Presented annually, the Kay Sexton Award recognizes an individual or organization for longstanding dedication and outstanding work in fostering books, reading and literary activity in Minnesota. The award honors Kay Sexton, a book buyer for many years at Dayton’s and B. Dalton Bookstores in the Twin Cities. She was the first recipient of the award in 1988.
Ann Regan
Ann Regan grew up in Billings, Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana with a double major in history and Russian. While working as a summer volunteer for the Montana Historical Society, she was mentored by Vivian Paladin, editor of the society’s quarterly journal. That work led her to a temporary position as a research assistant at the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) Press, where she remained for 45 years in various positions, retiring as the editor-in-chief in 2024.
During her time with MNHS Press, Regan acquired approximately 350 books and was directly involved with the editing of close to 300 of those. She says Evelyn Fairbanks’s Days of Rondo was the book that “made [her] an editor,” and taught her about the collaborative relationship that was possible between author and editor.
Regan will be honored at the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony at the Ordway, Tuesday, April 22.
Regan grew up in Billings, Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana with a double major in history and Russian. While working as a summer volunteer for the Montana Historical Society, she was mentored by Vivian Paladin, editor of the society’s quarterly journal. That work led her to a temporary position as a research assistant at the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) Press, where she remained for 45 years in various positions, retiring as the editor-in-chief in 2024.
During her time with MNHS Press, Regan acquired approximately 350 books and was directly involved with the editing of close to 300 of those. She says Evelyn Fairbanks’s Days of Rondo was the book that “made [her] an editor,” and taught her about the collaborative relationship that was possible between author and editor.
The authors she has worked with have praised her intellectual engagement, literary integrity, flexibility and willingness to learn from them about areas outside her expertise. Diane Wilson (author of Spirit Car), says, “Ann and I worked through challenging cultural questions in ways that left us both with a deeper understanding of the other’s perspective.”
Regan has been a stalwart for the diverse voices that make up Minnesota’s history and present, by standing firm behind anthologies that highlight historically underrepresented communities and working to improve the relationship between MNHS Press and Native writers. Says Anton Treuer, “Her leadership in this effort transformed our understanding of Minnesota and Native American History.”
One of the most well-known of these anthologies is A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, edited by Sun Yung Shin. The book was published in 2016, just before the murder of Philando Castile, and instantly became a discussion piece in book clubs and library groups around the state. The book has continued to “spark essential conversations,” according to Nina Archabal, director emerita, Minnesota Historical Society, in the years since its publication and again became vital reading in 2020 as part of the One Book | One Minnesota program.
In addition to her work alongside Minnesota’s authors, Regan has shared her expertise with the literary community in Minnesota, not only through editing projects but through writing and public service. Her prose has been published in journals and anthologies as well as in the book Irish in Minnesota. She has served on boards and committees for the Minnesota Book Publishers’ Roundtable, the Western History Association, the Council of the Northern Great Plains History Conference, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, and other organizations. She has regularly given presentations about editing and publishing at Augsburg University, the University of Minnesota, and St. Catherine University, and has taught classes at the Loft Literary Center.
The Kay Sexton Award panel praised the way Regan has worked with writers throughout her career, her willingness to take a chance on an idea and help the author or editor develop that idea into a book. The panel stated that Regan has exemplified “sheer dedication and devotion to literature…she is everything this award stands for.”
2024 Hognander Minnesota History Award Winner
The Hognander Minnesota History Award recognizes the author of the most outstanding scholarly work related to Minnesota history published during the preceding two years. The award, funded by the Hognander Family Foundation, is presented every two years.
Minescapes: Reclaiming Minnesota's Mined Lands by Pete Kero
(Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
These stories from Minnesota’s Iron Range highlight the challenges of competing needs on lands that offer opportunities for both mining and recreation. Kero explores the record that is written on Minnesota’s mined lands – and the value systems of each generation that created, touched, and lived among these landscapes. His narratives reveal ways in which the mining industry and Iron Range residents coexist and support each other today, just as they have for more than a century.
Kero is an environmental engineer practicing at Barr Engineering Company in Hibbing, Minnesota. For more than twenty-five years, he has consulted with public agencies, mining companies, and communities who are reclaiming and repurposing the mining landscape of the Midwest.
Minnesota Book Awards Past Winners & Finalists
2020 -
2025
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Anthology, sponsored by Minnesota Humanities Center:
Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces edited by Margret Aldrich & Michelle Filkins (Spout Press)*
Dreaming our Futures: Ojibwe and Očhéthi Šakówiņ Artists and Knowledge Keepers edited by Brenda J. Child & Howard Oransky (University of Minnesota Press)*
Raised by Wolves: Fifty Poets on Fifty Poems edited by Carmen Gimenez & Jeff Shotts (Graywolf Press)*
When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology edited by Shannon Gibney & Nicole Chung (HarperTeen/HarperCollins Publishers)
Children’s Literature, sponsored by Beret Publishing:
The Rock in My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang; illustrated by Jiemei Lin (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group)*
Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (Candlewick Press)
Snow Steps by Karen Latchana Kenney; illustrated by Irina Avgustinovich (WorthyKids/Hachette Book Group)
What Lolo Wants by Cristina Oxtra; illustrated by Jamie Bauza (Kids Can Press)
General Nonfiction, sponsored by Fredrikson & Byron P.A.:
The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists by Lisa Mueller (Beacon Press)
The College Student's Guide to Mental Health by Mia Nosanow (New World Library)
Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms by Jokeda "JoJo" Bell (Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
We Are the Evidence: A Handbook for Finding Your Way After Sexual Assault by Cheyenne Wilson (Balance/Grand Central Publishing)
Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College:
Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie Rendon (Bantam/Penguin Random House)
Big in Sweden by Sally Franson (Mariner Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck (Vintage Books/Penguin Random House)
The Witches of Santo Stefano by Wendy Webb (Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers:
Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother's Life by Kao Kalia Yang (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)
Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden by Teresa Peterson (University of Minnesota Press)*
Sticky Notes: Memorable Lessons from Ordinary Moments by Matt Eicheldinger (Andrews McMeel Publishing)
When Skies Are Gray: A Grieving Mother's Lullaby by Lindsey Henke (She Writes Press)
Middle Grade Literature, sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The Diamond Explorer by Kao Kalia Yang (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Publishers)
Samira's Worst Best Summer by Nina Hamza (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Telephone of the Tree by Alison McGhee (Rocky Pond Books/Penguin Random House)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley:
The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America by Michelle S. Phelps (Princeton University Press)
Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America by Sonja Trom Eayrs (Bison Books/University of Nebraska Press)
It Took Courage: Eliza Winston's Quest for Freedom by Christopher P. Lehman (Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota by Cathy Coats (Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Minnesota Humanities Center:
Obligations to the Wounded by Mubanga Kalimamukwento (University of Pittsburgh Press)
The French Winemaker's Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth (Harper Paperbacks/HarperCollins Publishers)
In Wells' Time by David Nash (Unsolicited Press)
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers)
Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Bluff by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press)*
Birthing Butterflies by Claudia May (Finishing Line Press)
Run From Your Now by Ben Westlie (Kelsay Books)
Theophanies by Sarah Ghazal Ali (Alice James Books)
Young Adult Literature, sponsored by Red Balloon Bookshop:
Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer (Arthur Levine/Levine Querido)
Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Rules for Camouflage by Kristin Cronn-Mills (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group)
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
*Indicates a Minnesota-based publisher.
2024
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature:
Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group)
Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? by Junauda Petrus; illustrations by Kristen Uroda (Dutton Children's Books/ Penguin Random House)
Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons by Laura Purdie Salas; illustrations by Alexandria Neonakis (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group)*
Looking For Happy by Ty Chapman; illustrations by Keenon Ferrell (Beaming Books/1517 Media)*
General Nonfiction:
Lessons on the Road to Peace by John Noltner (self-published)
The Greatest Summer in Baseball History: How the ‘73 Season Changed Us Forever by John Rosengren (Sourcebooks)
The Needle and the Lens: Pop Goes to the Movies from Rock 'n' Roll to Synthwave by Nate Patrin (University of Minnesota Press)*
Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook by Ned Netzel, Nic Peloquin, Mary K. Tennis, Greg Conley & Eric Goerdt; photographs by Jacob Swanson, Flo, Stephen Pestalozzi, & Zac Bentz (University of Minnesota Press)*
Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College:
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs (William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers)
Citadel by C.M. Alongi (Blackstone Publishing)
Liberty's Daughter by Naomi Kritzer (Fairwood Press)
Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart (self-published)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers:
Half-Life of a Secret: Reckoning with a Hidden History by Emily Strasser (University Press of Kentucky)
The Crystal Gavel: How I Put My Heart into the Body of Law by Sue Cochrane (Wise Ink Media)*
In the Company of Grace: A Veterinarian's Memoir of Trauma and Healing by Jody Lulich (University Minnesota Press)*
Trauma Sponges: Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response by Jeremy Norton (University of Minnesota Press)*
Middle Grade Literature, sponsored by Education Minnesota:
Shannon in the Spotlight by Kalena Miller (Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House)
Dear Brother by Alison McGhee; illustrations by Tuan Nini (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Simon & Schuster)
The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Ecology for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke (Quarry Books/The Quarto Group)
The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction:
Making the Carry: The Lives of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater by Timothy Cochrane (University of Minnesota Press)*
Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence by Keith Ellison (Twelve Books/Hachette Book Group)
Minescapes: Reclaiming Minnesota's Mined Lands by Pete Kero (Minnesota Historical Society Press)*
Winter's Song: A Hymn to the North by TD Mischke (Skywater Publishing Cooperative)*
Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Minnesota Humanities Center:
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (Mariner Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan (Random House/Penguin Random House)
Power and Light by Will Weaver (Calumet Editions)*
The Sky Vault by Benjamin Percy (William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers)
Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Wail Song: or wading in the water at the end of the world by Chaun Webster (Black Ocean)
The Fight by Jennifer Manthey (Trio House Press)*
Meltwater by Claire Wahmanholm (Milkweed Editions)*
Songs, Blood Deep by Gwen Nell Westerman (Holy Cow! Press)*
Young Adult Literature, sponsored by Minnesota Humanities Center:
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be by Shannon Gibney (Dutton Books/Penguin Random House)
Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmermann (Dutton Books/Penguin Random House)
Reimagining Police: The Future of Public Safety by Artika Tyner (Twenty-First Century Books/Lerner Publishing Group)*
The Roof Over Our Heads by Nicole Kronzer (Amulet Books/Abrams Books)
*Indicates a Minnesota-based publisher.
2023
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature, sponsored by Bernadette Janisch
So Much Snow by Kristen Schroeder; illustrated by Sarah Jacoby (Random House Studio/Penguin Random House)
The Dark Was Done by Lauren Stringer (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster)
Where We Come From by Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney & John Coy; illustrated by Dion MBD (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing*)
You Are Life by Bao Phi; illustrated by Hannah Li (Capstone Editions*)
General Nonfiction, sponsored by The Duchess Harris Collection
Wilhelm’s Way: The Inspiring Story of the Iowa Chemist Who Saved The Manhattan Project by Teresa Wilhelm Waldof (Third Generation Publishing*)
Daughters of Arraweelo: Stories of Somali Women by Ayaan Adan (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
They Don’t Want Her There: Fighting Sexual and Racial Harassment in the American University by Carolyn Chalmers (University of Iowa Press)
Through the Banks of the Red Cedar: My Father and the Team That Change the Game by Maya Washington (Little A/Amazon Publishing)
Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College
The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing)
Sinister Graves by Marcie Rendon (Soho Press)
The Temps by Andrew DeYoung (Keylight Books/Turner Publishing Company)
The Ursulina by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers
Seven Aunts by Staci Lola Drouillard (University of Minnesota Press*)
Farewell Transmission: Notes from Hidden Spaces by Will McGrath (Dzanc Books)
Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide by Juliet Patterson (Milkweed Editions*)
The Way She Wants to Get There: Telling on Myself by Mary Moore Easter (Nodin Press*)
Middle Grade Literature, sponsored by Education Minnesota
The Counterclockwise Heart by Brian Farrey (Algonquin Young Readers/Workman Publishing)
Meet Me Halfway by Anika Fajardo (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)
Monsters in the Mist by Juliana Brandt (Sourcebooks for Young Readers/Sourcebooks)
Windswept by Margi Preus (Amulet Books/Abrams)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction, sponsored by Annette and John Whaley
When Minnehaha Flowed With Whiskey: A Spirited History of the Falls by Karen E. Cooper (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum by Lansing Shepard, Don Luce, Barbara Coffin, and Gwen Schagrin (University of Minnesota Press*)
Rochester: An Urban Biography by Virginia M. Wright-Peterson (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
The Steger Homestead Kitchen: Simple Recipes for an Abundant Life by Will Steger & Rita Mae Steger (University of Minnesota Press*)
Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Jeff Janisch
The Barrens by Kurt Johnson & Ellie Johnson (Arcade Publishing/Skyhorse Publishing)
Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress (Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House)
Till the Wheels Fall Off by Brad Zellar (Coffee House Press*)
Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
How to Communicate by John Lee Clark (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Real Work by Janna Knittel (Nodin Press*)
Surface Displacements by Sheila Packa (Wildwood River Press*)
The Wet Hex by Sun Yung Shin (Coffee House Press*)
Young Adult Literature, sponsored by Expedition Credit Union
The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen by Gary Eldon Peter (Fitzroy Books/Regal House Publishing)
Born in a Red Canoe by Katharine Johnson (Silver Fox Books/self-published)
Maxwell and the Legend of Inini-Makwa by Simon Hargreaves (AHR Publishing)
Mendel by Damone Bester (The Story Plant)
*Indicates a Minnesota-based publisher.
2022
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children's Literature
Sponsored by Books for Africa
How to Apologize by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka(Candlewick Press)
Hello, Earth! Poems to Our Planet by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora (Eerdmans Books for Young
Henry at Home by Megan Maynor; illustrated by Alea Marley (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin; illustrated by Maribel Lechuga (Charlesbridge Publishing)
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by The Duchess Harris Collection
The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic by Jillian Peterson and James Densley(Abrams Books)
Booth Girls: Pregnancy, Adoption, and the Secrets We Kept by Kim Heikkila (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Find a Trail or Blaze One: A Biography of Dr. Reatha Clark King by Kate Leibfried (Beaver's Pond Press*)
Sensational: The Hidden History of America's "Girl Stunt Reporters" by Kim Todd (Harper/HarperCollins)
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College
Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez(Forever/Hachette Book Group)
Insurrection by Tom Combs (Evoke Publishing*)
Lightning Strike: A Novel by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)
The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens (Mulholland Books/Hachette Book Group)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers
Watershed: Attending to Body and Earth in Distress by Ranae Lenor Hanson (University of Minnesota Press*)
Are You Borg Now? by Said Shaiye (Really Serious Literature)
Self, Divided by John Medeiros (Howling Bird Press*)
Sound Like Trapped Thunder by Jessica Lind Peterson (Seneca Review Books/Hobart and William Smith Colleges Press)
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota
Long Lost by Jacqueline West(Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year by Nina Hamza (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins)
Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley; illustrated by Tara Audibert (Heartdrum/HarperCollins)
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bookmobile
Confluence: A History of Fort Snelling by Hampton Smith(Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II by Danny Spewak (Rowman & Littlefield)
Kura: Prophetic Messenger by Richard Bresnahan (Kura Book Publishing, LLC*)
Opioid Reckoning: Love, Loss, and Redemption in the Rehab State by Amy C. Sullivan (University of Minnesota Press*)
Novel & Short Story
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson (Milkweed Editions*)
After Francesco by Brian Malloy (John Scognamiglio Books/Kensington Publishing)
Brood by Jackie Polzin (Doubleday/Penguin Random House)
Carnival Lights by Chris Stark (Modern History Press)
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Sho by Douglas Kearney (Wave Books)
Dead Reckoning by Jude Nutter (Salmon Poetry)
Homes by Moheb Soliman (Coffee House Press*)
Worldly Things by Michael Kleber-Diggs (Milkweed Editions*)
Young Adult Literature
Sponsored by Expedition Credit Union
The Night When No One Had Sex by Kalena Miller (AW Teen/Albert Whitman)
The Amalgam by Michel Prince (Fire and Ice/Melange Books, LLC*)
In My Heart: The Adoption Story Project by Alan Berks & Leah Cooper; illustrated by Becca Hart (Wonderlust Productions*)
The Spy Who Raised Me by Ted Anderson; illustrated by Gianna Meola (Graphic Universe/Lerner Publishing Group*)
2021
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Shane Evans (HarperCollins Publishers)
Bee Love (Can Be Hard) by Alan Page and Kamie Page, illustrated by David Geister(Page Education Foundation*)
A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story by Caren Stelson, illustrated by Akira Kusaka(Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group*)
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khoa Le (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group*)
General Nonfiction:
Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slaght (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Publishers)
100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen, with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More by Sarah Kieffer (Chronicle Books)
How the Streets Were Made: Housing Segregation and Black Life in America by Yelena Bailey (University of North Carolina Press)
The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds by Anton Treuer (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College:
The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing)
From the Grave: A McKenzie Novel by David Housewright (Minotaur Books/Macmillan Publishers)
Get Idiota by Nate Granzow (Self-published)
Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green (Bethany House Publishers)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers:
Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify: Essays by Carolyn Holbrook (University of Minnesota Press*)
Somewhere in the Unknown World by Kao Kalia Yang(Metropolitan Books/ Macmillan Publishers)
Unglued: A Bipolar Love Story by Jeffrey Zuckerman (Boyle & Dalton)
The War Requiem by Kaia Solveig Preus (Essay Press)
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota:
What if a Fish by Anika Fajardo (Simon & Schuster)
CatStronauts: Digital Disaster by Drew Brockington(Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group)
The Littlest Voyageur by Margi Preus, illustrated by Cheryl Pilgrim (Margaret Ferguson Books/Penguin Random House)
Lukezilla Beats the Gameby Kurtis Scaletta, illustrated by David Sossella(Capstone Editions*)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bookmobile Craft Digital:
Minnesota's Geologist: The Life of Newton Horace Winchell by Sue Leaf (University of Minnesota Press*)
Daybreak Woman: An Anglo-Dakota Life by Jane Lamm Carroll (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Elizabeth Scheu Close: A Life in Modern Architecture by Jane King Hession (University of Minnesota Press*)
A Woman's War, Too: Women at Work During World War II by Virginia Wright-Peterson (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University:
Sharks in the Time of Saviors: A Novel by Kawai Strong Washburn (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Publishers)
Bliss by Fredrick Soukup (Regal House Publishing)
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers)
The Things You Left by Raki Kopernik (Unsolicited Press)
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Homie: Poems by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press*)
Catrachos by Roy G. Guzmán (Graywolf Press*)
Feel Puma: Poems by Ray Gonzalez (University of New Mexico Press)
Wound from the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a. greathouse (Milkweed Editions*)
Young Adult Literature
Sponsored by United Educators Credit Union:
My Eyes Are Up Here by Laura Zimmermann (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer (Amulet Books/Abrams)
Where We Are by Alison McGhee (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Simon & Schuster)
The Whitsun Daughters by Carrie Mesrobian (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
*Indicates a Minnesota-based publisher.
