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Minnesota Book Awards Past Finalists and Winners - 2004
1988 | 1989 | 1991* | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998
1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009
*Note: No awards were held in 1990.
Please also note that the award winners listed for each year were awarded in the year following publication (i.e. winners published in 2007 were announced in 2008 at the 20th Annual Minnesota Book Awards).
(Winners indicated by the 
icon; all others are Finalists)
2004 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 Edition
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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
2004 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
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons
Lorna Landvik
Ballantine Books
2004 Young Adult Literature
Sweetblood
Pete Hautman
Simon & Schuster
Blackwater Ben
William Durbin
Wendy Lamb Books
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
2004 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
The Minnesota Book Awards is a Capital City project, led by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library,
in consortium with the Saint Paul Public Library and the Mayor’s office in the City of Saint Paul.
Outreach partners for the Book Awards include the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA)
and the Minnesota Library Association (MLA).