About the Minnesota Book AwardsMinnesota Book Awards

The Minnesota Book Awards was created over two decades ago by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as part of a larger festival of the book. In the intervening years, the Book Awards was led by other host organizations, but throughout, the groups and individuals heading up the Awards strove to showcase the tremendous literary talent and output of our state. Having again assumed leadership of the Awards in 2006, The Friends is pleased to continue this long tradition of honoring Minnesota books and authors.

Books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans are eligible for Minnesota Book Awards.  The Awards are given each year for books published in the previous year.  For instance, the winners in 2008 were books published in 2007.  The Book Awards process begins with nominations, which are received from authors, publishers and others from throughout the state. From the nominated works, Award finalists are chosen by panels of preliminary round judges. Award winners are then selected by different, final round, judging panels.  Over the years of the Book Awards program, the categories of Award winners and the number of finalists has varied from year to year.

A book unread is a tragedy. In addition to celebrating writers and books, the Book Awards program connects Minnesota readers to Minnesota books. Thanks to strong library and bookseller partners, and through active promotion efforts, the Awards program works to have more people of all ages read, and especially to read and support our own authors, publishers and book creators. Read local!

The 20th Annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala - A Recap

The 20th annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala wasn’t just well attended – it was filled to capacity.  Seven hundred people gathered on April 12, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel to celebrate the best books published in 2007 by Minnesota authors.

“Inspiring,” “celebratory”, “fun”, and “outright amazing” were some of the words used by attendees to describe the evening’s festivities.  Guests included librarians, booksellers, publishers, authors, leaders of literary organizations, sponsors, business leaders and passionate readers.  All present contributed to a highly successful, high-energy event.

Finalists were on hand for conversation and book signings during the reception, and the area was abuzz as guests and finalists anticipated the start of the 8 p.m. awards ceremony.

The program opened with a humorous skit written by acclaimed local actor, director and playwright, Joseph Scrimshaw, which included all 32 finalist book titles in a riff á la Abbott and Costello’s Who’s On First, in one fractured conversation.

The year’s Genre Fiction winner, William Kent Krueger, said of the evening, “I’ve never been to the Academy Awards, but the gala helped me to imagine what that Hollywood celebration must have been like in its golden years.  The excitement of the finalists, the good wishes of those there to support us, the bubble of the crowd, and the dazzle of the decorations and lights, made me feel as if we were all at the center of something momentous.  Of course, the highlight for me was hearing my name called out to receive my award, but I swear that even if I hadn’t won, that Saturday evening would still be golden in my memory.  I felt an energy larger than myself and even larger than the 700 people gathered – it was the energy generated by people all over the state who so clearly value the written word.”

Eight category awards and three special awards were presented during the ceremony.  The Kay Sexton Award, sponsored by Barnes & Noble Booksellers, was presented to Don Leeper, founder of BookMobile, a company offering a full-range of services for publishers.

The first annual Book Artist Award, co-sponsored by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, was awarded to Jody Williams in recognition of both her incredible, sustained body of work and her teaching.  While Williams has a passion for little books, her contributions to the book arts community are huge.

This year’s Readers’ Choice Award, sponsored by the Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com, went to Jill Kalz, for Children’s Literature finalist Farmer Cap.  More than 7,000 Minnesota readers voted online during the month of March, easily doubling the number of voters who participated the year before – the first time such an award was presented.

A moving tribute was given by Mary Ann Grossmann, book editor for the Pioneer Press, to two Minnesota legends who passed away earlier in the year: Carol Bly and Jon Hassler. Irish poet Pat Boran, winner of the 2008 Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry, added to the evening’s entertainment with selections of his wonderful poetry and a few jokes.

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Sept. 21, 2006 – ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Humanities Commission is pleased to announce the new sponsor of the annual Minnesota Book Awards. Effective immediately, a Capital City consortium of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, the Saint Paul Public Library, and the office of the Mayor of Saint Paul will begin coordinating the annual awards program that recognizes, honors, and celebrates the best in Minnesota literature.  The Friends will take the lead in coordinating the Awards for the Capital group.

“The Saint Paul Friends has been actively involved in the Book Awards since its inception,” said Stanley Romanstein, president and CEO, Minnesota Humanities Commission. “The organization is uniquely positioned to do great things with this annual celebration,” he said.

“The Humanities Commission has been a great home to the Book Awards, bringing strong organization, legitimacy, and statewide recognition to the Awards,” said Peter Pearson, president of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. “As the founding organization of the Book Awards, we are pleased to bring them back home and are committed to building on the legacy of the Minnesota Humanities Commission.

“We also look forward to partnering with other organizations, including the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) to ensure that the celebration of the Book Awards continues to reach people across Minnesota,” Pearson said.

The Humanities Commission announced last month that it would no longer sponsor the awards, in an effort to focus its programming while meeting budgetary obligations. In the weeks following the announcement, Humanities Commission staff met with representatives from several agencies that expressed interest in conducting the awards.

“The Capital City consortium led by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is the best home for the Awards,” Romanstein said. “While we’re sorry to part with the Book Awards, we’re looking forward to working with The Friends to make the transition as smooth as possible,” said Romanstein.

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