2020
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Seo Kim (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group*)
A to Zåäö: Playing with History at the American Swedish Institute by Nate Christopherson and Tara Sweeney (University of Minnesota Press*)
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House)
My Footprints by Bao Phi, illustrated by Basia Tran (Capstone Editions/Capstone*)
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Brainfuse:
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer (Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House)
America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States by Erika Lee (Basic Books)
Consider the Platypus: Evolution Through Biology's Most Baffling Beasts by Maggie Ryan Sandford, illustrations by Rodica Prato (Black Dog & Leventhal)
Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions by Nancy Atkinson (Page Street Publishing Company)
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House)
The Body Keeper by Anne Frasier (Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing)
Ice Cold Heart by P. J. Tracy (Crooked Lane Books)
Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown, and Company)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers:
All the Wild Hungersby Karen Babine (Milkweed Editions*)
Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family by Anika Fajardo (University of Minnesota Press*)
The Memory House by Raki Kopernik (The Muriel Press)
The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra by Alex Messenger (Blackstone Publishing)
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The Line Tender by Kate Allen (Dutton Children's Books/Penguin Random House)
The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Publishers)
The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly by Rebecca K. S. Ansari (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Publishers)
A Tear in the Ocean by H. M. Bouwman, illustrations by Yuko Shimizu (G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House)
Minnesota Nonfiction
Slavery's Reach: Southern Slaveholders in the North Star State by Christopher P. Lehman (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Closing Time: Saloons, Taverns, Dives, and Watering Holes of the Twin Cities by Bill Lindeke and Andy Sturdevant (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
Tulips, Chocolate & Silk: Celebrating 65 Years of the James Ford Bell Library by Marguerite Ragnow and Natasha D’Schommer (James Ford Bell Library*)
Walking the Old Road: A People's History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe by Staci Lola Drouillard (University of Minnesota Press*)
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University:
Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts, and Fictions by Sheila O’Connor (Rose Metal Press)
Stray by Nancy J. Hedin (NineStar Press)
Suicide Woods by Benjamin Percy (Graywolf Press*)
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Bodega by Su Hwang (Milkweed Editions*)
A Bony Framework for the Tangible Universe by D. Allen (The Operating System)
Mitochondrial Night by Ed Bok Lee (Coffee House Press*)
Safe Houses I Have Known by Steve Healey (Coffee House Press*)
Young Adult Literature
Sponsored by United Educators Credit Union
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen/Macmillan Publishing Group)
Cracking the Bell by Geoff Herbach (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
Last Things by Jacqueline West (Greenwillow/HarperCollins Publishers)
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus (Dutton Books/Penguin Random House)
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2010-2019
2019
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld (Dial Books For Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)
Best Friends in the Universe by Stephanie Watson, illustrations by LeUyen Pham (Orchard Books/Scholastic Press)
Hush Hush, Forest by Mary Casanova, woodcuts by Nick Wroblewski (University of Minnesota Press*)
Small Walt and Mo the Tow by Elizabeth Verdick, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster)
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery (HarperOne/HarperCollins)
The Relentless Business of Treaties: How Indigenous Land Became U.S. Property by Martin Case (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity, and Narrative Craft in Writing by David Mura (The University of Georgia Press)
Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company by C. Roger Pellett (Wayne State University Press)
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College:
The Voice Inside by Brian Freeman (Thomas & Mercer)
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill (Algonquin Books)
Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia (Emily Bestler Books/Simon & Schuster)
The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown and Company)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Bradshaw Celebration of Life Centers:
Chinese-Ness: The Meanings of Identity and the Nature of Belonging by Wing Young Huie (Minnesota Historical Society Press*)
The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl (Viking/Penguin Random House)
The I-35W Bridge Collapse: A Survivor’s Account of America’s Crumbling Infrastructure by Kimberly J. Brown (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press)
Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land Life by Dianna Hunter (University of Minnesota Press*)
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The Key to Every Thing by Pat Schmatz (Candlewick Press)
The Collectors by Jacqueline West (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
Otherwood by Pete Hautman (Candlewick Press)
Minnesota Nonfiction
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota:
The Crusade for Forgotten Souls: Reforming Minnesota’s Mental Institutions, 1946-1954 by Susan Bartlett Foote (University of Minnesota Press*)
The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860-1876 by William D. Green (University of Minnesota Press*)
Gichi Bitobig, Grand Marais: Early Accounts of the Anishinaabeg and the North Shore Fur Trade by Timothy Cochrane (University of Minnesota Press*)
Gunflint Burning: Fire in the Boundary Waters by Cary J. Griffith (University of Minnesota Press*)
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Alerus:
Laurentian Divide: A Novel by Sarah Stonich (University of Minnesota Press*)
A Lady's Guide to Selling Out by Sally Franson (The Dial Press/Penguin Random House)
Oranges by Gary Eldon Peter (New Rivers Press*)
The Patron Saint of Lost Girls by Maureen Aitken (Southeast Missouri State University Press)
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
GeNtry!fication: or the scene of the crime by Chaun Webster (Noemi Press)
The Body of the World by Mary Moore Easter (Mad Hat Press)
Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen (Coffee House Press*)
Wilder by Claire Wahmanholm (Milkweed Editions*)
Young Adult Literature
Sponsored by United Educators Credit Union
Dream Country by Shannon Gibney (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
Hooper by Geoff Herbach (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins)
We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2018
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui (Capstone Young Readers/Capstone*) Article >>
Mighty Moby by Ed Young, text by Barbara DaCosta (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group) Article >>
Round by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) Article >>
The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright by K. L. Going, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster) Article >>
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University
The First and Only Book of Sack: 36 Years of Cartoons for the Star Tribune by Steve Sack (Star Tribune Media Co.*)Article >>
Alice in France: The World War I Letters of Alice M. O’Brien by Nancy O’Brien Wagner (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy by Elaine Tyler May (Basic Books/Hachette Book Group) Article >>
Mountain Ranch by Michael Crouser (University of Texas Press) Article >>
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College:
The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb (Lake Union Publishing) Article >>
The Dark Net by Benjamin Percy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) Article >>
Nothing Stays Buried by P. J. Tracy (G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House) Article >>
Sulfur Springs by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster) Article >>
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Faegre Baker Daniels:
Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year by Linda LeGarde Grover (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
Give a Girl a Knife by Amy Thielen (Clarkson Potter/Crown Publishing) Article >>
It Won’t Be Easy: An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching by Tom Rademacher (University of Minnesota Press*)Article >>
Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate by Carolyn Porter (Skyhorse Publishing) Article >>
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The End of the Wild by Nicole Helget (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group) Article >>
A Crack in the Sea by H. M. Bouwman (G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House) Article >>
Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d by Mary Losure (Candlewick Press) Article >>
Rooting for Rafael Rosales by Kurtis Scaletta (Albert Whitman & Company) Article >>
Minnesota Nonfiction
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota:
Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound by Andrea Swensson (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag by Marcia G. Anderson (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Miles Lord: The Maverick Judge Who Brought Corporate America to Justice by Roberta Walburn (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
Sights, Sounds, Soul: The Twin Cities Through the Lens of Charles Chamblis by Davu Seru, photography by Charles Chamblis (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Fitzgerald in Saint Paul:
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House) Article >>
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (HarperCollins Publishers) Article >>
Stories for a Lost Child by Carter Meland (Michigan State University Press) Article >>
The Through by A. Rafael Johnson (Jaded Ibis Press) Article >>
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum for Archaic Media by Heid E. Erdrich (Michigan State University Press) Article >>
Autopsy by Donte Collins (Button Poetry*) Article >>
Solve for Desire by Caitlin Bailey (Milkweed Editions*) Article >>
Thousand Star Hotel by Bao Phi (Coffee House Press*) Article >>
Young Adult Literature
Sponsored by Brainfuse
The Exo Project by Andrew DeYoung (Boyds Mills Press/Highlights) Article >>
The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren (Amulet Books/Abrams) Article >>
Thief’s Cunning by Sarah Ahiers (HarperTeen/HarperCollins Publishers) Article >>
Things I’m Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni (Dial Books/Penguin Random House) Article >>
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2017
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
Worm by J.J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato; Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers Article >>
Tell Me a Tattoo Story by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler; Chronicle Books Article >>
This is NOT a Cat! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka; Sterling Children’s Books/Sterling Publishing Article >>
Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer, Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster Article >>
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by the College of Saint Benedict Literary Arts Institute and Saint John’s University
TheWar on Science: Who’s Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It by Shawn Otto (Milkweed Editions*) Article >>
Canoes: A Natural History in North America by Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
Designing Our Way to a Better World by Thomas Fisher (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy (Graywolf Press*) Article >>
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College:
The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens (Seventh Street Books/Prometheus Books) Article >>
The Born and the Made by Robert Spande (self-published) Article >>
Rise of the Spring Tide by James Stitt (self-published) Article >>
Stealing the Countess by David Housewright (Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press) Article >>
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Faegre Baker Daniels:
The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father by Kao Kalia Yang (Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company) Article >>
I Live Inside: Memoirs of a Babe in Toyland by Michelle Leon (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
This is Where I Am: A Memoir by Zeke Caligiuri (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
The Thunder Before the Storm: The Autobiography of Clyde Bellecourt by Clyde Bellecourt, as told to Jon Lurie (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Middle Grade Literature
Sponsored by Education Minnesota:
The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse by Brian Farrey (Algonquin Young Readers/Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Article >>
Little Cat’s Luck by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster) Article >>
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story by Caren Stelson (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group*) Article >>
Sticks & Stones by Abby Cooper (Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan) Article >>
Minnesota Non-fiction
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota:
The Big Marsh: The Story of a Lost Landscape by Cheri Register (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
The Ford Century in Minnesota by Brian McMahon (University of Minnesota Press*) Article >>
Richard F. Lack: Catalogue Raisonné 1943-1998 by Gary B. Christensen, biography by Stephen A. Gjertson (Afton Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Women of Mayo Clinic: The Founding Generation by Virginia M. Wright-Peterson (Minnesota Historical Society Press*) Article >>
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Fitzgerald in Saint Paul:
Wintering by Peter Geye (Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House) Article >>
The Annie Year by Stephanie Wilbur Ash (Unnamed Press) Article >>
Do Not Find Me by Kathleen Novak (The Permanent Press) Article >>
LaRose by Louise Erdrich (HarperCollins Publishers) Article >>
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Unbearable Splendor by Sun Yung Shin (Coffee House Press*) Article >>
May Day by Gretchen Marquette (Graywolf Press*) Article >>
Tula by Chris Santiago (Milkweed Editions*) Article >>
The Memory Book by Lara Avery (Poppy/Little, Brown and Company) Article >>
Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers (HarperTeen/HarperCollins Publishers) Article >>
LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (Twenty-First Century Books/Lerner Publishing Group*) Article >>
Original Fake by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, art by E. Eero Johnson (G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House) Article >>
2016
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa:
Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers)
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)
Ten Pigs by Derek Anderson (Orchard Books/Scholastic)
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by The Waterbury Group at Morgan Stanley:
No House to Call My Home: Love, Family, and Other Transgressions by Ryan Berg (Nation Books/Perseus Books Group)
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)*
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 Grave Soul by Ellen Hart (Minotaur Books)
The Devereaux Decision by Steve McEllistrem (Calumet Editions)*
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
Sponsored by Kevin & Greta Warren:
Water and What We Know: Following the Roots of a Northern Life by Karen Babine (University of Minnesota Press)*
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)*
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:
There’s Something I Want You to Do by Charles Baxter (Pantheon Books/Random House)
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)
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:
See No Color by Shannon Gibney (Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Publishing Group)*
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)*
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2015
Note: Winners listed first in each category in bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold , Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
It’s an Orange Aardvark, Michael Hall, Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers
Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster, Mike Wohnoutka, Holiday House
Water Can Be…, Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija, Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group*
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Spiritual Life, Nancy Koester, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
My Grandfather’s Knocking Sticks: Ojibwe Family Life and Labor on the Reservation, Brenda J. Child, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
New Scenic Café, Inc.: The Cookbook, Scott Graden with Arlene Anderson, New Scenic Café, Inc.*
Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism, R.W. Holmen, The Pilgrim Press
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Macalester College
The Secret of Pembrooke Park, Julie Klassen, Bethany House Publisher*
Fallen Angel, Chuck Logan, Conquill Press*
The Life We Bury, Allen Eskens, Seventh Street Books/Prometheus Books
Strongwood: A Crime Dossier, Larry Millett, Adventure Publications*
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Northwestern Mutual
Tailings: A Memoir, Kaethe Schwehn, Cascade Books/Wipf and Stock Publishers
Love Imagined: A Mixed Race Memoir, Sherry Quan Lee, Modern History Press/Loving Healing Press
Northern Orchards: Places Near the Dead, James Silas Rogers, North Star Press of St. Cloud*
Seeking the Cave: A Pilgrimage to Cold Mountain, James P. Lenfestey, Milkweed Editions*
Minnesota
Sponsored by St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
Her Honor: Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota Women’s Movement, Lori Sturdevant, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Amphibians and Reptiles in Minnesota, John J. Moriarty and Carol D. Hall, University of Minnesota Press*
Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook: A Guide to Selecting and Preparing the Best Local Produce with Seasonal Recipes from Local Chefs and Farmers, Tricia Cornell, Voyageur Press*
Minnesota’s Own: Preserving Our Grand Homes, Larry Millett, photography by Matt Schmitt, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Education Minnesota
A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James, Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House
In Reach, Pamela Carter Joern, University of Nebraska Press
The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons, Heather A. Slomski, University of Iowa Press
Soul Over Lightning, Ray Gonzalez, The University of Arizona Press
This Way to the Sugar, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Write Bloody Publishing
Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by Sit Investment Associates
West of the Moon, Margi Preus, Amulet Books/Abrams
Ambassador, William Alexander, Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up, Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, Candlewick Press
The Witch’s Boy, Kelly Barnhill, Algonquin Young Readers/Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2014
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
Moo!, David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka, Walker Books for Young Readers/Bloomsbury Children’s Books
The Case of the Missing Donut, Alison McGhee, illustrated by Isabel Roxas, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers
How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mark Fearing, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers
Peep Leap, Elizabeth Verdick, illustrated by John Bendall-Brunello, Two Lions/Amazon Children’s Publishing
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII, Jack El-Hai, PublicAffairs Books/Perseus Books Group
Evil Men, James Dawes, Harvard University Press
Harriman vs. Hill: Wall Street’s Great Railroad War, Larry Haeg, University of Minnesota Press*
Soda Shop Salvation: Recipes and Stories from the Sweeter Side of Prohibition, Rae Katherine Eighmey, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Alerus Financial
Tamarack County, William Kent Krueger, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
The Book of Killowen, Erin Hart, Scribner/Simon & Schuster
The Cold Nowhere, Brian Freeman, Quercus
Wolves, Cary J. Griffith, Adventure Publications*
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by GovDelivery
Prairie Silence, Melanie Hoffert, Beacon Press
The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder and the Light from an Ancient Sky, Kent Nerburn, New World Library
Thunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960s Mississippi, Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner with Cheryl Reitan, University Press of Kentucky
We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter, Rachael Hanel, University of Minnesota Press*
Minnesota
Sponsored by MSR Architects
Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison, W. Jackson Rushing III and Kristin Makholm, University of Oklahoma Press
A Love Affair with Birds: The Life of Thomas Sadler Roberts, Sue Leaf, University of Minnesota Press*
Minneapolis Madams: The Lost History of Prostitution on the Riverfront, Penny A. Petersen, University of Minnesota Press*
Survival Schools: The American Indian Movement and Community Education in the Twin Cities, Julie L. Davis, University of Minnesota Press*
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Education Minnesota
The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories, Ethan Rutherford, Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers
Let the Dark Flower Blossom, Norah Labiner, Coffee House Press*
Little Wolves, Thomas Maltman, Soho Press
Vacationland, Sarah Stonich, University of Minnesota Press*
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Black Aperture, Matt Rasmussen, Louisiana State University Press
The First Flag, Sarah Fox, Coffee House Press*
It Becomes You, Dobby Gibson, Graywolf Press*
Slip, Cullen Bailey Burns, New Issues Poetry & Prose
Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by Sit Investment Associates
Sex & Violence, Carrie Mesrobian, Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Publishing Group*
Chasing Shadows, Swati Avasthi with graphics by Craig Phillips, Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books
The Real Boy, Anne Ursu, Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Publishers
Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron, Mary Losure, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, Candlewick Press
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2013
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
It’s a Tiger!, David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard, Chronicle Books
A Leaf Can Be, Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija, Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
Tell Me About Your Day Today, Mem Fox, illustrated by Lauren Stringer, Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Waking Dragons, Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life, David Treuer, Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Debating the End of History: The Marketplace, Utopia, and the Fragmentation of Intellectual Life, David W. Noble, University of Minnesota Press
Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole, John Huston and Tyler Fish, Octane Press
Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community, Brenda J. Child, Viking/Penguin Group
Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Marvin Windows & Doors
Curse of the Jade Lily, David Housewright, Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press
The Devil and the Diva, David Housewright and Renee Valois, Down and Out Books
Ruth3:5, Michael Fridgen, Dreamily Books*
The Tutor’s Daughter, Julie Klassen, Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Leonard, Street and Deinard
Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, Atina Diffley, University of Minnesota Press
Letters to a Young Madman, Paul Gruchow, Levins Publishing
Life on Ice: 25 Years of Arctic Exploration, Lonnie Dupre, Keen Editions
My Mother Is Now Earth, Mark Anthony Rolo, Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press
Minnesota
Sponsored by Meyer, Sherer & Rockcastle (MS&R)
Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota, Gwen Westerman and Bruce White, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Every Man Did His Duty: Pictures & Stories of the Men of the First Minnesota, Wayne D. Jorgenson, Tasora Books
Lost Duluth: Landmarks, Industries, Buildings, Homes, and the Neighborhoods in Which They Stood, Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton, Zenith City Press/X-Communication
The Minnesota Book of Skills: Your Guide to Smoking Whitefish, Sauna Etiquette, Tick Extraction, and More, Chris Niskanen, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Education Minnesota
The Round House, Louise Erdrich, Harper/HarperCollins Publishers
The Healing, Jonathan Odell, Nan A. Talese/Random House, Inc.
It Takes You Over, Nick Healy, New Rivers Press
Vladimir’s Mustache and Other Stories, Stephan Eirik Clark, Russian Life Books
Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Odessa, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Milkweed Editions
The First Day of Spring in Northern Minnesota, Jim Johnson, Red Dragonfly Press
Pitch, Todd Boss, W. W. Norton & Company
Salt Pier, Dore Kiesselbach, University of Pittsburgh Press
Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by Sit Investment Associates
Nothing Special, Geoff Herbach, Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks, Inc.
Goblin Secrets, William Alexander, Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Shadow on the Mountain, Margi Preus, Amulet Books/Abrams
Silhouette of a Sparrow, Molly Beth Griffin, Milkweed Editions
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2012
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Award for Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
BookSpeak! Poems About Books, Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon, Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships, Catherine Thimmesh, Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
The Last Day of Kindergarten, Nancy Loewen, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa, Marshall Cavendish Children
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature, Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Award for General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America, Shawn Lawrence Otto, Rodale
Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma, Michael Tonry, Oxford University Press
Trout Caviar: Recipes from a Northern Forager, Brett Laidlaw, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic America, Eric Dregni, University of Minnesota Press*
Award for Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors
Big Wheat, Richard A. Thompson, Poisoned Pen Press
The Bone House, Brian Freeman, Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press
Death of the Mantis, Michael Stanley, Harper/HarperCollins Publishers
Northwest Angle, William Kent Krueger, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Leonard, Street and Deinard
A Song at Twilight: Of Alzheimer’s and Love, Nancy Paddock, Blueroad Press*
For Love of Lakes, Darby Nelson, Michigan State University Press
The Last Deployment: How a Gay, Hammer-Swinging Twentysomething Survived a Year in Iraq, Bronson Lemer, The University of Wisconsin Press
Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep & Enough Wool to Save the Planet, Catherine Friend, Da Capo Press/Perseus Books Group
Award for Minnesota
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
Pioneer Modernists: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists, Julie L’Enfant, Afton Press*
Anishinaabe Syndicated: A View from the Rez, Jim Northrup, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
The Pillsburys of Minnesota, Lori Sturdevant with George S. Pillsbury, Nodin Press*
Sisterhood of War: Minnesota Women in Vietnam, Kim Heikkila, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Award for Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Anchor Trust
The Law of Miracles and Other Stories, Gregory Blake Smith, University of Massachusetts Press
In Caddis Wood, Mary François Rockcastle, Graywolf Press*
The Long-Shining Waters, Danielle Sosin, Milkweed Editions*
Merit Badges, Kevin Fenton, New Issues/Western Michigan University
Award for Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Whorled, Ed Bok Lee, Coffee House Press*
Bodies of Light, Athena Kildegaard, Red Dragonfly Press*
Buddha, Proof, Su Smallen, Broadcraft Press
Invisible Strings, Jim Moore, Graywolf Press*
Award for Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by Sit Investment Associates
With or Without You, Brian Farrey, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
The Big Crunch, Pete Hautman, Scholastic Press/Scholastic Inc.
The Books of Elsewhere: Spellbound, Jacqueline West, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Group USA Inc.
The Tanglewood Terror, Kurtis Scaletta, Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books
Readers’ Choice Award
(selected by online voters from across the state)
The Tanglewood Terror, Kurtis Scaletta, Published by Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2011
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Award for Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Michael Hall, HarperCollins Publishers
1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions , David LaRochelle, illustrated by Brenda Sexton, Sterling Publishing
Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty, Linda Glaser, paintings by Claire A. Nivola, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
A Night on the Range, Aaron Frisch, illustrated by Chris Sheban, The Creative Company
Award for General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition, Michael Nordskog, photography by Aaron W. Hautala, University of Minnesota Press*
The Assassination of Hole in the Day, Anton Treuer, Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press*
The Nature of College: How a New Understanding of Campus Life Can Change the World, James J. Farrell, Milkweed Editions*
Paddle North: Canoeing the Boundary Waters-Quetico Wilderness, Greg Breining, photography by Layne Kennedy, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Award for Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors
The Tale of Halcyon Crane, Wendy Webb, Henry Holt & Company
The Taking of Libbie, SD, David Housewright, Minotaur Books
Vermilion Drift, William Kent Krueger, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Carrier: Untangling the Danger in My DNA, Bonnie J. Rough, Counterpoint
Crossing the Barriers: The Autobiography of Allan H. Spear, Allan H. Spear, University of Minnesota Press*
News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, Laurie Hertzel, University of Minnesota Press*
She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood, Amie Klempnauer Miller, Beacon Press
Award for Minnesota
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
North Country: The Making of Minnesota, Mary Lethert Wingerd, University of Minnesota Press*
Prairie, Lake, Forest: Minnesota’s State Parks, Chris Niskanen, photography by Doug Ohman, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount, Jay Weiner, University of Minnesota Press*
We’re Gonna Win, Twins! 50 Years of Minnesota’s Hometown Team, Doug Grow, University of Minnesota Press*
Award for Novel & Short Story
Sponsored by Anchor Trust
Vestments, John Reimringer, Milkweed Editions*
Dogfight, A Love Story, Matt Burgess, Doubleday/Random House, Inc.
The House of Tomorrow, Peter Bognanni, Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Losing Camille, Paul Kilgore, Black Lawrence Press/Dzanc Books
Award for Poetry
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Find the Girl, Lightsey Darst, Coffee House Press*
Dreaming Man, Face Down, Mark Conway, Dream Horse Press
On Speaking Terms, Connie Wanek, Copper Canyon Press
Sin Eater, William Reichard, Mid-List Press
Award for Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by 3M Company
Blank Confession, Pete Hautman, Simon & Schuster
The Books of Elsewhere, Volume I: The Shadows, Jacqueline West, Dial Books for Young Readers/The Penguin Group
Hamster Magic, Lynne Jonell, illustrated by Brandon Dorman, Random House Children’s Books/Random House, Inc.
Split, Swati Avasthi, Random House Children’s Books/Random House, Inc.
