Award Winners and Finalists

Current Winners, all 32 Finalists, and a full list of this year's Nominees
Past Finalists and Winners by Year, 1988-2012
Minnesota Book Artist Award
Kay Sexton Award
Other Special Awards

April 13, 2013, SAINT PAUL, MN – The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce the winners of the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards, presented by Marvin Windows and Doors. In addition to winners in eight categories, the Book Awards presented the Kay Sexton and Book Artist Awards to previously announced honorees, respectively Robert Hedin and Jana Pullman. The annual Minnesota Book Awards program is a project of The Friends, in consortium with the Saint Paul Public Library and the City of Saint Paul.

More than 800 people attended a gala award ceremony on Saturday, April 13, hosted by author and comedienne Lorna Landvik. Announced at the gala, the winners of the 2013 Minnesota Book Awards are:

Award for Children’s Literature, sponsored by Books for Africa:
David LaRochelle – It’s a Tiger! – published by Chronicle Books
Kids and parents alike will rejoice in this lively read-aloud picture book, as the main character runs into (and away from) a tiger, over and over again, while the plot gets sillier and sillier. LaRochelle is a previous Minnesota Book Award winner and lives in White Bear Lake.

Award for General Nonfiction, sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO:
David Treuer – Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life – published by Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
From Minnesota Book Award-winning novelist David Treuer comes his first major work of nonfiction. Centered on Ojibwe reservation communities of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, Rez Life is the first book written by an insider about what Indian reservations are, why they exist, and where they are going. A professor of literature and creative writing at USC, Treuer divides his time between Los Angeles and the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota.

Award for Genre Fiction, sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors:
David Housewright – Curse of the Jade Lily – published by Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press
In David Housewright’s ninth novel in the Rushmore McKenzie crime series, thieves steal the 200-year-old Jade Lily from a Minneapolis art museum and then offer to sell it back for one-third of its insured value — $1.3 million. But there’s a catch. They demand that unlicensed private eye Rushmore McKenzie act as go-between. Housewright has won both the Edgar Award and the Minnesota Book Award for his crime fiction.

Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Leonard, Street and Deinard:
Atina Diffley – Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works – published by University of Minnesota Press*
In her story of working the land, Atina Diffley reminds us that we live in relationships—with the earth, plants and animals, families and communities. A memoir of making these essential relationships work in the face of challenges from weather to corporate politics, this is a firsthand history of getting in at the “ground level” of organic farming. Diffley and her husband, Martin, owned and operated one of the first certified organic produce farms in the Midwest from 1972 through 2007 and now run the consulting business, Organic Farming Works, LLC.

Meet the author on Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m., Highland Park Library, 1974 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul when she discusses her book as part of the “Eating, Reading & Living Well” series presented by The Friends and sponsored by Mississippi Market. Free.

Award for Minnesota, sponsored by Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle (MS&R):
Gwen Westerman and Bruce White – Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota – published by Minnesota Historical Society Press*
Much of the focus on the Dakota people in Minnesota rests on the tragic events of the 1862 U.S.–Dakota War and the resulting exile that sent the majority of the Dakota to prisons and reservations beyond the state’s boundaries. But the true depth of the devastation of removal cannot be understood without a closer examination of the history of the Dakota people and their deep cultural connection to the land that is Minnesota. Drawing on oral history interviews, archival work, Mni Sota Makoce tells a detailed history of the Dakota people in their traditional homelands for hundreds of years prior to exile. Westerman is professor of English and Humanities at Minnesota State University in Mankato. White is author of We Are at Home: Pictures of the Ojibwe People.

Award for Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Education Minnesota:
Louise Erdrich – The Round House – published by Harper/HarperCollins Publishers
One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. While Bazil, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of their own. In this New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award-winning novel, Louise Erdrich embraces tragedy, the comic, a spirit world very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in our own world today. She lives in Minneapolis.

