history published during the preceding two years.
For additional information on the 28th Annual Minnesota Book Awards or the Awards Ceremony, explore this website or call 651-366-6497. The Minnesota Book Awards is a program of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Generous support for the Book Awards has been provided by the Huss Foundation; The Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation; and the Pohlad Family Foundation. Media sponsors include Minnesota Public Radio; the Star Tribune; and Twin Cities Public Television. Outreach partners and supporting organizations include: Augsburg College, the Council of Regional Public Library Systems Administrators; The Loft Literary Center; Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA); and Minnesota Center for Book Arts.