Readers’ Choice Award
(selected by online voters from across the state)
News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, Laurie Hertzel, Published by University of Minnesota Press
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2010
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Award for Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Books For Africa
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, Joyce Sidman, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Longest Night, Marion Dane Bauer, Holiday House
Song of Middle C, Alison McGhee, Candlewick Press
Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School, Laura Purdie Salas, Clarion Books
Award for General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO
I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson, Joy K. Lintelman, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Drink This: Wine Made Simple, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Ballantine Books/The Random House Publishing Group
Journeywell: A Guide to Quality Aging, Trish Herbert, Beaver’s Bond Press*
Richard Parkes Bonington: The Complete Paintings, Patrick Noon, Yale University Press
Award for Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Jelly’s Gold, David Housewright, Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press
The Silent Governess, Julie Klassen, Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group
Rough Country, John Sandford, G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Group
Frag Box, Richard A. Thompson, Poisoned Pen Press
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows, Kent Nerburn, New World Library
Going Blind: A Memoir, Mara Faulkner, Excelsior Editions/State University of New York Press
Kevin Kling’s Holiday Inn, Kevin Kling, Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press*
The Bullhead Queen: A Year on Pioneer Lake, Sue Leaf, University of Minnesota Press*
Award for Minnesota
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
Opening Goliath: Danger and Discovery in Caving, Cary J. Griffith, Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Honor Bright: A Century of Scouting in the Northern Star Council, Dave Kenney, Northern Star Council, The Boy Scouts of America*
Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century: The Growth of an American City, Iric Nathanson, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Jewel of Como: The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, Leigh Roethke and Bonnie Blodgett, Afton Historical Society Press*
Award for Novel & Short Story
The Book of Night Women, Marlon James, Riverhead Books/Penguin Group
The Turtle Catcher, Nicole Helget, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
A Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts, N.M. Kelby, Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press*
The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar, Scott Muskin, Hooded Friar Press
Award for Poetry
I Wish I Had a Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman, Jude Nutter, University of Notre Dame Press
Skirmish, Dobby Gibson, Graywolf Press*
Faith Run, Ray Gonzalez, The University of Arizona Press
Unrest, Joanna Rawson, Graywolf Press*
Award for Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by 3M Company
The Magician’s Elephant, Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick Press
The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind, Kristin Cronn-Mills, Flux/Llewellyn*
Crows & Cards, Joseph Helgerson, Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From, Catherine Thimmesh, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Readers’ Choice Award
Sponsored by Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com
Honor Bright: A Century of Scouting in the Northern Star Council, Dave Kenney, Northern Star Council, The Boy Scouts of America*
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2000-2009
2009
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Award for Children’s Literature
Sponsored by MLBA Children’s Fund
The House in the Night, Susan Marie Swanson, Illustrated by Beth Krommes, Houghton Mifflin Company
Henry’s Amazing Imagination, Nancy Carlson, Viking/Penguin Group
Monkey with a Tool Belt, Chris Monroe, Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group*
My Friend, the Starfinder, George Ella Lyon, Illustrated by Stephen Gammel, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Award for General Nonfiction
The Compassionate Carnivore: Or, How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald’s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat, Catherine Friend, Da Capo Press/Perseus Books Group
A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why We Do It, Greg Breining, Photography by Layne Kennedy, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Potluck Paradise: Favorite Fare from Church and Community Cookbooks, Rae Katherine Eighmey and Debbie Miller, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
You Have Been Kind Enough to Assist Me: Herman Stern and the Jewish Refugee Crisis, Terry Shoptaugh, North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies
Award for Genre Fiction
Sponsored by Wellington Management
Stalking Susan, Julie Kramer, Doubleday Publishing Group
A Carrion Death, Michael Stanley, HarperCollins Publishers
Phantom Prey, John Sandford, G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Group
Red Knife, William Kent Krueger, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, Kao Kalia Yang, Coffee House Press*
Madness: A Bipolar Life, Marya Hornbacher, Houghton Mifflin Company
Renaming the Earth: Personal Essays, Ray Gonzalez, The University of Arizona Press
Swallow the Ocean, Laura M. Flynn, Counterpoint
Award for Minnesota
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota, Barbara W. Sommer, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Crossing the Canal: An Illustrated History of Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, Tony Dierckins, X-Communication*
Landscapes of Minnesota: A Geography, John Fraser Hart and Susy Svatek Ziegler, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Minnesota on the Map: A Historical Atlas, David A. Lanegran with Carol Urness, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Award for Novel & Short Story
The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich, HarperCollins Publishers
Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire, David Mura, Coffee House Press*
Shelter Half, Carol Bly, Holy Cow! Press*
The Soul Thief, Charles Baxter, Pantheon Books/Random House, Inc.
Award for Poetry
National Monuments, Heid E. Erdrich, Michigan State University Press
Milk and Tides, Margaret Hasse, Nodin Press*
The Sound of It, Tim Nolan, New Rivers Press*
Yellowrocket, Todd Boss, W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Award for Young People’s Literature
Sponsored by Tarrant, Drummer & Liska, PLLC
Twelve Long Months, Brian Malloy, Scholastic Press/Scholastic, Inc.
Black Box, Julie Schumacher, Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books
Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) , Alison McGhee, Scholastic Press/Scholastic, Inc.
Saturday Night Dirt: A Motor Novel, Will Weaver; Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Readers’ Choice Award
(selected by online voters from across the state)
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, Kao Kalia Yang, Coffee House Press*
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2008
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Award for Children’s Literature
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, Lynne Jonell, Henry Holt and Company
The Perfect Nest, Catherine Friend, Candlewick Press
Farmer Cap, Jill Kalz, Picture Window Books*
Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg, Mia Posada, Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group*
Award for General Nonfiction
Sponsored by Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd.
The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot, Charles Baxter, Graywolf Press*
That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity, James Dawes, Harvard University Press
Looking for Asian America: An Ethnocentric Tour, Wing Young Huie, University of Minnesota Press*
The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting – An Oral History, Jim Walsh, Voyageur Press/MBI Publishing Company*
Award for Minnesota
Sponsored by Marquette Financial Companies
Land of Amber Waters: The History of Brewing in Minnesota, Doug Hoverson, University of Minnesota Press*
Creating Minnesota: A History from the Inside Out, Annette Atkins, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Mike Lynch’s Minnesota Weatherwatch: A Complete Guide for Weather-Obsessed Minnesotans, Mike Lynch, Voyageur Press/MBI Publishing Company*
We Are at Home: Pictures of the Ojibwe People, Bruce White, Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Award for Young Adult Literature
Defect, Will Weaver; Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Billie Standish Was Here, Nancy Crocker; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Chasing Tail Lights, Patrick Jones; Walker & Company
Willow Room, Green Door, Deborah Keenan; Milkweed Editions*
Music for Landing Planes By, Éireann Lorsung; Milkweed Editions*
The Resurrection Trade, Leslie Adrienne Miller; Graywolf Press*
This Brightness, William Reichard; Mid-List Press*
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
The Florist’s Daughter, Patricia Hampl; Harcourt
The Dog Says How, Kevin Kling; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press*
The Wet Collection, Joni Tevis; Milkweed Editions*
Home on the Road: Further Dispatches from the Ends of the Earth, Catherine Watson; Syren Book Company*
Award for Novel & Short Story
The Last Communist Virgin, Wang Ping; Coffee House Press*
Pontoon, Garrison Keillor; Viking Penguin/Penguin Group
The View from Mount Joy, Lorna Landvik; Ballantine Books/The Random House Publishing Group
Pretty Little Mistakes, Heather McElhatton; HarperCollins Publishers
Award for Genre Fiction
Thunder Bay, William Kent Krueger; Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Code Black, Philip Donlay; iBooks
Protect and Defend, Vince Flynn; Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Maiden Rock, Mary Logue; Bleak House Books/Big Earth Publishing
Readers’ Choice Award
(selected by online voters from across the state)
Farmer Cap, Jill Kalz; Picture Window Books*
* Denotes a Minnesota-based Publisher
2007
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Autobiography, Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past, Diane Wilson; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press
Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat, Caroline Burau; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Love of Impermanent Things: A Threshold Ecology, Mary Rose O’Reilley; Milkweed Editions
Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, Matthew Sanford; Rodale
Children’s Literature
Tomorrow, the River, Dianne E. Gray, Houghton Mifflin Company
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow, Joyce Sidman, Houghton Mifflin Company
Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry, Joyce Sidman, Houghton Mifflin Company
Winter Is the Warmest Season, Lauren Stringer, Harcourt Books
The Cronus Chronicles, Book One: The Shadow Thieves, Anne Ursu, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster
Fine Press
What it’s like here:, Jim Moore, Regula Russelle and CB Sherlock; Accordion Productions
The Grammarian’s Five Daughters, Eleanor Arnason; Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Promises Vague yet Certain, Donald Dass and Cecilia Lieder; Calyx Productions Duluth
General Nonfiction
A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, Taner Akçam; Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company
West Bank Boogie: Forty Years of Music, Mayhem and Memories, Cyn Collins, Triangle Park Creative
Minnesota on Paper: Collecting Our Printed History , Moira F. Harris and Leo J. Harris; University of Minnesota Press
Baking with the St. Paul Bread Club: Recipes, Tips and Stories , Kim Ode; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson, William Swanson; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press
Genre Fiction
Copper River, William Kent Krueger; Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
Stripped, Brian Freeman, St. Martin’s Press
The St. Paul Conspiracy, Roger Stelljes, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.
Novel & Short Story
When Charlotte Comes Home, Maureen Millea Smith; Alyson Books
Lives of Mapmakers, Alicia L. Conroy; Carnegie Mellon University Press
Cirkus, Patti Frazee; Alyson Books
Poetry
The Curator of Silence, Jude Nutter; University of Notre Dame Press
Coven, Susan Deborah King; Folio Bookworks
Response: Poetry and Prints from the Lake Superior Writers and the Northern Printmakers Alliance, Cecilia Lieder; Calyx Press Duluth
Yahweh’s Other Shoe, Kilian McDonnell; Saint John’s University Press
Trust the Wild Heart, Nancy Paddock, Red Dragonfly Press
Young Adult Literature
The Book of One Hundred Truths, Julie Schumacher; Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books
El Lector, William Durbin; Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children’s Books
Rash, Pete Hautman; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Readers’ Choice Award
(selected by online voters from across the state)
Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, Matthew Sanford; Rodale
2006
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Anthology & Collection
Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul’s Historic Black Community, Kate Cavett, editor; Syren Book Company
Christmas in Minnesota, Marilyn Ziebarth, editor, Brian Horrigan, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Kiss Me Goodnight: Stories and Poems by Women Who Were Girls When Their Mothers Died, Ann O’Fallon, editor, Margaret Vaillancourt, editor; Syren Book Company (New Voice)
Minnesota Quilts: Creating Connections with Our Past, Minnesota Quilt Project, text, Greg Winter, photography, Lee Sandberg, photography; Voyageur Press
Autobiography, Memoir, & Creative Nonfiction
Left for Dead: A Second Life After Vietnam, Jon Hovde, Maureen Anderson; University of Minnesota Press (New Voice)
Crossing Three Wilderness, U Sam Oeur, Ken McCullough; Coffee House Press
Humble Pie: Musings on What Lies Beneath the Crust, Anne Dimock; Andrews McMeel Publishing (New Voice)
On the Threshold: Home, Hardwood & Holiness, Elizabeth J. Andrew; Westview Press/Perseus Books
The Summer of Ordinary Ways, Nicole Lea Helget; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press (New Voice)
Marooned: The Strange But True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe, Robert Kraske, Robert Andrew Parker, illustrator; Clarion Books
Minnesota’s Capitol: A Centennial Story, Leigh Roethke; Afton Historical Society Press
Muhammad Ali: Genius, Nick Healy; Creative Education
Children’s Fiction
The Counterfeit Princess, Jane Resh Thomas; Clarion Books
A Bear Named Trouble, Marion Dane Bauer; Clarion Books
Fold Me a Poem, Kristine O’Connell George, Lauren Stringer, illustrator; Harcourt Children’s Books
Dear Big, Mean, Ugly Monster, Ruth Marie Berglin, Carl Sirocco, illustrator; Child & Family Press (New Voice)
If Frogs Made Weather, Marion Dane Bauer, Dorothy Donahue, illustrator; Holiday House
Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems, Joyce Sidman, Beckie Prange, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
Fine Press
Ghost Poems for the Living: 13 Sonnets by Shakespeare with Distillations, William Shakespeare, text, Paulette Myers-Rich, text; Traffic Street Press
Mayflies of the Driftless Region, Gaylord Schanilec, wood engravings Clarke Garry, identifications; Midnight Paper Sales
Putting Tomatoes By, Paul Gruchow, text, C. B. Sherlock, producer Regula Russelle, producer, Jenny Eisenman Anderson, assistant, Jennifer Bolanos, assistant, Wendy Fernstrum, assistant, Fred J. Larson, assistant, Candida Pagan, assistant, Stephen Pittelkow, assistant, Jana Pullman, assistant; Accordion Productions
There Is No Other Way to Speak, Bill Holm, editor, Wendy Fernstrum, printer, Robyn Stoller, printer, Regular Russelle, binder, C. B. Sherlock, binder, Jeff Rathermel, project director; Minnesota Center for Book Arts
General Nonfiction
Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming, Winona LaDuke; South End Press
The Ambivalent Arts of Katherine Anne Porter, Mary Titus; University of Georgia Press
Barns of Minnesota, Will Weaver; Doug Ohman, photography; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Politics the Wellstone Way: How to Elect Progressive Candidates and Win on Issues, Wellstone Action, Bill Lofy, editor; University of Minnesota Press
Roads Less Traveled: Dispatches from the Ends of the Earth, Catherine Watson; Syren Book Company
History & Biography
The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness, Jack El-Hai; John Wiley & Sons
Building on a Borrowed Past: Place and Identity in Pipestone, Minnesota, Sally J. Southwick; Ohio University Press
Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy, Kent Nerburn; HarperSanFranciso
The Political Style of Conspiracy: Chase, Sumner and Lincoln, Michael William Pfau; Michigan State University Press
Rudy! The People’s Governor, Betty Wilson; Nodin Press
Somebody’s Daughter, Marie Myung-Ok Lee; Beacon Press
Poetry
Lightning at Dinner, Jim Moore; Graywolf Press
Consideration of the Guitar: New and Selected Poems 1986-2005, Ray Gonzalez; BOA Editions
The Mother’s Tongue, Heid E. Erdrich; Salt Publishing
Polar, Dobby Gibson; Alice James Books (New Voice)
Real Karaoke People, Ed-Bok Lee; New Rivers Press
Popular Fiction
The Iron Girl, Ellen Hart, St. Martin’s Minotaur
Dead Run, P.J. Tracy; G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Mercy Falls, William Kent Krueger; Atria Books
Poison Heart, Mary Logue; Ballantine Books
Tin City, David Housewright; St. Martin’s Minotaur
Science & Nature
A Northern Front: New and Selected Essays, John Hildebrand; Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press
Immortal River: The Upper Mississippi in Ancient and Modern Times, Calvin R. Fremling; University of Wisconsin Press
Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota, Lynn M. Steiner, writer and photographer; Voyageur Press
Young Adult Fiction
All Rivers Flow to the Sea, Alison McGhee; Candlewick Press
Full Service, Will Weaver; Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Invisible, Peter Hautman; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Just Like That, Marsha Qualey; Dial Books
Residence, Janet Graber; Marshall Cavendish
2005
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Anthology and Collections
Old Glory: American War Poems from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism, Robert Hedin, editor; Persea Books
As Long as the Moon Shall Rise: Reflections on the Full Moon, Ellen Moore Anderson, editor; Holy Cow! Press
Charlotte’s Table: An Anthology of Writings by the 42nd Street Irregulars, Roger Jones, editor; Rick Fournier, editor, Vernelle Kurak, editor; Piecemeal Publications
For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitter’s Art, Kari Cornell, editor; Voyageur Press
The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Patricia Hampl, editor, Dave Page, editor; Borealis Books, an imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society Press
Autobiography and Memoir
Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History, Jennifer Vogel; Scribner
Gang of One: Memories of a Red Guard, Fan Shen; University of Nebraska Press
O Clouds,Unfold!: Clara Ueland and her Family, Brenda Ueland; Nodin Press
Yeh Yeh’s House: A Memoir , Evelina Chao; St. Martin’s Press
Children’s Fiction and Poetry
The Darkest Evening, William Durbin; Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic
The Double-Digit Club, Marion Dane Bauer; Holiday House
Grass Angel, Julie Schumacher; Delacorte Press
Snap, Alison McGhee; Candlewick Press
Children’s Picture Books
The Best Pet of All, David LaRochelle, Hanako Wakiyama, illustrator; Dutton Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group
Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains, Barbara Knutson; Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group
Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth, Alison McGhee, Harry Bliss, illustrator; Harcourt
Rules of the Wild: An Unruly Book of Manners, Bridget Levin, Amanda Shepherd, illustrator; Chronicle Books
Children’s and Young Adult Nonfiction
The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings, Lise Lunge-Larsen, Beth Krommes, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
Lewis & Clark: Adventures West, John C. Hamilton; Sparrow Media Group
Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics, Catherine Thimmesh, Douglas B. Jones, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
Fine Press
Distance from the Sun: Thirty Prose Poems from Thirty Years, Louis Jenkins, Chandler O’Leary, illustration, Jeff Rathermel, design and binding, Jana Pullman, design and binding; Minnesota Center for Book Arts
13 ÷ 14: Reflections on “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” by Wallace Stevens, Figures Drawn from the Loculus of Archimedes, Harriet Bart in collaboration with Philip Gallo, Jill Jevne, binding design and execution; Mnemonic Press
The Intruder, Clayton Schanilec, Gaylord Schanilec, design and illustration; Midnight Paper Sales
Surplus Value Books: Catalog #13, Rick Moody, Wilber Schilling, design and printing in collaboration with Daniel E. Kelm; Indulgence Press
General Nonfiction
Why Do They Act That Way?: A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen, David Walsh; Free Press
Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide, Sherelyn Ogden, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Meetings, Paul Shambroom; Chris Boot Ltd.
Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns, Cheryl L. Reed; Berkley Books, a division of Penguin Group
History and Biography
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford; Crown Publishers
In Gatsby’s Shadow: The Story of Charles Macomb Flandrau , Larry Haeg; University of Iowa Press
Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front during World War II, Dave Kenney; Minnesota Historical Society Press
On Foot: A History of Walking, Joseph A. Amato; New York University Press
Strange Days, Dangerous Nights: Photos from the Speed Graphic Era, Larry Millett; Borealis Books, an imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society Press
Nature and Minnesota
Minnesota Treasures: Stories behind the State’s Historic Places, Denis P. Gardner; Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Angry Trout Cafe Notebook: Friends, Recipes, and the Culture of Sustainability, George H. Wilkes; Northwind Sailing Inc.