Award for Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Patricia Kirkpatrick – Odessa – published by Milkweed Editions*
A grim prognosis, brain cancer, leaves the speaker in Kirkpatrick’s Odessa fighting for her life. The tumor presses against her amygdalae, the “emotional core of the self,” and central to the process of memory. In poems emotionally charged but void of sentimentality, Kirkpatrick creates from loss a dreamlike reality. Odessa, “roof of the underworld,” a refuge at once real and imagined, resembles simultaneously the Midwestern prairie and a mythical god-inhabited city. In lines bearing shades of Classical heroism, Kirkpatrick delivers a personal narrative of stunning dimension. Awarded the first annual Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry, which champions emerging Midwestern poets, the author lives in Saint Paul.

Award for Young People’s Literature, sponsored by Sit Investment Associates:
Geoff Herbach – Nothing Special – published by Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks, Inc.
Nothing Special is the follow-up to Stupid Fast. It’s next year and Felton is as big and bad as everyone thought he’d be. Unfortunately, he’s still a little kid on the inside. He’s a jerk to his pal, Gus. His little brother, Andrew, struggles mightily without Felton’s help. Really, Felton’s got the curse of the monkey, real bad. He can’t see beyond his own tiny little problems. But if he doesn’t clean up his act, he’ll lose Gus. He’ll lose Aleah. And, honestly, he may already have lost Andrew who says he’s going to orchestra camp, but never shows up. Ride with Felton as he tries to “get his head out of his rear” and as he tracks his little brother to “the dangling sack of America” (Florida). Herbach lives in Mankato.

Kay Sexton Award Robert Hedin, 2013 Kay Sexton Award Winner
At the Book Awards gala on April 13, Robert Hedin, founding director of the Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Red Wing, Minnesota, received the previously announced Kay Sexton Award, for his lifelong contributions to Minnesota’s literary community. 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 Award is sponsored by Common Good Books.

Jana Pullman, 2013 Minnesota Book Artist Book Artist Award
Also presented was the sixth annual Book Artist Award, sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group and Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). The award, presented to Jana Pullman, recognizes the Minnesota Book Artist for excellence throughout a body of work, as well as significant contributions to Minnesota’s book arts community. Pullman’s work is currently being shown at St. Paul’s Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., through April and will be exhibited statewide at other library locations during the year.

Books written by a Minnesotan and first published in 2012 were eligible for the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards. 256 books were nominated for awards this year, and 32 books were selected as finalists. The winners were chosen by panels of judges from the list of finalists. Nominations for next year’s Awards will open in early fall, 2013. More information on the Book Awards process.

The Book Awards gala will be broadcast at future dates on Saint Paul Neighborhood Network and TPT-Minnesota Channel. Please check local listings for channels and air dates.

The 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards is a project of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, with the Saint Paul Public Library and the City of Saint Paul. Statewide outreach partners include: the Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators (CRPLSA); the Loft Literary Center; Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA); Minnesota Department of Education—State Library Services; Minnesota Educational Media Organization; and Minnesota Library Foundation. Media sponsors include: Minnesota Public Radio, Pioneer Press, Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN), PSAV Presentations Services and TPT-Minnesota Channel. Major funding for the Book Awards was provided by The Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts; The Huss Foundation; The Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation; The McKnight Foundation; a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered through the Office of State Library Services; Books for Africa; Education Minnesota; Leonard, Street and Deinard; Marvin Windows and Doors; Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle; Minnesota AFL-CIO; Sit Investment Associates; and Wellington Management, Inc.

Click here to see all past Minnesota Book Awards finalists and winners by year.

* Indicates a Minnesota-based publisher

Finalists for the 25th Annual Minnesota Book Awards

The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce the finalists in all eight categories for the 25th Annual Minnesota Book Awards, sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors. Chosen on Saturday, January 26, by 24 judges from around the state – writers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and others from the literary community – the finalists for each category are:

JUMP TO CATEGORY:

Children’s Literature, sponsored by Books For Africa:

A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija (Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.)