The Forest for the Trees: How Humans Shaped the Northwoods, Jeff Forester; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Restless Skies: The Ultimate Weather Book, Paul Douglas; Barnes & Noble Books
Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson, David Backes, editor; University of Minnesota Press
The Jewish Fake Book, Sima Rabinowitz; Elixir Press
Playing the Black Piano, Bill Holm; Milkweed Editions
Shut Up Shut Down, Mark Nowak; Coffee House Press
Popular Fiction
Alone at Night, KJ Erickson; St. Martin’s Press
Blood Hollow, William Kent Krueger; Atria Books
Lake of Sorrows, Erin Hart; Scribner
Live Bait, P.J. Tracy; Putnam
The Tarnished Eye, Judith Guest; Scribner
Young Adult Fiction and Poetry
Godless, Pete Hautman; Simon & Schuster
The Alison Rules, Catherine Clark; HarperCollins
A Long Year of Silence, Kathryn Adams Doty; Edinborough Press
Too Big A Storm, Marsha Qualey; Dial Books
2004
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Anthology and Collections
A Place Called Home: Writings on the Midwestern Small Town, Richard Davies, editor, Joseph Amato, editor, David Pichaske, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Twelve Branches: Stories from St. Paul, Nora Murphy, Joanna Rawson, Julia Klatt Singer, Diego Vázquez, Jr.; Coffee House Press
Toward the Livable City, Emilie Buchwald, editor; Milkweed Editions
Visiting Walt: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Walt Whitman, Sheila Coghill, editor, Thom Tammaro, editor; University of Iowa Press
No Boundaries: Prose Poems by 24 American Poets, Ray Gonzalez, editor; Tupelo Press
Autobiography and Memoir
The Language of Blood: A Memoir, Jane Jeong Trenka; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Baghdad Express: A Gulf War Memoir, Joel Turnipseed; Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Growing Seasons: An American Boyhood before the War, Samuel Hynes; Viking Press
Leaning into the Wind: A Memoir of Midwest Weather, Susan Allen Toth; University of Minnesota Press
Jesus Sound Explosion, Mark Curtis Anderson; The University of Georgia Press
Children’s Literature
Hey Pancakes!, Tamson Weston, Stephen Gammell, illustrator; Silver Whistle
Two Old Potatoes and Me, John Coy, Carolyn Fisher, illustrator; Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up, Lisa Westberg Peters, Cathie Felstead, illustrator; HarperCollins Children’s Books
One-Dog Canoe, Mary Casanova, Ard Hoyt, illustrator; Melanie Kroupa Books
Children’s Non-fiction
Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story, Lisa Westberg Peters, Lauren Stringer, illustrator; Harcourt Children’s Books
V is for Viking: A Minnesota Alphabet, Kathy-Jo Wargin, Karen Latham, illustrator, Rebecca Latham, illustrator; Sleeping Bear Press
Imagine a House: A Journey to Fascinating Houses around the World, Angela Gustafson; Out of the Box
Nature’s Yucky: Gross Stuff that Helps Nature Work, Lea Ann Landstrom, Karen Schragg, Constance Bergum, illustrator; Mountain Press Publishing Company
Sacagawea, Lise Erdrich, Julie Buffalohead, illustrator; Lerner Publishing Group
Fine Press
Poetry of Chance Encounters, Harriet Bart; Mnemonic Press
The Mirror of Simple Souls, Anne Carson, Mary J. Pauly, Kim Anno, illustrator; One Crow Press, Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict
Glenmacnass, Thomas Kinsella, Paulette Myers-Rich, illustrator; Traffic Street Press
Six Visual Poems, Scott Helmes, Philip Gallo; Stamp Pad Press/Hermetic Press
History and Biography
Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District, Shannon Pennefeather, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Legacy of Violence: Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota, John Bessler, University of Minnesota Press
Enterprising Minnesotans: 150 Years of Business Pioneers, Stephen George; University of Minnesota Press
75 Memorable Moments in Minnesota Sports, Joel Rippel; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Minnesota Eats Out: An Illustrated History, Kathryn Koutsky, Linda Koutsky, Recipes by Eleanor Ostman; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Nature and Minnesota
Looking for the Summer: A 94 Day Journey, Jim Brandenburg; NorthWord Press
Blades of Glory: The True Story of Championship Dreams and a Young Team Bred to Win, John Rosengren; Sourcebooks
Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Robert Janssen, Daryl Tessen, Gregory Kennedy; Lone Pine Publishing
Lake Effect: Along Superior’s Shores, Erika Alin; University of Minnesota Press
A Cook’s Tour of Minnesota, Ann Burckhardt; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Novel and Short Story
Where No Gods Came, Sheila O’Connor; University of Michigan Press
Was It Beautiful?, Alison McGhee, Shaye Areheart Books
Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea, Diane Glancy; The Overlook Press
Saul and Patsy, Charles Baxter; Pantheon Books
Landing Zones, Edward Micus; New Rivers Press
Poetry
Coming Late to Rachmaninoff, Richard Terrill; University of Tampa Press
Original Fire, Louise Erdrich; Harper Collins
Singing the Bones Together, Angela Shannon; Tia Chucha Press
Paper Boat, Cullen Bailey Burns; New Rivers Press
The Magic Whip, Wang Ping; Coffee House Press
Popular Fiction
Monkeewrench, P.J. Tracy; G.P. Putnam’s Sons
O’Banion’s Gift, Michael O’Rourke, St. John’s Publishing
The Last Witness, KJ Erickson; St. Martin’s Minotaur
Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold; William Morrow
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, illustrator; Candlewick Press
The World According to Dog: Poems and Teen Voices, Joyce Sidman Doug Mindell, photographer; Houghton Mifflin
Young Adult Non-fiction
Northern Lights: The Stories of Minnesota’s Past, Dave Kenney; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Leonard Bernstein: In Love With Music, Caroline Evensen Lazo; Lerner Publishing Group
The Channel Tunnel, Sandy Donovan; Lerner Publishing Group
2003
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Anthology or Collection of Short Stories by Multiple Authors
Keys to the Interior, Robert Hedin, co-editor, Richard Broderick, co-editor; Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
Bamboo Among the Oaks, Mai Neng Moua, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Sister Nations: Native American Women Writers on Community, Heid Erdrich, co-editor, Laura Tohe, co-editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Architecture
Cap Wigington: An Architectual Legacy in Ice and Stone David V. Taylor, co-author, Paul C. Larson, co-author, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Ralph Rapson: Sketches and Drawings from Around the World, Ralph Rapson; Afton Historical Society Press
Art and Music
The Gág Family: German-Bohemian Artists in America, Julie L’Enfant; Afton Historical Society Press
The B-52’s Universe, Mats A. Sexton; Plan B Books
The Minnesota Orchestra at One Hundred: A Collection of Essays, Sandra D. Hyslop, co-author, Gwendolyn M. Pappas, co-author; Minnesota Orchestral Association
Autobiography, Biography, Memoir
Back to Mississippi: A Personal Journey Through the Events that Changed America in 1964, Mary V. Winstead; Hyperion
Crying at the Movies, Madelon Sprengnether; Graywolf Press
Underground Heart, Ray Gonzalez; University of Arizona Press
Book Cover Design
Daisy Air Rifles & BB Guns: The First 100 Years, Tom Heffron, designer, Ben Saltzman, photographer, Neal Punchard, author; MBI Publishing
The Gág Family: German-Bohemian Artists in America, Barbara J. Arney, designer, Julie L’Enfant, author; Afton Historical Society Press
Seven Days, James H. Monroe, designer, Judd P. Spicer, author; Beaver’s Pond Press
Children’s Fiction
Countdown to Kindergarten, Alison McGhee, Harry Bliss, illustrator; Harcourt/Silver Whistle
Cécile: Gates of Gold, Mary Casanova; Pleasant Company
The First Thing My Mama Told Me, Susan Marie Swanson, Christine Davenier, illustrator; Harcourt Children’s Books
Children’s Nonfiction
The Sky’s the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls, Catherine Thimmesh, Melissa Sweet, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
Inside the Secret Garden, Carolyn Strom Collins, co-author, Christina Wyss Eriksson, co-author, Tasha Tudor, illustrator, Mary Collier, illustrator; HarperCollins
Jesse Ventura Tells It Like It Is: America’s Most Outspoken Governor, Jesse Ventura with Herón Márquez; The Lerner Publishing Group
Education, Teaching, Academic
Ojibwe: Waasa Inaabidaa (We Look in all Directions), Thomas M. Peacock, co-author, Marlene Wisuri, co-author; Afton Historical Society Press
The Good Path, Thomas M. Peacock, co-author, Marlene Wisuri, co-author; Afton Historical Society Press
Once Upon a Corporation: Leadership Insights from Short Stories, Tolly Kizilos; iUniverse
Fiction – Novel or Collection of Short Stories by a Single Author
Miniatures, Norah Labiner; Coffee House Press
July, July, Tim O’Brien; Houghton Mifflin
Roofwalker, Susan Power; Milkweed Editions
Fine Press
New York Revisited, Gaylord Schanilec, artist, Ken Auchincloss, author; Grolier Club of New York
A Brief History of Punctuation, C. Mikal Oness, artist, Maurya Simon, author; Sutton Hoo Press
Emigrant Suite, Eavan Boland, Paulette Myers-Rich; Traffic Street Press
Gardening, Nature, Environmental
Voices for the Land, Brian Peterson, photographer; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica, Carrol L. Henderson, author and photographer; University of Texas Press
Trees of Wisconsin: A Field Guide, Stan Tekiela; Adventure Publications
Genre
Mortal Prey, John Sandford; G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Bound to Die, Brian Lutterman; Salvo Press
History, Politics, and Culture
Pale Horse at Plum Run, Brian Leehan; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Lost Discoveries, Dick Teresi; Simon & Schuster
Ojibwe: Waasa Inaabidaa (We Look in all Directions), Thomas M. Peacock, co-author, Marlene Wisuri, co-author; Afton Historical Society Press
Interior Book Design
Impressions, Mandi Selisker, designer, Roger Cooper, poet, John Erickson, artist; Beaver’s Pond Press
Expecting Good Things of All: 100 Years of Academic Excellence, Rachel Fine, designer, Janet Woolman, author; The Blake School
Ralph Rapson: Sketches and Drawings from Around the World, Mary Susan Oleson, designer, Ralph Rapson, author; Afton Historical Society Press
Minnesota Subject
Voices for the Land, Brian Peterson, photographer; Minnesota Historical Society Press
A Country Doctor’s Casebook, Roger A. MacDonald, M.D.; Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Gág Family: German-Bohemian Artists in America, Julie L’Enfant, author; Afton Historical Society Press
Multicultural
Overcoming: The Autobiography of W. Harry Davis, W. Harry Davis, author, Lori Sturdevant, editor; Afton HistoricalSociety Press
Bears Make Rock Soup and Other Stories, Lisa Fifield, painter, Lise Erdrich, author; Children’s Book Press
Ojibwe: Waasa Inaabidaa (We Look in all Directions), Thomas M. Peacock, co-author, Marlene Wisuri, co-author; Afton Historical Society Press
New Age, Metaphysics, and Spirituality
Pathways to Spirituality and Healing, Alexa Umbreit, co-author, Mark Umbreit, co-author; Fairview Press
A Book of Grace: Words to Bring You Peace, Margi Preus, co-author, Ann Treacy, co-author; Sourcebooks, Inc.
You Better Recognize!, Valerie Rose; Beaver’s Pond Press
The Good Path, Thomas M. Peacock, co-author, Marlene Wisuri, co-author; Afton Historical Society Press
Boy Vs. Girl, George Abrahams, Sheila Ahlbrand; Free Spirit Publishing
F. Scott Fitzgerald: Voice of the Jazz Age, Caroline Lazo; The Lerner Publishing Group
2002
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Anthology & Collections
The Cancer Poetry Project, Karin Miller, editor; Fairview Press
Kerlan Awards in Children’s Literature 1975-2001, Ruth Berman, editor; Pogo Press, Inc.
Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales & Oral Histories, Anton Treuer, editor & translator; Minnesota Historical Society Press
This Old Quilt, Margret Aldrich, editor; Voyageur Press
Autobiography & Memoir
While the Locust Slept, Peter Razor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Evening Crowd at Kirmser’s: A Gay Life in the 1940s, Ricardo J. Brown; University of Minnesota Press
The Low Road: A Scottish Family Memoir, Valerie Miner; Michigan State University Press
Mountains of Memory: A Fire Lookout’s Life in the River of No Return Wilderness, Don Scheese; University of Iowa Press
Children
The Race of the Birkebeiners, Lise Lunge-Larsen, Mary Azarian, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
The Day Ocean Came to Visit, Diane Wolkstein Steve Johnson, co-illustrator, Lou Fancher, co-illustrator; Harcourt
Silver Seeds: A Book of Nature Poems, Paul Paolilli, co-author, Dan Brewer, co-author, Steve Johnson, co-illustrator, Lou Fancher, co-illustrator; Viking Children’s Books
100 Years of Vintage Farm Tractors, Michael Dregni, editor; Voyageur Press
Autobiography & Memoir
Packinghouse Daughter: A Memoir, Cheri Register; Minnesota Historical Society Press
The Barn at the End of the World, Mary Rose O’Reilley; Milkweed Editions
Eccentric Islands, Bill Holm; Milkweed Editions
Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories, Sarah Penman, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Places in the World a Person Could Walk, David Syring; University of Texas Press
Children
The Hunter, Mary Casanova, author, Ed Young, illustrator; Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Bonaparte, Marsha Wilson Chall, author, Wendy Anderson Halperin, illustrator; DK Publishing
Everything I Know About Pirates, Tom Lichtenheld, author & illustrator; Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Grandma’s Gone to Live in the Stars, Max Haynes, author & illustrator; Albert Whitman
Fine Press
The Summer House, Patricia Hampl, author, Harold Kyle, book artist, Michael Lizama, book artist, Mary Jo Pauly, book artist; Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Emerson Wulling: Printer for Pleasure, Gaylord Schanilec, author & book artist; Midnight Paper Sales Press
Gatherin Black Walnuts, Robert Coats, author, Regula Russelle, book artist; Cedar Fence Press
May 31, 1944, Isabella Leitner, author, Gerson Leiber, book artist, Philip Gallo, book artist; Hermetic Press/Oil Creek Press
Velocities of the Possible, Gonzalo Rojas, author, John Oliver Simon, translator, Scott King, book artist; Red Dragonfly Press
History and Biography
The Haymakers: A Chronicle of Five Farm Families, Steven R. Hoffbeck; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China, Wang Ping; University of Minnesota Press
Classic Fishing Lures and Tackle , Eric L. Sorenson; Voyageur Press
Cooperative Commonwealth: Co-ops in Rural Minnesota, 1859-1939, Steven J. Keillor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Dust: A History of the Small and Invisible, Joseph Amato; University of California Press
Nature & Minnesota
Wild Rice Cooking: History, Natural History, Harvesting, and Lore, Susan Carol Hauser; Lyons Press
Growing Home: Stories of Ethnic Gardening, Susan Davis Price; University of Minnesota Press
A Plague of Frogs, William Souder; Hyperion Books
The Wolves of Minnesota, L. David Mech, editor; Voyageur Press
Novel & Short Story
Shadow Baby, Alison McGhee; Harmony Books
Glory Goes and Gets Some, Emily Carter; Coffee House Press
The Pact, Walter J. Roers; New Rivers Press
Revenge of Underwater Man, Jarda Cervenka; University of Notre Dame Press
Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken, Shannon Olson; Viking
Poetry
Turtle Pictures, Ray Gonzalez; University of Arizona Press
Coming Back to the Body, Joyce Sutphen; Holy Cow! Press
Rafting on the Water Table, Susan Steger Welsh; New Rivers Press
The Winter Keeper, Eva Hooker; Chapiteau Press
The Winter Road, Louis Jenkins; Holy Cow! Press
Popular Fiction
Dark Coulee, Mary Logue; Walker and Company
Easy Prey, John Sandford; G. P. Putnam’s Sons
The Last Good Man, Kathleen Eagle; William Morrow
Six Crooked Highways: A Novel, Wayne Johnson; Harmony Books
Young Adult
Curse of a Winter Moon, Mary Casanova; Hyperion Books for Children
Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo; Candlewick Press
Girls Think of Everything, Catherine Thimmesh, Houghton Mifflin Company
The Journal of Otto Peltonen, William Durbin; Scholastic
Mummies, Bones and Body Parts, Charlotte Wilcox, Lerner Publishing Group
2000
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Biography and Memoir
Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery, Patricia Weaver Francisco; HarperCollins (Cliff Street Books)
My Lesbian Husband, Barrie Jean Borich; Graywolf Press
Frederick Manfred: A Daughter Remembers, Freya Manfred; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Grand Canyon Celebration: A Father-Son Journey of Discovery, Michael Quinn Patton; Prometheus Books
Children
The Troll with No Heart in His Body and Other Tales of Trolls from Norway, Lise Lunge-Larsen, Betsy Bowen, illustrator; Houghton Mifflin
The Quiltmaker’s Gift, Jeff Brambeau, Gail de Marcken, illustrator; Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers
Bicycle Vacation Guide: Minnesota & Wisconsin, Doug Shidell and Vicky Vogels; Little Transport Press
Birds of Minnesota Field Guide, Stan Tekiela; Adventure Publications
Help and Guidance
Raising Nonviolent Children in a Violent World, Michael Obsatz; Augsburg/Augsburg Fortress
What Teens Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways to Shape Your Own Future, Peter L. Benson, Judy Galbraith, Pamela Espeland; Free Spirit Publishing
Sports Medicine for Young Athletes: A Guide for Parents, Teachers and Coaches, Institute for Athletic Medicine, Scott Kulstad, editor; Fairview Press
Non-Fiction
The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live, Sarah Susanka, Kira Obolensky; The Taunton Press, Inc.
Take the Young Stranger by the Hand: Same-sex Relations and the YMCA, John Donald Gustav-Wrathall; The University of Chicago Press
No-Fault Politics: Modern Presidents, The Press, and Reformers, Eugene McCarthy; Times Books/Random House
Creative Non-Fiction
Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map, Barton Sutter; University of Minnesota Press
The Cold-and-Hunger Dance, Diane Glancy; University of Nebraska Press
Arousal: Bodies and Pleasures, Martha Roth; Milkweed Editions
The Ice Palace That Melted Away; Restoring Civility and Other Lost Virtues to Everyday Life, Bill (William) Stumpf; Pantheon Books/Random House
Nature
Valley of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie and Parkland of the Red River Region, Kim Alan Chapman, Adelheid Fischer, Mary Kinsella Ziegenhagen; North Star Press of St. Cloud
Black Bear Country, Michael Furtman; NorthWord Press
Winter Sign, Jim Dale Huot-Vickery; University of Minnesota Press
The Wolves of Denali, L.David Mech, Layne G. Adams, Thomas J. Meier, John W. Burch, Bruce W. Dale; University of Minnesota Press
Illustrated Book
Chased by the Light: A 90-Day Journey, Jim Brandenburg; NorthWord Press
Born to Pull, Gail de Marcken, illustrator, Bob Cary, author; Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers
Toy Farm Tractors, Bill Vossler, Andy Kraushaar, photography; Voyageur Press
History
Building Community, Keeping the Faith: German Catholic Vernacular Architecture in a Rural Minnesota Parish; Fred W. Peterson, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940, Brenda J .Child; University of Nebraska Press
A Place at the Lake, Paul Clifford Larson; Afton Historical Society Press
The Promise Fulfilled: A Portrait of Norwegian Americans Today, Odd S. Lovoll; University of Minnesota Press
Empire by Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century, Ivan Musicant; Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
Biography
A Lake Superior Lawyer: A Biography of Chester Adgate Congdon, Roy O. Hoover; Superior Partners
Louise’s Legacy: Hamm Family Stories, Moira F. Harris, ed.; Pogo Press
Breaking Trail, Edgar E. Hetteen, Jay M. Lemke; Focus Publishing, Inc.
Collected Works
The Talking of Hands: Unpublished Writing by New Rivers Press Authors, New Rivers Press; New Rivers Press
Minnesota Seasons: Classic Tales of Life Outdoors, Scott Bestul, editor, The Cabin Bookshelf
Welcome to Your Life; Writings for the Heart of Young America, David Haynes, editor, Julie Landsman, editor; Milkweed Editions
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Komarr: A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure, Lois McMaster Bujold; Baen Books
Dragon, Steven Brust, Tor Books
Juniper, Gentian, & Rosemary, Pamela Dean, Tor Books
Memoir
The Witness of Combines, Kent Meyers; University of Minnesota Press
Barefoot on Crane Island, Marjorie Myers Douglas; Minnesota Historical Society Press
A Finntown of the Heart, Patricia Johnson Eilola; North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.
Turning the Feather Around: My Life in Art, George Morrison as told to Margot Fortunato Galt; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Reluctant Dissenter: An Autobiography, James Patrick Shannon; The Crossroad Publishing Company
Mystery
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger; Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster Inc.
Closed in Silence, Joan M. Drury; Spinsters Ink
The Big Law, Chuck Logan; HarperCollins
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders: From the American Chronicles of John H. Watson, M.D., Larry Millett; Viking
Novels and Short Stories
Rainlight, Alison McGhee; Papier-Mache Press
How the Dead Live: Stories, Alvin Greenberg; Graywolf Press
Trip Sheets, Ellen Hawley; Milkweed Editions
Our Sometime Sister: A Novel, Norah Labiner; Coffee House Press
Range of Light: A Novel, Valerie Miner; Zoland Books, Inc.
Blue Bossa, Bart Schneider; Viking Penguin
Poetry
The Green Tuxedo, Janet A. Holmes; University of Notre Dame Press
Sermon on a Perfect Spring Day: Poems, Philip Bryant; New Rivers Press
Temporary Help: Poems, John Engman [Minneapolis, d. 1996]; Holy Cow! Press
The Old Liberators: New and Selected Poems and Translations, Robert Hedin; Holy Cow! Press
Yesterday Had a Man in It, Leslie Adrienne Miller; Carnegie Mellon University Press
Sacred Vows, U Sam Oeur; Coffee House Press
Fine Press
Roar Shocks, David Rathman; Hermetic Press
Waterfalls of the Mississippi, Richard Fred Arey, Color engravings by Gaylord Schanilec; Minnesota Outdoors Press *Winner of the 1999 John T. Flanagan Award
The Everyday Magic of Walterlee Higgins, David Haynes; Minnesota Center for Book Arts
1998
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Autobiography & Biography
John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life, Paul C. Nagel; Knopf
Minstrel: My Adventures in Newspapering, Jim Klobuchar; University of Minnesota Press
Romanoff–Prince of Rogues: The Life & Times of a Hollywood Icon, Jane Pejsa; Kenwood Publishing
Children’s Non-Fiction
Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Children, David L. Parker; Lerner Publishing Group
Afrikatrek: A Journey by Bicycle Through Africa, Dan Buettner; Lerner Publishing Group
Great Lives: The American Frontier, Patricia Calvert; Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn, and Beans: How the Foods of the Americas Changed Eating Around the World, Sylvia A. Johnson; Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Horsepower: The Wonder of Draft Horses, Cris Peterson, Alvis Upitis, illustrator; Boyds Mills Press
Collected Works
Tanzania on Tuesday: Writing by American Women Abroad, Kathleen Coskran, editor, C.W. Truesdale, editor; New Rivers Press
North Writers II: Our Place in the Woods, John Henricksson, editor; University of Minnesota Press
The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the Pleasures of Reading, Michael Dorris, editor, Emilie Buchwald, editors; Milkweed Editions
Creative Non-Fiction
North Enough: Aids and Other Clear-Cuts, Jan Zita Grover; Graywolf Press
The West Pole, Diane Glancy; University of Minnesota Press
The Rez Road Follies: Canoes, Casinos, Computers, and Birch Bark Baskets, Jim Northrup; Kodansha
Fantasy & Science Fiction
From the End of the Twentieth Century, John M. Ford; NESFA Press
Freedom and Necessity, Stephen Brust, Emma Bull; TOR
Emerald House Rising, Peg Kerr; Warner Books
Fun & Humor
Growing Up Lutheran: What Does This Mean?, Janet Letnes Martin, Suzann Johnson Nelson; Caranga Press
Having Fun with Baseball Nicknames, Phil Blazovich; MLC Publications
Burma-Shave: The Rhymes, the Signs, the Times, Bill Vossler; North Star Press of St. Cloud
Help & Guidance
Taking Charge of My Mind and Body: A Girl’s Guide to Outstmarting Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking, and Eating Problems, Gladys Folkers, Jeanne Engelmann, Marie Olofsdotter, illustrator; Free Spirit Publishing
Brave New Girls: Creative Ideas to Help Girls Be Confident, Healthy, & Happy, Jeanette Gadeberg; Fairview Press
The Therapy Answer Book: Getting the Most Out of Counseling, Kathleen J. Papatola; Fairview Press
History
Icy Pleasures: Minnesota Celebrates Winter, Paul Clifford Larson; Afton Historical Society
The Loaf that Became a Legend: A History of Saint John’s Bread, Kenneth M. Jones, Diane Deale Jones; North Star Press of St. Cloud
Salt Lantern: Traces of an American Family, William Towner Morgan; University of Iowa Press
Illustrated Books
Connections & Reflections: Mothers & Daughters in Their Own Light, in Their Own Words, Catherine Koemptgen; Pfeifer Hamilton
15 Years in a Photographer’s Life, Nadine Blacklock; Blacklock Nature Photography
Death of the Dream: Classic Minnesota Farmhouses, William G. Gabler; Afton Historical Society Press
Information
Minnesota Business Almanac: Minnesota’s Guide to Business, 1997-1998 edition, A publication of Twin Cities Business Monthly, MSP Communications, Greg Breining; Fodor’s Travel Publications/Compass American Guides
36 One-Day Discovery Tours: Fun Places to Drive Within and From Minneapolis and St. Paul, new and expanded edition, Carvel Lee; Nodin Press
Mystery & Detective
Practice to Deceive, David Housewright; Norton
Term Limits, Vince Flynn; Cloak & Dagger Press
Murder in the Air, Ellen Hart; Ballantine Books
Nature
A Wild Neighborhood, John Henricksson, Betsy Bowen, illustrator; University of Minnesota Press
Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild, Paul Gruchow; Milkweed Editions *Winner of the 1998 John T. Flanagan Award
Sugartime: The Hidden Pleasures of Making Maple Syrup with a Primer for the Novice Sugarer, Susan Carol Hauser; The Lyons Press
Non-Fiction
Cleaning Up: The Story Behind the Biggest Legal Bonanza of Our Time, David Lebedoff; The Free Press
Golf Beats Us All (and So We Love It), Joseph A. Amato; Johnson Books
Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America, John D. Bessler; Northeastern University Press
The Spirit of the Sixties: The Making of Postwar Radicalism, James J. Farrell; Routledge
The History of Money: From Sandstone to Cyberspace, Jack Weatherford; Crown Publishers
Novel
Floating Kingdom: A Novel, George Rabasa; Coffee House Press
Bitter Grounds, Sandra Benitez; Hyperion
Errands, Judith Guest; Ballantine Books
The Dean’s List, Jon Hassler; Ballantine Books
All American Dream Dolls, David Haynes; Milkweed Editions
Your Oasis on Fame Lake, Lorna Landvik; Fawcett Columbine
Personal Papers
The Far Islands and Other Cold Places: Travel Essays of a Victorian Lady, Elizabeth Taylor, James Taylor Dunn, editor; Pogo Press
Dear Poppa: The World War II Berman Family Letters, Compiled by Ruth Berman, Judy Barett Litoff, editor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Views from the Publisher’s Desk: Editorials by Elmer L. Andersen, Former Governor of Minnesota, Elmer L. Andersen; Nodin Press
Picture Books
If You Were Born a Kitten, Marion Dane Bauer; Simon & Schuster Books for Younger Readers
Is That You, Winter?: A Story, Stephen Gammell; Harcourt, Brace & Company/Silver Whistle
Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend Retold, Betsy Bowen, illustrator, Nancy Van Laan, author; Houghton Mifflin
The Lost and Found House, Steve Johnson, illustrator, Lou Fancher, illustrator, Michael Cadnum, author; Viking
The Year of the Ranch, Alice McLeran; Viking
Wanted: Best Friend, A.M. Monson; Dial Books for Young Readers
Rosie’s Fiddle, Phyllis Root; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Celebration!, Jane Resh Thomas; Hyperion Books for Children
Poetry
Selected Poems, 1965-1995, Michael Dennis Browne, Carnegie Mellon Press
Morning Poems, Robert Bly, HarperCollins
Faith in Ice Times: Poems, Mark Christensen; Loonfeather Press
Home from the Field: Collected Poems, Leo Dangle; Spoon River Poetry Press
Fishing for Myth, Heid E. Erdrich; New Rivers Press
Bonfire: Poems, Connie Wanek; New Rivers Press
Short Stories
Small Invasions: Stories, Beth Weatherby; Plains Press
Grandmother’s Gift: Stories from the Anishinabeg, Anne M. Dunn; Holy Cow! Press
The Natural Father, Robert Lacy; New Rivers Press
Crowning the Queen of Love: Short Stories, Susan Welch; Coffee House Press
Young Adult Fiction
The Broken Blade, William Durbin; Delacorte Press
Wolf Shadows, Mary Casanova; Hyperion Books for Children
Lone Wolf, Kristine L. Franklin; Candlewick Press
Thin Ice, Marsha Qualey; Delacorte Publishing
1997
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Biography and History
Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire, Marybeth Lorbiecki; Falcon Publishing
Remembering China, 1935-1945: A Memoir, Bea Exner Liu; New Rivers Press
F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota: Toward the Summit, Dave Page John Koblas; North Star Press of St. Cloud
And Prairie Dogs Weren’t Kosher: Jewish Women in the Upper Midwest Since 1855, Linda Mack Schloff; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Children’s Non-Fiction
Snapshot: America Discovers the Camera, Kenneth P. Czech; Lerner Publications
Jimmy Carter: On the Road to Peace, Carol Lazo; Dillon Press
Diseases: Finding the Cure, Robert Mulcahy; The Oliver Press
Free to Dream. The Making of a Poet: Langston Hughes, Audrey Osofsky; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Collected Works
Changing the Bully that Rules the World: Reading and Thinking About Ethics, Carol Bly, editor; Milkweed Editions
Irene: Selected Writings of Irene Paul, Gayla Ellis and others, editors; Midwest Villages & Voices
The Frederick Manfred Reader, John Calvin Rezmerski, editor; Holy Cow! Press
Going to the Lake, Betty Rossi, editor, Elmo Heggie, editor; Loonfeather Press
Help & Guidance
The Manipulative Child: How to Gain Control and Raise Resilient, Resourceful, and Independent Kids, E. W. Swihart, Patrick D. Cotter; Macmillan
Lifekeys: Discovering Who You Are, Why You’re Here, What You Do Best, Jane A. G. Kise, David Stark; Bethany House Press
Cooperation Works: How People Are Using Cooperative Action to Rebuild Communities and Revitalize the Economy, E. G. Nadeau; Loan Oak Press
The Smart Consumers Book of Questions, Linda Mack Ross; Chicago Review Press
Illustrated Books
Minnesota’s Architect: The Life and Work of Clarence H. Johnston, Paul Clifford Larson; Afton Historical Society Press
Maya Quest: The Interactive Expedition, Dan Buettner; Onion Press
Frogtown: Photographs and Conversations in an Urban Neighborhood, Wing Young Huie; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Twin Cites Then and Now, Larry Millett, Jerry Mathiason, photographer; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Information
Canoe Country Flora: Plants and Trees of the North Woods and Boundary Waters, Mark Stensaas; Pfeifer-Hamilton
Fred’s Best Guide to Twin Cities Winter Recreation, Richard ‘Fred’ Arey; Minnesota Outdoor Press
Nature’s Revenge: The Secrets of Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, and Their Remedies, Susan Hauser; Lyons & Burford
A Field Guide to Cows, John Pukite; Falcoln Press Publishing
Memoirs
Patty’s Journey: From Orphanage to Adoption and Reunion, Donna Scott Norling; University of Minnesota Press
Crossing the Moon: A Journey Through Infertility, Paulette Bates Alden; Hungry Mind Press
Rescuing Little Roundhead, Syl Jones; Milkweed Editions
Where the Body Meets Memory: An Odyssey of Race, Sexuality and Identity, David Mura; Anchor Books
Minnesota Places
Tales of the Old North Shore: Paintings and Companion Stories, Howard Sivertson; Lake Superior Port Cities
To Call It Home: The New Immigrants of Southwestern Minnesota Joseph A. Amato and others, Crossings Press
Afton Remembered, Edwin G. Robb; Afton Historical Society Press
Grand Avenue: The Renaissance of an Urban Street, Billoine Whiting Young, David Lanegran; North Star Press of St. Cloud
Mystery & Detective
Silent Words, Joan M. Drury; Spinsters Ink
The Oldest Sin, Ellen Hart; Ballantine Books
The Mortal Nuts, Pete Hautman; Simon & Schuster
Nature
Far From Tame: Reflections From the Heart of a Continent, Laurie Allmann; University of Minnesota Press
North Country Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to the Great Outdoors, Anne Braatas; Pioneer Books
Explorations in the Ordinary: A Backyard Naturalist’s View of Minnesota, David R. Moffatt; North Star Press of St. Cloud
Smithson’s Island: The Necessity of Solitude, Judith Ann Smithson; Lone Oak Press
Non-Fiction
The Garden of Eating: Food, Sex and the Hunger for Meaning, Jeremy Iggers; Basic Books
The American Barbershop: A Closer Look at a Disappearing Place, Mic Hunter; Face to Face Books
The Last Word on Lutefisk: True Tales of Cod and Tradition, Gary Legwold; Conrad Henry Press
Novels
Tales of Burning Love, Louise Erdrich; Harper Collins
Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears, Diane Glancy; Harcourt Brace
Live at Five, David Haynes; Milkweed Editions
The Empress of One, Faith Sullivan; Milkweed Editions
Personal Voices
The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth: Minneota, Minnesota, Bill Holm; Milkweed Editions *Also winner of the 1997 John T. Flanagan Award
The Snow Lotus: Exploring the Eternal Moment, Peter Leschak; University of Minnesota Press
A Haunting Reverence: Meditations on a Northern Land, Kent Nerburn; New World Library
Picture Books
Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble, Phyllis Root, author; Candlewick Press
Mud, Lauren Stringer, illustrator; Harcourt Brace
The Fiddler of the Northern Lights, Leslie W. Bowman, illustrator; Cobblehill Books/Dutton
Night Driving, John Coy, author; Henry Holt & Company
My Many Colored Days, Steve Johnson, illustrator, Lou Fancher, illustrator; Knopf
Ghost Dance, Alice McLerran, author; Clarion
October Smiled Back, Lisa Westberg Peters, author; Henry Holt
Remember That, Karen Ritz, illustrator; Clarion
Poetry
War Baby Express, Roseann Lloyd, Holy Cow! Press
To Collect the Flesh: Poems, Greg Hewett, New Rivers Press
On the Road with Patsy Cline: Poems, John W. Reinhard; New Rivers Press
Short Stories
Glass Houses: Stories, George Rabasa; Coffee House Press
One Last Dance with Lawrence Welk, Peter Damian Bellis; River Boat Books
The Dance Hall at Spring Hill: Stories, Duke Klassen; New Rivers Press
An Explanation for Chaos, Julie Schumacher; Soho Press
The Worldwide Church of the Handicapped and Other Stories, Marie Sheppard Williams; Coffee House Press
Young Adult Fiction
Sees Behind Trees, Michael Dorris; Hyperion Books for Children
Riot, Mary Casanova; Hyperion Books for Children
Nerd No More, Kristine L. Franklin; Candlewick Press
Book of Enchantments, Patricia C. Wrede; Harcourt Brace: Jane Yolen Book; Hyperion Books for Children
1996
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Biography
Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance Jack Sutin Rochelle Sutin Lawrence Sutin, editor Graywolf Press
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sandy Berman But Were Afraid To Ask Chris Dodge, editor Jan DeSirey, editor McFarland
Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist Philip Furia Oxford University Press
Norwegian Yankee: Knute Nelson and the Failure of American Politics, 1860-1923 Millard L. Gieske Steven J. Keillor The Norwegian-American Historical Association
Children’s Non-Fiction
Bookworks: Making Books by Hand Gwenyth Swain, author with Minnesota Center for Book Arts Jennifer Hagerman, illustrator Carolrhoda Books
A Writer’s Story: From Life to Fiction Marion Dane Bauer Clarion Books
Kwanzaa Karamu: Cooking and Crafts for a Kwanzaan Feast Maryann N. Brady Barbara Knutson, illustrator Robert L. Wolfe, photographer Diane Wolfe. photographer Carolrhoda Books
A Drummer-Boy’s Diary: Comprising Four Years of Service with the Second Regiment Minnesota Veteran Volunteers, 1861-1865 Newell L. Chester, editor North Star Press of Saint Cloud
Up to the Plate: The All American Girls Professional Baseball League Margot Fortunato Galt Lerner Publications
Electrifying Medicine: How Electricity Sparked a Medical Revolution Brenda L. Himrich Stew Thornley Lerner Publications
Collected Works
Imagining Home: Writing from the Midwest Mark Vinz, editor Thom Tammaro, editor University of Minnesota Press
Ringing in the Wilderness: Selections from the North Country Anvil Rhoda R. Gilman, editor Holy Cow! Press
Minnesota, the Spirit of the Land Douglas Wood Greg Ryan, photographer Saint Paul Voyageur Press
Information
A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe Earl Nyholm University of Minnesota Press
Twin Cities Bicycling Richard ‘Fred’ Arey Minnesota Outdoor Press
Twin Cities Family Fun Spots Lisa Sabroski Blue Sky Marketing
Minnesota
Minnesota Gardens: An Illustrated History Susan Davis Price Afton Historical Society Press
At the Headwaters: The 1993 Flood in Southwestern Minnesota: 40 Photos and 40 Essays Joseph Amato, editor Janet Timmerman, editor Southwest State University Press
Gopher Glory: 100 Years of University of Minnesota Basketball Steve Perlstein Layers Publishing
Mystery & Detective
Faint Praise: A Jane Lawless Mystery Ellen Hart Seal Press
The Ditched Blond Harold Adams Walker Publishing
Grave Choices M. D. Lake, pseudonym for Allen Simpson Avon Books
The Weatherman Steve Thayer Viking Press
Nature
Minnesota’s Natural Heritage John R. Tester University of Minnesota Press
Upland Game Birds Dick Sternberg Cy Decosse
Nature Smart: A Family Guide to Nature Stan Tekiela Karen Shanberg Julie Janke, illustrator Afton Adventure Publications
Minnesota’s Saint Croix River Valley and Anoka Sandplain Daniel Wovcha Barbara C. Delaney Gerda E. Nordquist University of Minnesota Press
Non-Fiction
Grass Roots: The Universe of Home Paul Gruchow Milkweed Editions
Dahcotah; or, Life and Legends of the Sioux Around Fort Snelling Barbara J. Arney, designer Mary Henderson Eastman, author Afton Historical Society Press
Law v. Life: What Lawyers Are Afraid to Say About the Legal Profession Walt Bachman Four Directions Press
Passages of Pride: Lesbian and Gay Youth Come of Age Kurt Chandler Times Books
Novel
Little David Treuer Graywolf Press
Rookery Blues Jon Hassler Ballantine Books
Somebody Else’s Mama David Haynes Milkweed Editions
Patty Jane’s House of Curl Lorna Landvik Bridge Works Publishing
The Body is Water Julie Schumacher Soho Press
Personal Voices
Shepherdess: Notes from the Field Joan Jarvis Ellison Purdue University Press
Tales from Jackpine Bob Bob Cary Pfeifer-Hamilton
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor”: Humorous Second Opinions for Everyday Life Mark DePaolis Fairview Press
Poetry
The Long Experience of Love Jim Moore Milkweed Editions
What They Always Were: Poems Norita Dittberner-Jax New Rivers Press
Happiness: Poems Deborah Keenan Coffee House Press
Silver Dollar: Poems CarolAnn Russell West End Press
When the Italians Came to My Town Thom Tammaro Spoon River Poetry Press
Short Stories
Revealing the Unknown to a Pair of Lovers: Stories Ann Lundberg Grunke New Rivers Press
A .38 Special and a Broken Heart: Short Stories Jonis Agee Coffee House Press
Leech Lake When Beaver Was Very Great: Stories to Live By Anne M. Dunn Sharon L. White, illustrator Midwest Traditions
Young Adult Fiction
Hometown Marsha Qualey Houghton Mifflin
River of Champions Mary Halvorson New Directions Press
Farm Team Will Weaver HarperCollins
Younger Children
Ellis Island: Doorway to Freedom [Winner for illustrator] Karen Ritz, illustrator Steven Kroll, author Holiday House
Daddy Played Music for the Cows [Winner for author] Maryann N. Weidt Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
When I Go Camping with Grandma Marion Dane Bauer Bridgewater Books
Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book Betsy Bowen Little, Brown
Dance with Me Barbara Juster Esbensen HarperCollins
Cat, You Better Come Home Steve Johnson, illustrator Lou Fancher, illustrator Garrison Keillor, author Viking
Snail and Buffalo Jim Latimer Orchard Books
1995
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Biography
Eggs in the Coffee, Sheep in the Corn: My 17 Years as a Farm Wife, Marjorie Myers Douglas; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Hellroaring: The Life and Times of a Fire Bum, Peter M. Leschak; North Star Press of Saint Cloud
Gratia Countryman: Her Life, Her Loves and Her Library, Jane Pejsa; Nodin Press
Children’s Non-Fiction
Sovietrek: A Journey by Bicycle Across Russia, Dan Buettner; Lerner Publications
Kerry, A Teenage Mother, Maggi Aitkens; Lerner Publications
Wings of Magic, 2nd ed., Sandy Ehlers; McCartney
A Beekeeper’s Year, Sylvia A. Johnson, Nick Von Ohlen, photographer; Little, Brown and Company
Jackie Joyner Kersee: Superwoman, Jennifer Larson; Lerner Publications
Hilde and Eli: Children of the Holocaust, Karen Ritz, illustrator, David A. Adler, author; Holiday House
Fantasy & Science Fiction
A College of Magics, Caroline Stevermer; TOR
Five Hundred Years After, Steven Brust; TOR
Double Feature, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly; NESFA Press
The Dubious Hills, Pamela Dean; TOR
Fiction (Novel & Stories)
Seventeen Grams of Soul, Emilio DeGrazia; Lone Oak Press
Losing Absalom: A Novel, Alexs D. Pate; Coffee House Press
The Peace Terrorist: Stories, Carol Masters; New Rivers Press
Hitting Into the Wind, William Meissner; Random House
A Walking Fire: A Novel, Valerie Miner; State University of New York Press
Rainy Lake: A Novel, Mary Francois Rockcastle; Graywolf Press
Help & Guidance
Suicide: Why? 85 Questions and Answers About Suicide. 2nd ed., Adina Wrobleski; Afterwords Publishing
Roughing it Elegantly: A Practical Guide to Canoe Camping. 2nd ed., Linda Oliver Isakson, author, Patricia J. Bell, illustrator; Cat’s Paw Press
Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey, Michael Winer, Karen Ray; Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Mediasmart: How to Handle a Reporter, By a Reporter, Dennis Stauffer; MinneApplePress
The Six Steps to Excellence in Selling: The Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Selling, Warren M. Wechsler; Better Books
History
As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s, Karal Ann Marling; Harvard University Press
Material Culture and People’s Art Among the Norwegians in America, Marion J. Nelson, editor; Norwegian-American Historical Association
Churchill’s Deception: The Dark Secret that Destroyed Nazi Germany, Louis C. Kilzer; Simon & Schuster
North Star Statehouse: An Armchair Guide to the Minnesota State Capitol, Thomas O’Sullivan; Pogo Press
Illustrated Book
The Shape of Things: The Art of Francis Lee Jaques, Patricia Condon Johnston; Live Oak Press and Afton Historical Society Press
Saint John’s in Pictures, Michael Crouser; The Veronica Press
The Twin Cities Naturally: A Pictorial Tour of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area, Greg Ryan, Sally Beyer; Voyageur Press
Information
Minnesota Job Seeker’s Sourcebook: The Complete Statewide Guide to Job-Seeking Support Services. 2nd ed., Pati Gelfman, editor; Resource Publishing Group
Where the Waters Gather and the Rivers Meet: An Atlas of the Eastern Sioux, Paul Durand; Paul C. Durand
A Rustling of Wings: An Angelic Guide to the Twin Cities, Joan Nyberg, Richard Nyberg, photographer; Wingtip Press
Fishing Lake Superior: A Complete Guide to Stream, Shoreline, and Open-Water Angling, Shawn Perich; Pfeifer-Hamilton
Mystery & Detective
A Small Sacrifice: A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart; Seal Press
A Way with Widows: A Carl Wilcox Mystery, Harold Adams; Walker
The Bishop’s Tale, Margaret Frazer, pseud., Mary Monica Kuhfeld, Gail Frazer; Berkley Prime Crime
Red Trance, R. D. Zimmerman; Morrow
Nature
Amphibians and Reptiles Native to Minnesota, John J. Moriarty; University of Minnesota Press
Wild Minnesota, Greg Breining; NorthWord Press
Sky Spirit: The American Bald Eagle, Michael Furtman; NorthWord Press
Rebel Baseball: The Summer the Game was Returned to the Fans, Steve Perlstein; Onion Press
Savages and Civilization: Who Will Survive?, Jack Weatherford; Crown
Older Children
Am I Blue: Coming Out from the Silence, Marion Dane Bauer, editor; HarperCollins
A Question of Trust, Marion Dane Bauer; Scholastic
Writing to Richie, Patricia Calvert; Scribners
A Place to Belong, Emily Crofford; Carolrhoda Books
A Bride for Anna’s Papa, Isabel R. Marvin, Kay Sather, illustrator; Milkweed Editions