It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard (Chronicle Books)

Tell Me About Your Day Today by Mem Fox, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

Waking Dragons by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

General Nonfiction, sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO:

Debating the End of History: The Marketplace, Utopia, and the Fragmentation of Intellectual Life by David W. Noble (University of Minnesota Press)

Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole by John Huston and Tyler Fish (Octane Press)

Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community by Brenda J. Child (Viking/Penguin Group)

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer (Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)

Genre Fiction, sponsored by Marvin Windows & Doors:

Curse of the Jade Lily by David Housewright (Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press)

The Devil and the Diva by David Housewright and Renee Valois (Down and Out Books)

Ruth3:5 by Michael Fridgen

The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Leonard, Street and Deinard:

Letters to a Young Madman by Paul Gruchow (Levins Publishing)

Life on Ice: 25 Years of Arctic Exploration by Lonnie Dupre (Keen Editions)

My Mother Is Now Earth by Mark Anthony Rolo (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press)

Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works by Atina Diffley (University of Minnesota Press)

Minnesota, sponsored by Meyer, Sherer & Rockcastle (MS&R):

Every Man Did His Duty: Pictures & Stories of the Men of the First Minnesota by Wayne D. Jorgenson (Tasora Books)

Lost Duluth: Landmarks, Industries, Buildings, Homes, and the Neighborhoods in Which They Stood by 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 by Chris Niskanen (Minnesota Historical Society Press)

Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota by Gwen Westerman and Bruce White (Minnesota Historical Society Press)

Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Education Minnesota:

The Healing by Jonathan Odell (Nan A. Talese/Random House, Inc.)

It Takes You Over by Nick Healy (New Rivers Press)

The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers)

Vladimir’s Mustache and Other Stories by Stephan Eirik Clark (Russian Life Books)

Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:

The First Day of Spring in Northern Minnesota by Jim Johnson (Red Dragonfly Press)

Odessa by Patricia Kirkpatrick (Milkweed Editions)

Pitch by Todd Boss (W. W. Norton & Company)

Salt Pier by Dore Kiesselbach (University of Pittsburgh Press)

Young People’s Literature, sponsored by Sit Investment Associates: 

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach (Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks, Inc.)

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus (Amulet Books/Abrams)

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (Milkweed Editions)

Award winners will be announced at the 25th Annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala on Saturday, April 13, at the Hilton Hotel, in downtown Minneapolis. The opening reception begins at 7 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 and are available by calling 651-222-3242 or click here for more information.

Two special awards for contributions to Minnesota’s literary and artistic community will be given on April 13, as well. Jana Pullman will receive the sixth annual Book Artist Award, sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group and presented with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA). Pullman’s primary artistic work in the book arts is in the area of design bindings. An exhibit and free reception featuring her work will be held on Friday, February 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Cowles Literary Commons at Open Book.

The Kay Sexton Award, sponsored by Common Good Books, honors a lifetime contribution to the literary community, and the 2013 winner will be announced in late February. The Kay 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. The award is named for Kay Sexton, a book buyer for many years at Dayton’s and B. Dalton Bookstores in the Twin Cities.

Count down to the Gala Awards Presentation and learn more about the finalists on our 32 Books in 32 Days blog, beginning March 12 for this year's finalists.

Take a trip back through the 25 years since the Minnesota Book Awards began on our 25 Years in 25 Weeks blog.

Meet the Finalists, Friday, March 15, 2013, 7 p.m. at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S, Minneapolis. The Minnesota Book Awards partners with the Loft Literary Center to present the 2013 finalists. Each participating author will conduct a brief presentation on their nominated title. Reception with refreshments to follow. Free and open to the public.

For additional information on the 25th Annual Minnesota Book Awards or the Gala, please call 651-366-6497. The Minnesota Book Awards is sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors and presented by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Generous support for the Book Awards has been provided by the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts; Huss Foundation; Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation; and The McKnight Foundation, as well as the City of St. Paul’s Cultural STAR program. Outreach partners and supporting organizations include: The Loft Literary Center; Metropolitan Library Services Agency (MELSA); Minnesota Center for Book Arts; Minnesota Department of Education—State Library Services; Minnesota Educational Media Organization; Minnesota Library Foundation; and Saint Paul Almanac. Media sponsors include the Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com; MPR ; Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN); and TPT–Minnesota Channel.