Come in From the Cold, Marsha Qualey; Houghton-Mifflin
Personal Voices
Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder, Kent Nerburn; New World Library
Seeing the Raven: A Narrative of Renewal, Peter M. Leschak; University of Minnesota Press
Letters to My Son: A Father’s Wisdom on Manhood, Women, Life and Love, Kent Nerburn; New World Library
Poetry
Nice Fish: New and Selected Prose Poems, Louis Jenkins; Holy Cow! Press
Handmade Paper: Poems, Patricia Barone; New Rivers Press
Meditations on the Insatiable Soul: Poems, Robert Bly; HarperCollins
The Physicist at the Mall, Janet Holmes; Anhinga Press
Ungodliness: Poems, Leslie Adrienne Miller; Carnegie Mellon University Press
Horse of Earth: Poems, Thomas R. Smith; Holy Cow! Press
Younger Children (author & illustrator)
Imani in the Belly, Deborah M. Newton Chocolate, Alex Boies, illustrator; BridgeWater Books
Eve and Smithy: An Iowa Tale, Michelle Edwards; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
The Masked Maverick, Jacqueline K. Ogburn, Nancy Carlson, illustrator; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
The Great Buffalo Race: How the Buffalo Got Its Hump; A Seneca Tale Retold, Barbara Juster Esbensen; Little, Brown and Company
My Head is Full of Colors, Catherine Friend; Hyperion Books for Children
Clouds of Terror, Laurie K. Johnson, illustrator; Carolrhoda Books
Sam, Who Was Swallowed by a Shark, Phyllis Root, Candlewick Press
1994
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
Minnesota Community of the Book Special Award Honorees
A Guide to Minnesota Writers: Expanded and Revised, Ron Barron; Minnesota Council of Teachers of English, 1993 Burgess International Group, distributor
Minnesota’s Literary Visitors, John Theodore Flanagan, Moira F. Harris; Pogo Press
Discover Minnesota: An Annotated Bibliography of Books for Children in Grades K-9, Marianne Miller Hudec; Burgess International Group
Collected Works
Inheriting the Land: Contemporary Voices from the Midwest, Mark Vinz, editor, Thom Tammaro, editor; University of Minnesota Press
Do You Know Me Now? , Elisabeth Rosenberg, editor, Andreas Rosenberg, illustrator, Megan O’Leary, illustrator; Normandale Community College
What Happened When He Went to the Store for Bread: Poems, Alden Nowlan, Thomas R. Smith, editor; Nineties Press; Aly Press Center, distributor
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Ring of Swords, Eleanor Arnason; TOR Books
Agyar, Steven Brust, TOR, 1993
Growing Up Weightless, John M. Ford; Bantam Books/Spectra
Nevernever, Will P.J.F. Shetterley; Jane Yolen Books
Calling on Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede; Jane Yolen Books
Fiction
A Place Where the Sea Remembers, Sandra Benitez; Coffee House Press
Strange Angels, Jonis Agee; Ticknor & Fields
Dear James, Jon Hassler, Ballantine Books
Right By My Side: A Novel, David Haynes; New Rivers Press
Blue Bel Air, Brett Laidlaw; W.W. Norton
No Matter What, Mary Saracino; Spinsters Ink
History
The Hike Into the Sun: Memoir of an American Soldier Captured on Bataan in 1942 and Imprisoned by the Japanese until 1945, Bernard T. FitzPatrick, John A. and Sweetser; McFarland & Company
White-Man-Runs-Him (Crow Scout with Custer), Dennis W. Harcey, Brian R. Croone with Joe Medicine Crow; Evanston Publishing
Snelling: Minnesota’s First Family, Barbara K. Luecke, John C. Luecke; Egan, Grenadier
Clare of Assisi: A Biographical Study, Ingrid J. Peterson; Franciscan Press
What This Awl Means: Feminist Archeology of a Wahpeton Dakota Village, Janet D. Spector, Chris C. Cavender, contributor, Diane M. Stolen, contributor, Mary K. Whelan, contributor, Randall M. Withrow, contributor; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Illustrated Book
Lake Superior Images, Craig Blacklock; Blacklock Nature Photography
Brother Wolf: A Forgotten Promise, Jim Brandenburg; NorthWord Press
Native Nations: First Americans as Seen by Edward S. Curtis, Christopher Cardozo, editor, George P. Horse Capture, foreword; Little Brown & Company: A Bullfinch Press Book
Landscape of Ghosts, Bill Holm, Bob Firth, photographer; Voyageur Press
Information
Writing for Business: Helpful, Easy-to-Apply Advice for Everyone Who Writes on the Job, Stephen Wilbers; The Good Writing Press
Minneapolis-St. Paul: People Place and Public Life, John S. Adams, Barbara J. VanDrasek; University of Minnesota Press
30 Steps to Becoming a Writer–and Getting Published: The Complete Starter Kit for Aspiring Writers, Scott Edelstein; Writer’s Digest Books
Bringing Baby Home: An Owner’s Manual, Laura Zahn; Down to Earth
Minnesota
Basic Needs: A Year with Street Kids in a City School, Julie Landsman; Milkweed Editions
The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream, Joseph Anthony Amato; University of Minnesota Press
Knowing Where the Fountains Are: Stories and Stark Realities of Homeless Youth, Kevin Cwayna; Deaconess Press
Hard-Pressed in the Heartland: The Hormel Strike and the Future of Labor Movement, Peter Rachleff; SouthEnd Press
Mystery & Detective
Black Dreams, Kate Green; HarperCollins
The Other Side of Silence, Joan Drury; Spinsters Ink
Cry Vengeance, Ron Handberg; Carol Publishing Group
A Killing Cure: A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart; Seal Press
Drawing Dead, Pete Hautman; Simon & Schuster
Still Explosion, Mary Logue; Seal Press
Non-Fiction
News From the Border–A Mother’s Memoir of her Autistic Son, Jane Taylor McDonnell, Paul McDonnell, afterword; Tickner & Fields
Birth of a New World: An Open Moment for International Leadership, Harlan Cleveland, Robert S. McNamara, foreword; Jossey-Bass
Medical Cost Crisis: A Common-Sense Solution, Don W. Larson; Bond Publishing
Older Children’s Fiction
Revolutions of the Heart, Marsha Qualey; Houghton-Mifflin
A Taste of Smoke, Marion Dane Bauer; Clarion Books
Champ Hobarth, Judith Bernie Strommen; Henry Holt
Striking Out, Will Weaver; HarperCollins
Older Children’s Non-Fiction
To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves, Jim Brandenburg, JoAnn Bren Guernsey, editor; Walker
Hillary Rodham Clinton: A New Kind of First Lady; JoAnn Bren Guernsey, Lerner Publications
American Woman: Hidden in History, Forging the Future, 2nd ed., Roger A. Hammer, Island-in-the-Universe Woman, editing and foreword, Christie Nelson-Weyh, principal illustrator, Britta Hallin, illustrator, Paul Moran, illustrator, Ta-coumba Aiken, illustrator; Place in the Woods
Ininatig’s Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native Sugarmaking, Laura Waterman Wittstock, Dale Kakkak, photographer, Michael Dorris, foreword; Lerner Publications
Personal Voices
Walking the Rez Road, Jim Northrup, Med Aerol, foreword; Voyageur Press
Firesticks: A Collection of Stories, Diane Glancy; University of Oklahoma Press
Bumming with the Furies: Out on the Trail of Experience, Peter M. Leschak, Mark Coyle, illustrator, Fred Yiran, illustrator, Patrick Dwyer, illustrator; North Star Press of Saint Cloud
Meeting the Neighbors: Sketches of Life on the Northern Prairie, W. Scott Olsen; North Star Press of Saint Cloud
Poetry
The Book of Names, Barton Sutter; BOA Editions
The Second Thing I Remember: A Collection of Poems, Judith Hougen; New Rivers Press
North Writers: A Strong Woods Collection, John Henricksson, editor; University of Minnesota Press
Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture, Jack Zipes, translator and editor; Viking
The House on Via Gombito: Writing by North American Women Abroad, Madelon Sprengnether, editor, C.W. Truesdale, editor; New Rivers Press
Vital Signs: International Stories on Aging, Dorothy Sennett, editor, Anne Czarniecki, editor, Robertson Davies, introduction; Graywolf Press
Biography
Matriarch of Conspiracy: Ruth von Kleist, 1867-1945, Jane Pejsa; Kenwood Publishing
I’m Mama D, Giovanna D’Agostino; Nodin Press; distributed by the Bookmen
Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei, David Mura; Atlantic Monthly Press
Holy Cow! The Life and Times of Halsey Hall, Stew Thornley, Sue Hall Kennedy, foreword; Nodin Press; distributed by the Bookmen
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Elsewhere, Will Shetterly; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
The Phoenix Guards, Steven Brust; A Tom Doherty Associates Book: TOR Fantasy
Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles, Emma Bull; Ace Books
Tam Lin (The Fairy Tale Series, created by Terri Windling), Pamela Dean; A Tom Doherty Associates Book: TOR Fantasy
Young Bleys, Gordon Dickson; A Tom Doherty Associates Book: A TOR Book
D’Shai, Joel Rosenberg; Ace Books
Mairelon the Magician, Patricia C. Wrede; A Tom Doherty Associates Book: A TOR Fantasy
Fiction
My Father’s War and Other Stories, Barton Sutter
Sweet Eyes, Jonis Agee; Crown Publishers
The Tomcat’s Wife and Other Stories, Carol Bly; HarperCollins
Billy Brazil, Emilio DeGrazia; New Rivers Press
Information
Walking Minnesota, Mary Jo Malach, Jim Malach, Mary Steffl, contributing writer, Martha McNey, contributing writer, Karen Berry, illustrator; Voyageur Press
When You’re Sick and Don’t Know Why: Coping with Your Undiagnosed Illness, Linda Hanner, John J. Witek, contributor, Robert B. Clift, contributor; DCI Publishing
Twin Cities Restaurant Guide, Jeremy Iggers; Beyond Words Editing & Publishing
Our Historic Upper Mississippi, Including a Traveler’s Guide of Things to do Along the River, Duane R. Lund; Adventure Publications
The Dictionary of Bias-free Usage: A Guide to Non-Discriminatory Language, Rosalie Maggio; Oryx Press
Non-Fiction
Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America, Jack Weatherford; Crown
Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, Christina Baldwin, Susan Boulet, illustrator; Bantam
There is No November, Dave Hoium, Leon Oistad; Jeric Publications, Inc.
The Way of the Wolf, L. David Mech; Voyageur Press
Everyone’s Country Estate: A History of Minnesota’s State Parks, Roy W. Meyer; Minnesota Historical Society
A House of One’s Own: An Architect’s Guide to Designing the House of Your Dreams, James Stageberg, Susan Allen Toth; Clarkson Potter
Older Children
Face to Face, Marion Dane Bauer; Clarion
Leona and Ike, Juanita Havill, Emily McCully, illustrator; Crown Publishers
The Secret of Sanctuary Island, A(nne) M. Monson; Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books
The Dead Get By With Everything: Poems, Bill Holm; Milkweed Editions
All Tangled Up With the Living, Louis Jenkins; Ally Press
Death Song, Thomas McGrath, author, Sam Hamill, editor, Dale Jacobson, introduction; Copper Canyon Press
Gravity, John Minczeski; Texas Tech University Press
Younger Children
The Salamander Room, Steve Johnson, illustrator, Anne Mazer, author; Knopf: Distributed by Random House
Old Turtle, Douglas Wood, Cheng-Khee Chee, illustrator; Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers
Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year, Betsy Bowen; Joy Street Books
A Visit to Grandma’s, Nancy Carlson; Viking
Chicken Man, Michelle Edwards; Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books
Tiger With Wings: The Great Horned Owl, Barbara Juster Esbensen, Mary Barrett Brown, illustrator; Orchard
On the Day You Were Born, Debra Frasier; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
The Wing Shop, Stephen Gammell, illustrator, Elvira Woodruff, author; Holiday House
Roxaboxen, Alice McLerran, Barbara Cooney, illustrator; Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books
1991
Note: Winners listed first in each category in Bold.
*No awards were held in 1990, as the presentation of awards shifted from autumn to spring.
Biography
Coming Home Crazy: An Alphabet of China Essays, Bill Holm; Milkweed Editions
The Days of Rondo, Evelyn Fairbanks; Minnesota Historical Society Press
Road Song, Natalie Kusz; Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Grand Obsession: Madame Curie and Her World, Rosalynd Pflaum; Doubleday
Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, Lawrence Sutin; Harmony Books
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, book 1, Patricia C. Wrede; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: Jane Yolen Books
Phoenix, Steven Brust, Berkeley: Ace Books
Wolf and Iron, Gordon R. Dickson, T. Doherty Associates: A TOR Book
Hero, Joel Rosenberg, Penguin: A Roc Book
Fiction
The Stone Canoe and Other Stories, John L. Peyton; McDonald & Woodward
North of Hope: A Novel, Jon Hassler; Ballantine
Medicine River, Thomas King; Viking
The Samaritan Treasure: Stories, Marianne Luban; Coffee House Press
Tokens of Grace: A Novel in Stories, Sheila O’Connor, Sharon Brown, illustrator; Milkweed Editions
Information
How to Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences & Paragraphs for Every Situation, Rosalie Maggio; Prentice Hall
Teaching Kids to Love the Earth, Marina Lechecki Herman, Ann Schimpf, Joseph Passineau, Paul Treuer; Pfeifer-Hamilton
Minnesota Atlas: A Complete Guide to Public Lands and Water Accesses, John M. Hanson; Adventure Publications
Mystery
Freeze Frame, Marjorie Dorner; Morrow
The Fool’s Run, John Camp; Henry Holt
Hallowed Murder, Ellen Hart; Seal Press
Amends for Murder, M.D. Lake, pseud. of Allen Simpson; Avon Books
Nature
The Bear Guardian: Northwoods Tales and Meditations, Peter M. Leschak, Jessica Allen Johnson, illustrator; North Star Press of St. Cloud
The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States, Janine M. Benyus, Glenn Wolff, illustrator; Simon & Schuster
The Geese of Silver Lake, Craig Blacklock; Voyageur Press
Prairie Skies, Paul Douglas, Laurie Kruhoeffer, illustrator; Voyageur Press
A Northwoods Window, Robert Treuer; Voyageur Press
Non-Fiction
The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart’s Truth into Literature, Carol Bly; Milkweed Editions
Breaking Hard Ground: Stories of the Minnesota Farm Advocates, Dianna Hunter, editor, Ken Meter, photographer, Dianna Hunter, photographer, Randi Roth, photographer, Carol Bly, Forword; Holy Cow! Press
The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America’s Great Lyricists, Philip Furia; Oxford University Press
Blue Ribbon: A Social and Pictorial History of the Minnesota State Fair, Karal Ann Marling; Minnesota Historical Society
The Anatomy of Judgment, Philip J. Regal; University of Minnesota Press
Older Children
Woodsong, Gary Paulsen, Ruth Wright Paulsen, illustrator; Bradbury Press
A Dream of Queens and Castles, Marion Dane Bauer; Clarion Books
When Morning Comes, Patricia Calvert; Charles Scribner’s Sons
The Music Box Christmas, Rosalie Maggio; Morrow
The Princess in the Pigpen, Jane Resh Thomas; Clarion Books
Poetry
The Color of Mesabi Bones: Poems and Prose Poems John Caddy, R. W. Scholes, illustrator and designer; Milkweed Editions
How To Be Lucky, Jill Breckenridge; Bluestem Press; distributed by Small Press Distribution
Iron Woman: Poems, Diane Glancy; New Rivers Press
Caravan, Ethna McKiernan; Midwest Villages and Voices
Cherry Ferris Wheels, Patrick McKinnon; Black Hat Press
This Body She’s Entered, Mary Kay Rummel, Sandra Rummel, illustrator; New River’s Press
Younger Children
How the Guinea Fowl Got Its Spots: A Swahili Tale of Friendship, Barbara Knutson; Carolrhoda Press
Arnie and the New Kid, Nancy Carlson; Viking
Dora’s Book, Michelle Edwards; Carolrhoda Books
When Moose Was Young, Jim Latimer, Donald Carrick, illustrator; Charles Scribner’s Sons
Younger Children; International Children’s Book Award
Is This a House for Hermit Crab?, Megan McDonald, S. D. Shindler, illustrator; Orchard Books
1988-1989
1989
Book Design & Execution
The Arctic Wolf: Living with the Pack, L. David Mech, Roger Caras, foreword; Voyageur Press
Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota, Willard B. Moore and others. Published for the Minnesota Museum of Art by the Minnesota Historical Society Press
Minnesota’s Endangered Flora and Fauna, Barbara Coffin, editor, Lee Pfannmuller, editor, Jan A. Janssens, illustrator; University of Minnesota Press
Village Without Mirrors, Patricia Weaver Francisco, Timothy Francisco, photographer; Milkweed Editions
Children’s
Going the Moose Way Home, Jim Latimer, Donald Carrick, illustrator; Scribner
I Like Me!, Nancy Carlson; Viking Kestrel
Song and Danceman, Karen Ackerman, Stephen Gammell, illustrator; Knopf
Porkchop’s Halloween, Susan Pearson, Rick Brown, illustrator; Simon & Schuster
Saying Goodbye to Grandma, Jane Resh Thomas; Clarion Books
Fiction
A Gravestone Made of Wheat: Stories, Will Weaver; Simon & Schuster
Feeding the Eagles: Short Stories, Paulette Bates Alden; Graywolf Press
This Coffin Has No Handles, Thomas McGrath; Thunder’s Mouth Press
The Finer Grain, Denise Ohio; Naiad Press
The Madonna Stories, Gary Paulsen; Van Vliet & Company
Wheat that Springeth Green, J.F. (James Farl) Powers; Knopf
Genres
Morning Glory, LaVyrle Spencer; Putnam’s
Island of Steel, Stephen Paul Cohen; William Morrow
Family Closets, Marjorie Dorner; McGraw-Hill
Snow White and Rose Red, Patricia C. Wrede; Tom Doherty Associates (A TOR Book)
Mindscream, R.D. Zimmerman; Donald I. Fine
Minnesota
Meant to Be Read Out Loud, Susan Hauser, Woodcuts by Barbara Orfield Loken; Loonfeather Press
Quiet Magic, Sam Cook, Bob Cary, illustrator; Pfeifer-Hamilton
The Necessity of Empty Places, Paul Gruchow; St. Martin’s (A Thomas Dunne Book)
No Retreat, No Surrender: Labor’s War at Hormel, Dave Hage, Paul Klauda; William Morrow
Non-Fiction
Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World, Jack Weatherford; Crown
Rethinking the Cold War, Eric Black; Paradigm Press
Plastic Surgery: The Kindest Cut, John Camp; Henry Holt
Courage and Love, Gisela Konopka; Burgess Printing for the Author
The Service Edge: 101 Companies that Profit from Customer Care, Ron Zemke, Dick Schaff; New American Library
Poetry
Freedom of History: Poems, James Moore; Milkweed Editions
Younger Children
The Sun, the Wind and the Rain, Lisa Westberg Peters, Ted Rand, illustrator; Henry Holt
1988
Winners
The High Price of Everything: Stories Kathleen Coskran (New Rivers Press)
The Star Maiden: An Ojibway Tale Retold Barbara Juster Esbensen; Helen K. Davie, illustrator (Little, Brown)
Spillville Patricia Hampl; Steven Sorman, engravings (Milkweed Editions)
Leaving Home Garrison Keillor (Viking)
Selected Poems, 1938-1988 Thomas McGrath; Sam Hamill, editor
Hatchet Gary Paulsen (Viking Penguin: Puffin Books)
Border Country: The Quetico-Superior Wilderness Craig Blacklock, photographer; Nadine Blacklock, photographer; Tom Klein, author; Gaylord Nelson, introduction (NorthWord Press)
Finalists
Touch the Moon Marion Dane Bauer; Alix Berenzy, illustrator (Clarion Books)
Stranger, You & I Patricia Calvert (Scribner)
Arnie Goes to Camp Nancy Carlson (Viking Kestrel)
Airmail To the Moon Tom Birdseye; Stephen Gammell, illustrator (Holiday House)
In a Sheep’s Eye, Darling Margaret Hasse (Milkweed Editions)
Grand Opening Jon Hassler (Morrow)
American Beauty C.J.Hribal (Simon & Schuster)
Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth; A Novel Brett Laidlaw (Norton)
Red Lake of the Heart Mary Logue (Dell)
Prime Fathers Frederick Feikema Manfred (Howe Brothers)
A Long Way to See: Images and Voices of North Dakota Michael Moos; Wayne Gudmundson, photographer (North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies)
Cover Me: Short Stories Lon Otto (Coffee House Press)
The Crossing Gary Paulsen (Orchard Books: A Richard Jackson Book)
The Island Gary Paulsen (Orchard Books: A Richard Jackson Book)
The Transparency of Skin: Poems Catherine Stearns (New Rivers Press)
On to Nicollet: The Glory and Fame of the Minneapolis Millers Stew Thornley; Dave Moore, foreword (Nodin Press)
How to Prepare for Your High School Reunion, and Other Midlife Musings Susan Allen Toth (Little, Brown)
The Superior North Shore Thomas F. Waters; Carol Yonker Waters, illustrator (University of Minnesota Press)
Dying Old and Dying Young: Poems Susan Williams; Sharon Scapple, photographer; Garret Williams photographer (New Rivers Press)
Kay Sexton Award Past Winners
2024 Kay Sexton Honoree: Bao Phi
Bao Phi is an author, artist, arts administrator, activist, and grassroots organizer who has been a leader in Minnesota’s literary community for more than 25 years. He has been a featured poetry performer, children's book reader, and guest workshop leader in hundreds of different organizations in Minnesota and across the United States, from colleges, to community centers, to prisons, to homeless centers, and has sat on numerous panels where he's advocated for equity for artists from underrepresented communities. According to the Kay Sexton Award nominators, Phi has shown unwavering commitment to coalitional work with historically marginalized communities and served as a constant advocate and connector for writers across the state.
Phi has worked at the McKnight Foundation as Arts & Culture program officer since 2022. Before that, he was an arts administrator for nearly 23 years at the Loft Literary Center, advancing from receptionist to director of events and awards. He helped the Loft earn the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ Anti-Racism Award for the Equilibrium Spoken Word Performance Series, a program he created and curated for over 15 years and which fostered a diverse local community of spoken word artists. When Phi became program director at Loft, he advocated for spoken word artists to be recognized with a McKnight Artist Fellowship, which in 2017 was possibly the first fellowship of that caliber specifically for a spoken word artist, judged by a spoken word artist.
He also managed the McKnight Artist Fellowship program in Creative Writing, and was co-creator, with Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, and manager of Mirrors and Windows, a fellowship for mentoring American Indian, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, SWANA, Latinx, and mixed-race writers in the art and business of children’s literature. The program began in 2019 and has had four cohorts of 12 fellows each. Many of these fellows have gone on to publish books for young readers including Ty Chapman, V.T. Bidania, Monica Rojas, Cristina Oxtra, and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay.
As an artist, Phi is a two-time Minnesota Grand Slam champion and a National Poetry Slam finalist. His poetry is included in The Best American Poetry 2006 anthology and published widely elsewhere, including in two collections from Coffee House Press and in Poetry magazine, Asian American Literary Review, and The Spoken Word Revolution. His fiction and essays have appeared in Octavia’s Brood: Stories from Social Justice Movements, and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.
Phi is also known for his children’s books. His A Different Pond received six starred reviews and multiple awards, including the Caldecott Honor, the Charlotte Zolotow award for Outstanding Writing in a Picture Book, an Ezra Jack Keats Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association award for best picture book, the Minnesota Book Award for Children’s Literature, and other recognitions. He was named by Minnesota Monthly as Best Author 2016, and the Artist of the Year (2017) and Author of the Year (2018) by City Pages. He is currently on the editing team for a forthcoming anthology of Asian American and Pacific Islander poets in the oral and spoken word traditions.
Phi has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Macalester College. Born in Saigon shortly before the mass exodus of his family and many others to the United States, Phi is a Vietnamese American raised in the Phillips neighborhood of south Minneapolis. He currently lives in Minneapolis with his child and their cat.
The Kay Sexton Award panel shared that Phi’s contributions to the Minnesota literary community are truly significant, noting how he’s created welcoming spaces for historically marginalized communities and elevated the art of spoken word in our literary culture. “His influence on the community is truly broad, and he has given courage to many other writers through his organizing and creation of literary platforms. And he does it all with extraordinary humility.”
2023 Kay Sexton Honoree: Stu Abraham
Stu Abraham has been sales representative for numerous publishers in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest for over 40 years. According to the Kay Sexton Award panelists, “Stu is an important player in the creation of Minnesota’s literary community in a position not often acknowledged, much less honored. Stu is not your average book rep, and is so instrumental in what we have today…a staple in the community.”
Before digital platforms and online commerce, when many Minnesota publishers were just getting their feet on the ground, panelists noted that Stu was “the platform” for introducing booksellers and readers to new titles from Coffee House Press, Graywolf Press, Lerner Publishing, Hungry Mind Press, Holy Cow Press, Redleaf Press, the vast and diverse offerings from Consortium Distribution, and many others. After his early years as a rep in the Chicago area, and then as a house rep for Publishers Group West, Stu settled in the Twin Cities, supporting the efforts of booksellers such as B. Dalton, Hungry Mind, Odegard Books in both Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and others that helped Minnesota become one of the leading literary communities in the country.
Stu formed Abraham Associates in 1992, representing marquee New York houses like Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Henry Holt, along with many from across the country, including Chronicle Books, Candlewick, and Grove Press. In the days when these familiar publishing outfits were still independent, Stu was the key to their presence in Minnesota. Abraham Associates soon added additional sales reps, covering the entire Midwest for its publishers, becoming one of the preeminent rep groups in the country.
According to nominators, Stu’s contributions to the Minnesota literary community go far beyond sales. He has been an essential bridge between publishers, distributors, and bookstores large and small throughout his career. Stu has gone above and beyond in helping young booksellers establish their businesses and has helped launch the careers of many fellow book reps.
He has also served as an unofficial agent, guiding many Minnesota authors in their efforts to find a publisher, work with bookstores, and build their careers. His advocacy on behalf of authors has always been pro bono and without regard for credit. But these authors know how invaluable Stu has been in getting their books on shelves and in the hands of readers. They have been inspired by Stu’s generosity of spirit and the intellectual curiosity he has exhibited for his entire career.
Panelists praised his impact. “Stu recognizes the love of books in others, and through countless encounters across the trade, from presenting a new season of titles, to connecting a deserving author with an in-store reading, to advising young booksellers on the ins-and-outs of running a bookstore, we have all benefitted as readers.”
2022 Kay Sexton Honoree: Fiona McCrae
Fiona McCrae is the publisher and director of Graywolf Press. McCrae has been a frequent guest speaker about publishing at local colleges and community centers, as well as serving as a judge for a number of different literary panels. She currently serves on the boards of the Anderson Center in Red Wing and is Vice-Chair of the National Book Foundation board. McCrae received the Golden Colophon Award for leadership from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses in 2014, and in 2017 she and poetry editor Jeff Shotts jointly received the Editor’s Award from Poets & Writers. In November of last year, she announced that she will retire from Graywolf Press in June of 2022.
McCrae joined the editorial department of Faber and Faber in London in 1983, where she became a senior editor working on the prose list. In 1991 she moved to the Boston area, to work for Faber’s American office, where she brought authors such as Percival Everett, Jodi Picoult, and Sven Birkerts to the list. In 1994, she moved to the Twin Cities to become Graywolf’s Publisher and Director. At Graywolf she has worked with local writers such as David Treuer, Jim Moore, Heid Erdrich, and Danez Smith; national writers, such as Elizabeth Alexander, Percival Everett, Vijay Seshadri, and Tracy K. Smith; and international writers such as Per Petterson, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Binyavanga Wainaina, and Anna Burns.
During McCrae’s tenure, recognition for Graywolf as an institution includes the Sally Award for Vision from the Ordway in 2005, the Excellence Award from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits in 2012, and the AWP Small Press Award in 2015. The Graywolf budget tripled from $2 million in 2011 to $6 million in 2020, reflecting growth in both the publishing program and fundraising efforts.
McCrae has been a frequent guest speaker about publishing at local colleges and community centers, as well as serving as a judge for a number of different literary panels. She currently serves on the boards of the Anderson Center in Red Wing and is Vice-Chair of the National Book Foundation board. McCrae received the Golden Colophon Award for leadership from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses in 2014, and in 2017 she and poetry editor Jeff Shotts jointly received the Editor’s Award from Poets & Writers. In November of last year, she announced that she will retire from Graywolf Press in June of 2022.
Author David Treuer praised McCrae’s influence on both his own career and the industry at large. “I don’t think I’d be a writer today or have had the chance to publish the many books I’ve been fortunate enough to write without her early intervention in my life,” says Treuer. “For the past 27 years, McCrae has…led Graywolf Press from being a small “regional” publisher into a publisher with an enormous international presence, nurtured a generation of writers, editors, designers, and publicists, and all around has been the driving force behind books not just sold but made in Minnesota. As such McCrae has shaped every aspect of books and reading in the state… She has nurtured diverse and controversial voices (myself included) in so many different genres. Long before recent calls to diversifying publishing McCrae was there doing it.”
2021 Kay Sexton Honoree: Alexs Pate
Alexs Pate is an author, teacher, mentor, artist, and leader in the Twin Cities literary community. He currently serves as President and CEO of Innocent Technologies and is the creator of the Innocent Classroom, a program for K–12 educators that aims to transform U.S. public education and end disparities by closing the relationship gap between educators and students of color. Pate is also the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, two of which are Minnesota Book Award-winners; a children’s book; and two works of nonfiction. He is the editor of the collection, Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota. He has taught at Macalester College, the University of Minnesota, Naropa University, and the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Creative Writing Program, where he also earned an MFA. Pate has served on the boards of The Givens Foundation, the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries, and was president of the board of The Loft Literary Center and the Great Midwestern Bookshow. He has served on the Arts Midwest Censorship Task Force and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Committee, and was Commissioner of the Minneapolis Arts Commission.
The panel hailed Pate’s leadership as “quiet but transformational.” Pate has attacked racial stereotypes throughout his career and “worked to create worlds in which the humanity of everyone is recognized,” according to information from the Innocent Classroom.
“His care and concern for BIPOC writers (long before we were known as this collective group of writers existing outside the white dominant culture) were evident to me,” says former colleague, Pamela Fletcher Bush. “He worked steadily and strategically over the years to construct a Pan American Highway for us so we could travel along the white literary terrain of the Twin Cities.”
Pate developed and hosted the NOMMO African American Author Series through the Givens Foundation at the University of Minnesota. Fellow author David Lawrence Grant explains the importance of Pate’s creative leadership of that program: “His skills as ringmaster, provocateur, scholar, interviewer and curator, have made this series serve, not only as powerful introduction for many readers to the historical Black Arts Movement, but as a kind of praxis – a place where the roots of that Movement could be watered and nurtured.”
As a former student in Pate’s Macalester class on the poetics of hip hop, author Bao Phi remembers his teacher and the class vividly. “It was inspiring for me to see a Black author who was not only successful, but who was shaping the discourse on how art from his community should be engaged.”
David Lawrence Grant praised not just Pate’s substantial body of work, but that “he is still out there planting seeds that will continue to bear fruit – for literature and toward a healthier, more equitable civic culture – long into the future.”
2020 Kay Sexton Honoree: Jim Lenfestey
Lenfestey is the author or editor of a dozen books, including Seeking the Cave: A Pilgrimage to Cold Mountain, a Minnesota Book Award finalist, and multiple collections of essays and poems, including A Marriage Book, a finalist for two midwest book awards.His edited anthologies include Robert Bly in This World. Lenfestey is a former college English instructor, marketing communications consultant, and editorial writer for the Star Tribune, where he won several Page One awards for excellence. He chaired the board of Minnesota Center for Book Arts, served on the capital campaign committee for Open Book, and on the boards of the Loft Literary Center, The Circle native newspaper, the Anderson Center, and the Friends of the University Libraries, among others. For 15 years he chaired the Literary Witnesses poetry series at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis and taught poets and poetry on Mackinac Island, Michigan. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Susan. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
Panelist Daniel Slager, Publisher & CEO of Milkweed Editions, praised Jim’s many achievements. “He has supported and championed the work of all our great independent literary presses. He has served on the boards of such organizations as the Loft Literary Center, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and the Anderson Center. He was among the visionaries who conceived of Open Book, and then organized effectively to establish the nation’s largest standalone literary and book-arts center, an unparalleled public asset in our region. He chaired the campaign that led to the University of Minnesota’s acquisition of the literary archive of Robert Bly. He was among the founders and has been a longtime supporter of The Circle, a monthly newspaper serving the Native American community. And he chaired the Literary Witnesses program for many years, bringing the nation’s leading poets to our community for unforgettable public events.”
Other panelists celebrated his unparalleled energy and advocacy that create a throughline in his work and life. Margaret Telfer, board member of Graywolf Press National Council, explains “it is his unbridled enthusiasm, his deep work in organizations large and small, and his leadership that make our Minnesota literary ecosystem exceptional…He is not only kind to writers and readers; he is generous to their causes. He is deeply involved as a writer, a promoter, a donor, and an attendee.”
2019 Kay Sexton Honoree: David Mura
David Mura
David Mura is an author, critic, teacher, mentor, and performance artist who has increased literary accessibility and audiences, and fostered writers of color through his workshops, mentoring, and tireless advocacy, both here in Minnesota and around the country. He co-founded the Asian American Renaissance, an Asian American arts organization and served as its artistic director. He has served on the boards of the Center for Arts Criticism, S.A.S.E., SEED, the Jerome Foundation, the Loft, Pangea World Theater, and the Ananya Dance Theater. Mura’s newest book, A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity and Narrative Craft in Writing, was published in 2018 and is a finalist for the 2019 Minnesota Book Awards.
David Mura has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Vermont College. He has taught at Hamline University, Macalester College, the University of Oregon, the Stonecoast MFA program, the VONA writer’s conference, and the Loft Literary Center, where he inaugurated a special class for writers of color. He co-founded the Asian American Renaissance, an Asian American arts organization and served as its artistic director. He has served on the boards of the Center for Arts Criticism, S.A.S.E., SEED, the Jerome Foundation, the Loft, Pangea World Theater, and the Ananya Dance Theater.
Mura’s newest book, A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity and Narrative Craft in Writing, was published in 2018 and is a finalist for the 2019 Minnesota Book Awards. He is the author of two memoirs, Turning Japanese, which won the Oakland PEN Josephine Miles Book Award and was a New York Times Notable Book, and Where the Body Meets Memory. His novel, Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire, was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the John Gardner Fiction Prize, and Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award. His four books of poetry include the National Poetry Contest winner After We Lost Our Way, The Colors of Desire, which won a Carl Sandburg Literary Award, Angels for the Burning, and The Last Incantations.
Kathryn Haddad, 2018 Kay Sexton Award recipient, praised Mura’s contributions to the literary community. “David’s vision [with the Asian American Renaissance] brought together a diaspora of local artists who had never gathered before and spawned two+ decades of creative output in theater, literature, and community arts activism…His writings and teachings on race and identity have been important in defining our Minnesota literary landscape and in exploring issues that People of Color have been tackling in Minnesota and beyond. These have defined and clarified our conversations, and helped to develop a cadre of writers and thinkers who continue to impact the literary scene locally and nationally.”
Author Alexs Pate agrees. “For the past 30 years plus David has been on a journey, a largely successful one I might add, to create a more humane life in this state for writers of color. His impact, his stamp on the literary ecology in Minnesota is incomparable at the present time and stands out to be recognized.”
2018 Kay Sexton Honoree: Kathryn Haddad
Kathryn Haddad, writer, teacher, community organizer, and founder of Mizna – one of the few Arab American arts and literary organizations in the United States, is the winner of the 2018 Kay Sexton Award. Sponsored by St. Catherine University, the award 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 and is part of the 30th Annual Minnesota Book Awards, presented this year by sponsor Education Minnesota.
Haddad was nominated for this award in large part for her role in creating a space in the Minnesota creative community for the previously underrepresented Arab, Arab American, and Muslim communities. Her work explores contemporary experiences and reflects on the political reality of life for Arab and Muslim Americans. In 1998, she founded Mizna, an organization devoted to promoting Arab American culture, where she served as its artistic and executive director for 12 years. She also started the literary journal Mizna: Prose, Poetry, and Art Exploring Arab America, which was and continues to be the only journal of Arab American literature in the United States.
Haddad was a founding member and executive director of Pangea World Theater, and a 2004–05 recipient of an Archibald Bush Leadership Fellowship for her work with the Arab American community. As a writer, she received three Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellowships, as well as a Travel and Study Grant from the Jerome Foundation, several grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis. She is also a playwright whose work has appeared in many venues throughout the United States. Her play, Zafira, the Olive Oil Warrior appears in the 2017 anthology, Contemporary Plays by Women of Color, edited by Roberta Uno.
Currently, Haddad is a board member of The Loft Literary Center, a long-time member of RAWI, the national organization of Arab American Writers, and the cofounder, artistic and executive director of New Arab American Theater Works, based in Minneapolis. She has been a high school English teacher since 1991, currently teaching at John F. Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota.
According to American Book Award-winner Susan Muaddi Darraj, “Haddad is a leader and visionary who emphasizes the importance of cultural sharing and understanding to bridge differences. For many Americans, Mizna is a door opened to the lives, thoughts, and experiences of Arab Americans.”
Acclaimed writer and educator David Mura says Haddad’s tireless work has “benefited not just the Arab American community, or just the Minnesota literary community, but our community and nation as a whole.”
The selection panel agreed that Haddad has “changed the literary landscape of Minnesota.”
2017 Kay Sexton Honoree: Lou Bellamy
Lou Bellamy
For more than four decades, Lou Bellamy has been a champion of African American literature, bringing to light works by African American playwrights, enabling artists to find their voice, and inspiring understanding of the vital role these stories play in our community and history. Bellamy founded Penumbra Theatre in 1976, which for 40 years has provided a platform for the promotion of African American dramatic literature, honoring and telling the stories of the African American experience. In the words of Neal Cuthbert, former Vice President of Programs at the McKnight Foundation, Penumbra has, through its acclaimed stage productions, educational programming, and new play development efforts, “had an impact on the creative lives of generations of African American and other writers and has frankly altered the course of artistic expression and development in this community and across the country.” In addition to promoting works on stage at Penumbra, Bellamy has inspired and touched the lives of thousands of youth, cultivating the production of new dramatic literature, poetry, and spoken word. Bellamy’s work has consistently provided a community for new writers, ensuring they have valuable resources and support.
For 38 years, Bellamy was an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, fostering appreciation for and understanding of African American dramatic literature and its context within historical civil rights initiatives. His commitment to connecting students and the larger public with the many voices in African American literature inspired the founding of the Lou Bellamy Rare Book Collection in 2011, a premier collection in the Givens Collection of African American Literature donated anonymously in Bellamy’s honor. This is a growing collection of more than 850 rare volumes, some of which pre-date the Emancipation Proclamation. This collection, combined with the Penumbra Theatre Archives, entrusted to the Givens Collection in 2006, are evidence of Bellamy’s impact in the world of literature, history, and archives. “The archive of Penumbra Theatre presents an enduring record of hundreds of voices, perspectives, and experiences that are critical to our collective understanding of what American life and literature is – what it sounds like, and who gets to tell it,” states Cecily Marcus, Curator of the Givens Collection of African American Literature.
Bellamy is an OBIE Award-winning director and accomplished actor, and under his leadership, Penumbra has grown to be the largest theater of its kind in America and has produced 39 world premieres, including August Wilson’s first professional production. Penumbra also has the distinction of having produced more of Wilson’s plays than any other theater in the world.
Lou Bellamy will be honored on Saturday, April 8, at the 29th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony at InterContinental Hotel Saint Paul Riverfront.
2016 Kay Sexton Honoree: Jim Sitter
Jim Sitter
For more than thirty years, Jim Sitter has been one of the most prolific and effective arts leaders in the state. He embodies the spirit of the Kay Sexton Award with an extraordinary array of accomplishments, helping to make the literary and book arts community in Minnesota what it is today. As David Unowksy, founder of Hungry Mind Bookstore and fellow Kay Sexton Award recipient says, “Jim’s work has benefitted every aspect of our literary culture: writers, publishers, booksellers and other non-profits.”
After attending Macalester College and working at the Hungry Mind Bookstore (where he initiated the Hungry Mind Reading Series), Sitter acquired Truck Distribution in 1979 and renamed it Bookslinger. He refocused the company and turned it into a national distribution service aimed at providing more visibility to books from independent literary presses, thereby beginning the process of fostering a national audience and appreciation for Minnesota’s great presses.
During this time, Sitter developed an appreciation for the craft of bookmaking and conceived a vision for creating the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). He assembled a board of highly influential arts and civic leaders, including former Governor Elmer L. Andersen, and served as the founding executive director of MCBA until 1989. Early in his tenure, Sitter invited Allan Kornblum – then head of Toothpaste Press – to move to Minnesota and become the organization’s first press-in-residence. In addition to motivating Kornblum’s move and the creation of Coffee House Press, Sitter played a crucial role in the press’ development as a nonprofit organization and influenced the decision to begin publishing full-length trade editions. He was also responsible for persuading Scott Walker, founder and Executive Director of Graywolf Press, to relocate from Washington State, further cementing his integral role in the creation of what has become a vital literary community.
Sitter’s expertise led him to New York, where he became the executive director of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), expanding the funding opportunities for small presses across the country. He advocated for support from national foundations, raising $9 million dollars in grants to nonprofit literary presses – of which Coffee House Press, Graywolf Press, and Milkweed Press were three major beneficiaries.
He also helped to form LitNet, a coalition of nonprofit literary organizations from throughout the United States that supports freedom of expression and promotes funding for the literary arts. As its chief lobbyist, Sitter was instrumental in saving the National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for writers and helping to ensure that agency’s survival in the 1990s. Longtime friends, Page and Jay Cowles call Sitter “a natural entrepreneur, committed to the highest standards of literary publishing as well as the book arts.” They laud his leadership, his knowledge of the field, and his deep empathy for the artists and supporters with whom he has worked, adding, “It generated confidence and sophistication in the literary and book arts fields.”
2015 Kay Sexton Honoree: Mary François Rockcastle
Mary François Rockcastle
The Minnesota Book Awards is pleased to announce Mary François Rockcastle, Director of The Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University, as the recipient of the 2015 Kay Sexton Award. Sponsored by Common Good Books, the Sexton Award 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. It is named for the late Kay Sexton, an influential bookseller and B. Dalton vice president before her retirement.
A visionary force in the development of Hamline University’s nationally-acclaimed creative writing programs, Mary François Rockcastle exemplifies the spirit of the Kay Sexton Award for her remarkable accomplishments and contributions to the state’s literary community. Friend and colleague Patricia Weaver Francisco called her “an innovator who creates opportunities for writers to grow” and said, “I watch Mary brainstorm, connect and create every day on behalf of writers, literature, and the literary community she loves; initiating, collaborating and volunteering with almost super-human energy and enthusiasm.”
Rockcastle joined the adjunct faculty in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Hamline University after completing an M.A. with a double emphasis in English and creative writing from the University of Minnesota. She and her colleagues worked together to develop and launch the MFA in Creative Writing program in 1994—the first of its kind in Minnesota—and Rockcastle has gone on to expand and continuously improve the university’s creative writing offerings which now include the low-residency MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and the BFA in Creative Writing (established by Rockcastle in 2007 and 2010, respectively).
Praising the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, author Kate DiCamillo said: “Mary has made the Twin Cities a hub for children’s literature, a destination for students and teachers and writers of books for children. There are only a handful of academic programs in the U.S. that are dedicated to literature for children and Mary Rockcastle has—to the Twin Cities’ great benefit—created one here.”
Also to Rockcastle’s credit is the award-winning national literary journal, Water~Stone Review, now in its 17th year, for which she was awarded the W. Lindberg Award for Excellence in Literary Editing in 2009. She continues to serve as the executive director.
Rockcastle is the author of two novels published by Graywolf Press, Rainy Lake (1996) and In Caddis Wood (2011), which were finalists for Minnesota Book Awards. She is also the recipient of a Bush Foundation Fellowship and a Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction, both in fiction.
Rockcastle was honored on Saturday, April 18, at the 27th annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala, held at Saint Paul’s Union Depot. Awards were also be presented in eight book categories, as well as the annual Book Artist Award.
2014 Kay Sexton Honoree: Mark Vinz
Mark Vinz
Mark Vinz, retired professor of English at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, will be honored with the Kay Sexton Award on Saturday, April 5 at the 26th annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala presented by 3M Library Systems.
One of the finest, most respected figures in the state’s literary history, Vinz served as a professor of English at Minnesota State University Moorhead for forty years where he mentored countless emerging writers and left a lasting mark on the literary culture at MSU. During his years there, he directed the MFA Program in Creative Writing and co-directed the Tom McGrath Visiting Writers Series from 1986 to 2006.
Early in his career, Vinz also founded and edited one of the state’s most successful literary journals throughout the 1970s, Dacotah Territory, which has been recognized as the model and inspiration for many of the other Minnesota literary magazines and small presses that would follow. In addition, Vinz edited Dakota Arts Quarterly from 1977 to 1984 and was a co-founder of Plains Distribution Service, an organization integral in getting books into small Midwestern communities.
The author of numerous books of poetry and fiction, Vinz has been the recipient several prestigious honors including three Minnesota Book Awards, six PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, and a poet laureate title in North Dakota. He is also the editor of several anthologies that showcase the work of Minnesota poets and writers, including Inheriting the Land: Contemporary Voices from the Midwest, winner of a 1993 Minnesota Book Award.Now retired from his position at MSU, Vinz continues to write poetry in Moorhead. His newest collection will be published later this year by Red Dragonfly Press.
2013 Kay Sexton Honoree: Robert Hedin
Robert Hedin
Robert Hedin, founding director of the Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, was honored with the Kay Sexton Award on Saturday, April 13 at the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala presented by Marvin Windows and Doors. The Sexton Award 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. This award honors Kay Sexton, a book buyer for many years at Dayton’s and B. Dalton Bookstores in the Twin Cities. She was the first recipient of the award in 1988. The Sexton Award is sponsored by Common Good Books.
The Anderson Center, an estate set on 330 acres in Red Wing, Minnesota, provides a residency program for writers and artists from the United States and abroad to work and live on site, and is committed to promoting arts in the larger community. “Whether Robert Hedin is tending to the immediate needs of the current residents, planning future literary events, working with the greater community on arts outreach, or promoting the work of Minnesota writers, his leadership and generosity set the tone for the Anderson Center,” says Sheila O’Connor, Minnesota author and Hamline University Assistant Professor.
Under Hedin’s direction, the Anderson Center, now in its 18th year as the largest artist community in the Upper Midwest, hosts several literary events throughout the year where readers and writers gather, including the widely attended Celebration of Minnesota Children’s Authors and Illustrators held in September. In addition to directing the Anderson Center, Hedin has been the co-editor of The Great River Review, the oldest continuously published literary journal in Minnesota since 1997.
The recipient of numerous awards for his writing, including two Minnesota Book Awards, Hedin is the author, translator and editor of nearly two dozen books of poetry and prose published by such presses as Copper Canyon Press, University of Arizona, University of Iowa, and Southern Illinois University. He edited Where One Voice Ends Another Begins: 150 Years of Minnesota Poetry, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press in 2007 in honor of the state’s sesquicentennial.
2012 Kay Sexton Honoree: Allan Kornblum
Allan Kornblum
Allan Kornblum, founder and senior editor of Minneapolis-based Coffee House Press, was honored with the Kay Sexton Award at the 24th annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala. Throughout his trailblazing, 40-year career in publishing, Kornblum has exemplified everything the Sexton Award stands for.
“Allan has come to represent, both to those within publishing and those outside it, the spirit of independence and the single-minded pursuit of artistic integrity,” said Fiona McCrae, Director and Publisher of Graywolf Press.
In 1973, Kornblum founded a small mimeograph periodical in Iowa City, Iowa that evolved into Toothpaste Press, a publishing house specializing in the production of high-quality poetry and short fiction letterpress chapbooks.
Kornblum’s affiliation with the vibrant Minnesota publishing scene began in the mid-1980s, when he transferred operations from Iowa to Minneapolis. In addition to that change of venue, Kornblum renamed and reincorporated the organization as a non-profit, Coffee House Press.
At a time when loose editing and production standards were the norm, Kornblum made strides toward the professionalism that typifies the industry today. That included shifting from letterpress to offset printing, using computerized typesetting, and improving the marketing and distribution of new titles. Those changes allowed Coffee House to reach a wider audience, which in turn allowed showcased authors – who may not have gained traction in the larger New York world of publishing – the opportunity to find the readers they deserved.
Coffee House is now among the premier non-profit publishers of its size in the country. To date, it has published more than 300 books – with 250 of those titles still in print. Its repertoire includes eight past Minnesota Book Award winners, the 2009 Readers’ Choice Award recipient (Kao Kalia Yang’s The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir), and two National Book Award finalists: Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler in 2008, and Karen Tei Yamashita’s I Hotel in 2010. At present, the press publishes between 15 and 20 new titles each year and receives upwards of 3,000 submissions annually.
In 1997, Allan received an American Book Award for his contributions to literature and publishing. In summer 2011, after a gradual transition period, Kornblum passed many of his day-to-day tasks to successors within the organization. However, he is still very much involved with its continued success as senior editor and ex officio member of the board of directors.
Books: Coffee House Press’ Kornblum “thrilled” by Kay Sexton Award
Pioneer Press, February 27, 2012, by Mary Ann Grossmann
Allan Kornblum was still smiling Monday after being told last week he won the Minnesota Book Awards Kay Sexton award. Kornblum, founder/senior editor of Minneapolis-based Coffee House Press, earned the honor for nearly 30 years of dedication to the Minnesota literary community and fostering books and reading. “I am thrilled about this,” Kornblum said. “It’s a nice plus in a rough period since I’ve been undergoing monthly chemo for leukemia.” With four treatments left, Kornblum says he hasn’t had any bad effects, although he gets tired. READ MORE>>
Coffee House Press’ Allan Kornblum receives Kay Sexton Award
MPR’s State of the Arts – February 24, 2012 by Marianne Combs Allan Kornblum, the founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Coffee House Press, will be honored for his dedication to fostering books and reading at this year’s Minnesota Book Awards in April. Kornblum only recently stepped down from his leadership position at the press, which is one of the most successful independent literary presses in the country. He is still on staff in the position of senior editor. READ MORE>>
Coffee House founder winner of Sexton Award
Star Tribune, February 24, 2012, by Laurie Hertzel
It all started, Allan Kornblum says, with a kick in the butt. Back when he was in college in New York, he helped collate the pages of a poetry magazine, and then went to the editor and asked if he could show him some poems. “And the editor kind of stared off in the distance and said, ‘I’ve always thought poetry should be as hard to break into as the longshoreman’s union,'” Kornblum said. Unfazed by the rejection, he decided, “I’m going to start a little magazine.'”
2011 Kay Sexton Honoree: Carol Connolly
Carol Connolly
Carol Connolly, a mentor, advisor, literary program coordinator, community activist, and Saint Paul’s first poet laureate was honored with the Kay Sexton Award on April 16, 2011 at the 23rd annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala presented by RBC Wealth Management. In the words of Carolyn Holbrook, 2010 winner of the Kay Sexton Award, “Carol’s commitment to literature spans several decades and cuts across the many invisible lines that tend to divide us: age, race, economics, political affiliation, gender and sexual orientation.”
Connolly works tirelessly for the betterment of the literary community and the community at large. She is committed to supporting other writers, exposing readers to diverse literary voices, and bringing poetry to the streets.
For thirteen years, Connolly has coordinated and hosted the Third Tuesday reading series now held at the University Club. Her goals for the monthly program include sparking curiosity about new writers and books, making literature more democratic, and raising funds for organizations by passing the hat at the monthly events.
The current recipient of the Third Tuesday donations is the Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk project. This project literally brings the written word to people on the streets by imprinting poetry by local poets in concrete as the City goes about its normal business of repairing broken sidewalks. Says Marcus Young, lead artist for Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk, “Carol has been an unrelenting supporter, an advisor, and overall guardian angel. She has served on the contest selection panel all three years and has been instrumental in gaining media attention and community involvement for the project.” To date, the program has created 367 installations of a collection of 31 poems.
As Saint Paul’s poet laureate, a lifetime appointment from Mayor Chris Coleman made in 2006, Connolly brings poetic perspective to government events. In 1985, Connolly published her first book of poems, Payments Due. These poems were then adapted into a play that ran for two years in California and two years in Minnesota. Her latest work, All This and More: New and Selected Poems, was published in 2009.
More than a writer and local champion of the local literary community, Connolly is also a political activist for social justice in areas such as human rights, women’s rights, and the peace movement. She has served as chair of the Saint Paul Human Rights Commission, co-chaired the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus, coordinated DC Comic’s Wonder Women Foundation, and served as a Minnesota Racing Commissioner.
2010 Kay Sexton Honoree: Carolyn Holbrook
Carolyn Holbrook
Carolyn Holbrook, a community leader, teacher, advocate, mentor and innovator, was honored with the Kay Sexton Award at the 22nd annual Minnesota Book Awards gala in 2010. Since the early 1980s, Holbrook’s vision has been to promote the inclusion of disparate voices in the global community. She remains committed to writers, readers, and spoken word artists – reaching out to individuals and communities whose access to opportunities for exploration of writing is limited or nonexistent.
Holbrook’s work reaches across and connects arts organizations, schools, individual artists, and neighborhoods.
Andrea Gilats, Director of LearningLife at the University of Minnesota, spoke of Holbrook’s impact on Minnesota’s literary community as she presented the award: “Carolyn believes that if we see a need, we can work to meet it. She is an inspirational example of what it means to have an indomitable spirit. Her instinctive, respectful practice of cultural entrepreneurism, her remarkable persistence, and her sheer joy in seeing others grow and thrive are lessons in living for us all. By consistently choosing affirmation, optimism, and progress over anger, complacency, and exclusion, Carolyn has created models for people and communities everywhere.”
Holbrook was the founder and director of The Whittier Writers’ Workshop from 1979 to 1986 where she developed the first mentorship program for African American writers in the Twin Cities. From 1989 to 1993 she served as the Program Director at The Loft Literary Center, and from 2005 to 2007 she was Education Coordinator at the Givens Foundation for African American Literature where she developed and managed a writers-in-the-schools program. In 1993, she founded SASE: The Write Place, an organization dedicated to making the literary arts accessible to a diverse community. Holbrook served as SASE’s Executive Director until 2006 when she spearheaded the organization’s successful merger with Intermedia Arts.
Other organizations benefiting from Holbrook’s involvement include the Minnesota Book Awards, Minnesota State Arts Board, Rain Taxi Review, Everyday Sidewalks on City Streets, Minnesota Literature Network, Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and Blacklock Nature Sanctuary. She teaches in the English departments at Hamline University and Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
2009 Kay Sexton Honoree: Pat Coleman
Pat Coleman
As Acquisitions Librarian at the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), where he has worked for the last thirty years, Pat Coleman identifies, selects, and procures books for the Library. He is considered both a pioneer and classicist. Coleman has expanded the horizons of collecting, making the MHS Library’s collection a vital resource for all users: academics, family historians, students, businesses, and government. He has developed the premiere collection of books and printed material about Minnesota available in the world.
Through his work, the MHS Library is one of the preeminent research libraries in the region and nation. Coleman collects the typical and necessary local histories along with the new examples of current literature, artist books, and amazing rare pamphlets and maps.
Through his deep working relationships with scholars, authors, publishers, donors, and book artists, Coleman continues to make huge contributions to the overall Minnesota book community. He works with dealers and booksellers to facilitate the acquiring of books. He has close relationships with public libraries, and has served on the University of Minnesota’s Friends of the Library Board. Coleman currently serves on the Coffee House Press board, served on the Minnesota Humanities Commission board, and is a long-time member of both the Ampersand Club and the Manuscript Society. He writes the 150 Best Minnesota Books Blog, originally begun in honor of the state’s sesquicentennial, highlighting books which are important to the intellectual life and identity of the state.
Minnesota author Patricia Hampl says this of Coleman’s contributions to the state’s book community, “Pat is deeply committed to community service – so much so he doesn’t even call it that. He just has an instinct and manages to pull people together in the interest of books and reading.” Coleman believes in the strength of members of Minnesota’s book community functioning together and working toward one goal: promoting learning through the written word. Congratulations on winning this prestigious award, and thank you, Pat!
1988-2008 Kay Sexton Honorees
2008 Don Leeper, founder and president of BookMobile, a pioneer in Print On Demand. Instrumental in the founding of Minnesota Bookbuilders, a nonprofit association promoting bookmaking and publishing
2007 Emilie Buchwald, publisher, Milkweed Editions and Gryphon Press, former board member and chair of The Loft Literary Center
2006 Richard Robbins, director of the creative writing program at Minnesota State University (MSU), Mankato and the Good Thunder Reading Series
2005 Marly Rusoff, founder of The Loft Literary Center
2004 Dr. Julian Plante, founding director, Hill Monastic Manuscript Library
2003 John “Jack” Parker, curator, James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota
2003 Karen Nelson Hoyle, curator, Children’s Literature Research Collections, including the Kerlan Collection and the Hess Collection, at the University of Minnesota
2002 Harry Lerner, publisher, Lerner Publishing Group
2001 Jolie Lynne Sasseville & James Drey Alzheimer, co-founders of Stone House Press and organizers of literary arts programs in Otter Tail County (presented posthumously)
2000 Jeanne Fischer, book reviewer, book discussion leader, library volunteer
1999 Gail See, Bookcase bookstore and literary organization boards
1998 C.W. “Bill” Truesdale, publisher, New Rivers Press
1997 Gov. Elmer L. Andersen, book collector and bibliophilanthropist
1996 Harold Kittleson, bibliophile and library benefactor
1995 Norton Stillman, book wholesaler, bookstore owner and publisher
1994 Glenda Martin & Mollie Hoben, founders, Minnesota Women’s Press
1993 David Unowsky, owner, Ruminator Bookstore
1992 Doris Pagel, editor, Authors and Illustrators as Program Resources
1991 The Charles and Gertie Geck Family, promoters of children’s books and authors
1989 Mary Ann Grossmann, books editor, St. Paul Pioneer Press
1988 Kay Sexton, book buyer and promoter of books and reading, B. Dalton
Hognander Minnesota History Award Past Winners
2022 Hognander Award: David Hugill
David Hugill Settler Colonial City: Racism and Inequity in Postwar Minneapolis
Colonial relations are often excluded from discussions of urban politics and are viewed instead as part of a regrettable past. In Settler Colonial City, David Hugill confronts this culture of organized forgetting by arguing that Minnesota’s largest city is enduringly bound up with the power dynamics of settler-colonial politics. Examining several distinct Minneapolis sites, Settler Colonial City tracks how settler-colonial relations were articulated alongside substantial growth in the Twin Cities Indigenous community during the second half of the twentieth century—creating new geographies of racialized advantage.
David Hugill is assistant professor of geography and environmental studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He studies urban geography, colonial urbanism, and inner-city neighborhood change. He is interested in understanding how and why inequitable social relations persist in North American cities.
The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860-1876 William D. Green
The Children of Lincoln reveals a pattern of racial paternalism in Minnesota after Emancipation, describing how even “enlightened” white Northerners, fatigued with the “Negro Problem,” would come to embrace policies that reinforced a notion of black inferiority. White people, Frederick Douglass said in a speech in 1876, were “the children of Lincoln,” while black people were “at best his stepchildren.” Emancipation became the law of the land, and white champions of African Americans in the state were suddenly turning to other causes, regardless of the worsening circumstances of black Minnesotans. Through four of these “children of Lincoln” in Minnesota, Green’s book brings to light a little known but critical chapter in the state’s history as it intersects with the broader account of race in America.
A professor of history at Augsburg College and the former superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools, Green is also the author of A Peculiar Imbalance: The Fall and Rise of Racial Equality in Minnesota, 1837-1869 and Degrees of Freedom: The Origins of Civil Rights in Minnesota, 1865–1912. He has published many pieces on history and law, including work in Minnesota History and The Journal of Law and Politics, as well as editorials in the Star Tribune.
2018 Hognander Award: Gary Kaunonen
Gary Kaunonen Flames of Discontent: The 1916 Minnesota Iron Ore Strike
Flames of Discontent is a working-class history of a 1916 miners’ strike in northern Minnesota, one of the most important events in organized labor of the early 20th century, and what it meant for workers and immigrants, mining, and labor relations in Minnesota and beyond.
Gary Kaunonen is an independent historian of labor and immigration and a documentary filmmaker based in International Falls, Minnesota. He is author of Finns in Michigan along with two award-winning books, Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country and, with coauthor Aaron Goings, Community in Conflict: A Working-class History of the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike and the Italian Hall Tragedy. His documentary “Northern Minnesota’s Labor Wars”examines the 1916 and 1917 strikes in that region and their significance to World War I-era political deportations and repression.
2016 Hognander Award: William D. Green
Spanning the half-century after the Civil War, Degrees of Freedom draws a rare picture of black experience in a northern state and of the nature of black discontent and action within a predominantly white, ostensibly progressive society.
2014 Hognander Award: Gwen Westerman and Bruce White
Drawing on oral history interviews, archival work, and painstaking comparisons of Dakota, French, and English sources, Mni Sota Makoce tells the detailed history of the Dakota people in their traditional homelands for at least hundreds of years prior to exile.
North Country: The Making of Minnesota unlocks the complex origins of Minnesota, that have often been ignored in favor of a far more benign narrative of immigration, settlement, and cultural exchange. It is the unflinching account of how the land the Dakota named Mini Sota Makoce became the State of Minnesota and of its people.
The Minnesota Book Awards no longer includes a Book Artist award. Please visit theMinnesota Center for Book Artssite for many state-based artist recognition opportunities.
2024 Book Artist: Vesna Kittelson
Vesna Kittelson: Letters to AmeriKa
Vesna Kittelson’s work is based on a decades-long imaginary conversation between Kittelson and American culture. As described by the artist, “the dialogue has been about everything, but especially my trying to understand the meaning of democracy and (absence of) justice for immigrants.”
Members of the award committee appreciated the layered intentionality of the work, noting the artistic construction of Letters to AmeriKa’s physical elements (binding, form, and text, both hand-drawn and printed) as thoughtful linking of form to content. The choice to move “between words and pages that we can read and those we can’t read” point toward Kittelson’s understanding of living as an immigrant – “things understood and not understood.” Kittelson adds “As an artist, I should like to increase awareness of how helpless it can be to find yourself outside a language.”
Kittelson is a book artist based in Minneapolis. She is a recipient of the 2024 Woman of Influence Award from the Croatian Women Network, has won a silver medal from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association for her 2020 work Synthesis-Lost and Found in America: The Art of Vesna Kittelson (Afton Press), and received a 2019 Artist’s Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.She has workin the Brooklyn Museum Art Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum National Art Library in London, the Walker Art Center Library, Getty Research Institute, Minnesota History Museum Library, and many others.
2022 Book Artist: Cathy Ryan
Cathy Ryan’s work in book arts explores the significance of human interaction with the natural world and with Chronicle speaks to the universal experience of 2020 and the global pandemic. As described by Ryan, “Chronicle is about the stark contrast between the relative tranquility of meditation on the reassuring cycles of nature, amid the chaos and uncertainty of political turmoil and a worldwide health crisis.”
2020 Book Artist: My Mighty Journey Collaborative Group
My Mighty Journey, written by John Coy and illustrated by Gaylord Schanilec, is the story of the only major waterfall on the Mississippi River – and the changes it has witnessed over twelve thousand years. The idea was originally conceived twenty-three years ago as Coy worked for the Minnesota Historical Society, guiding Minneapolis Riverfront tours. Through his words, and eventually his own participation in image creation, text composition and printing, he brings to life the geology, history, and people of this place, told from the waterfall’s perspective.
Jody Williams is the winner of the 2019 Minnesota Book Artist Award for her new book entitled For Now. At once a book, a box, and a puzzle, For Now was born from a desire to create a book about dust and evolved into a meticulously designed exploration of the number four and its many associations.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen is the winner of the 2018 Minnesota Book Artist Award for her work entitled The Love Affair. The Love Affair is a mixed-media sculptural book handcrafted from pieces of old family letters. Rasmussen was inspired to create the piece when she inherited two handmade wooden boxes filled with love letters exchanged between her maternal grandparents in the 1930s.
Graphic design professor Steven McCarthy is the recipient 2017 Minnesota Book Artist Award for his Wee Go Library project – a mobile collection of 22 altered books found in Little Free Libraries throughout the Twin Cities. Using various techniques – collage, rebinding, cutting, folding, tearing, gluing – McCarthy altered the books to create a collection in which used items are reborn as a part of the larger library narrative. Each book is sourced to its donor library with a small pamphlet that has a pin-pointed map and photos of the library structure and sponsoring house. The entire collection is beautifully housed in a custom-built oak and pine display case with felt-lined drawers to hold each of McCarthy’s whimsical creations.
The Minnesota Book Awards is pleased to announce Wendy Fernstrum as the winner of the 2016 Minnesota Book Artist Award for her new piece, One Is the Holiest Number (#2), which was completed in 2015. Her award-winning piece is a meditation on the paradox of one: how each of us as an individual is distinctly one, yet simultaneously part of a unified whole, as one.
2015 Book Artist: Harriet Bart (Philip Gallo & Jill Jevne)
The Minnesota Book Awards is pleased to announce Harriet Bart and her longtime collaborative partners, printer Philip Gallo and binder Jill Jevne, as the winners of the 2015 Minnesota Book Artist Award for a new piece entitled Ghost Maps.
A distinguished professor of art at Carleton College since 1984, Fred Hagstrom came to the book arts through a long background in printmaking. His recent work focuses on historical subjects, juxtaposing archival photographs with carefully chosen text to produce work both visually rich and emotionally provocative.
Pullman’s primary artistic work in the Book Arts is in the area of Design Bindings. She creates unique bindings for specific books using materials such as leather, wood, handmade paper, and eggshells. Her high expectation of craftsmanship pushes her to improve technique and explore new approaches.
Working together at Cave Paper, O’Malley and Degener have been book artists for over 17 years. There are only a few contemporary artists in the world who have been making creative papers for as long and as consistently as Cave Paper. The two artists work in partnership daily, collaborating with many talented book artists.
“Art making is cultural work,” says Russelle. “It has political and spiritual dimensions. The central themes in my books and prints are the deep questions in my life. Mostly, I am haunted by the great American question, ‘What might we become?’ How do we shape a day, a week, a communal life, and the larger world?"
“Experimentation is key to my work,” says Schilling, “and I’m always learning – embracing new technology while continuing to master the traditional book arts. Because of this, my work is varied, reflecting the never ending possibilities that book arts provide for artistic expression.
Myers-Rich works extensively with black and white photography, with artists’ books being her favored format as they allow the combination of image and text in conventional and non-traditional book forms. “Contemporary book arts has given rise to a variety of structures that both embrace tradition and break with it.”
Jody Williams has been publishing limited edition artist’s books in Minnesota since 1989. “Books communicate information and ideas; boxes keep things safe and hidden,” she says. “Most of my work deals with artist’s books and boxes, and with the relationship between communication and containers.”
Mary François Rockcastle
Gary Kaunonen