Nominees for the 25th Annual Minnesota Book Awards

Books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans, and which were published in 2012 are eligible for the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards. Nominated book titles, their publishers and authors are listed below. Finalists will be announced January 26, 2013. Winners will be announced April 13, 2013 at the gala awards ceremony. Tickets on sale now. Check back or sign up for email alerts.

JUMP TO CATEGORY:

Children's Literature

A Leaf Can Be… (Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing Group) by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija

A Secret Keeps (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group) by Marsha Wilson Chall, illustrated by Heather M. Solomon

Cat Tale (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollinsPublishers) by Michael Hall

Dinosaur Thunder (Scholastic Press) by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

The Dragon in the Christmas Tree (Romanian Dragons, LLC) by Patrick W. Ledray, illustrated by Kim Gordon

Duckie Goosie Fixes His Sled (Createspace) by Landen and Lance Sanders, illustrated by Lynn Wade

Fannie and Freddie (Up a Creek Press) by Becky Z. Dernbach, illustrated by Eva Rose Cohen, Connie Gretsch, Dan P. Moore, Elizabeth Graff, Kathleen Murphy-Andrus, Caylin Crawford, Cat Salonek, Mark R.

Brown, Jillia Pessenda Bovino, and Bill Panks

Finish the Dream: God’s Amazing World (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Sandra and Herb Reiersen, illustrated by Jillian Britz

God’s Greatest Miracle (Trafford Publishing) by Margaret Schuster-Grossman, illustrated by IZZI

I Know How to Hola (Susanne Aspley) by Susanne Aspley, illustrated by Lucas Richards

It’s a Tiger! (Chronicle Books) by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

It’s Milking Time (Random House Children’s Books) by Phyllis Alsdurf, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker (Picture Window Books/Capstone) by Christianne Jones, illustrated by Richard Watson

Lolly Poppet’s Lousy Year (Seventh Avenue Productions) by Lupi McGinty

Nalah and the Pink Tiger (Scarletta Kids/Scarletta Press) by Anne Sawyer-Aitch

Nature’s Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats (Dawn Publications) by Mary Miché, illustrated by Consie Powell

Nighttime Ninja (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) by Barbara DaCosta, illustrated by Ed Young

One Frozen Lake (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Deborah Jo Larson, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

The Story of Orion: A Roman Constellation Myth (Capstone) by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, illustrated by Gerald Guerlais

Tell Me About Your Day Today (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster) by Mem Fox, illustrated by Lauren Stringer

Trudy Beludy and Her Brilliant Tummy (Keen Editions) by Elizabeth Maier Marietta, illustrated by Colleen Muske

Tuesday…A Lucky Day for Luis (Operation Outreach-USA Press) by Joanne A. Reisberg, illustrated by Nancy Cote

Visiting the Visitors (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Patrick Mader, illustrated by Andrew Holmquist

Waking Dragons (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson

Where Do Mountains Come From, Momma? (Mountain Press Publishing Company) by Catherine Weyerhaeuser Morley

Waga’s Big Scare (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group) by Samuel Hiti

Wanakijiji (The Villagers) (Producciones de la Hamaca) by Michael Resman, translated by Fred Senelwa, illustrated by Cyrus Ngatia Gathigo

Zip It! (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group) by Jane Lindaman, illustrated by Nancy Carlson

General Nonfiction

Apostle Islands: From Land and Sea (Blacklock Photography Galleries) by Craig Blacklock

Art of the Switchblade: The World’s Concourse Examples (Pleasant Publishing) by Neal Punchard and Dan Fuller

Away, Tangled Past: To the Future Through Poland and Germany (Kenwood Publishing) by Jane Pejsa

Building Museums: A Handbook for Small and Midsize Organizations (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Robert Herskovitz, Timothy Glines, and David Grabitske

Circle in the Square: Building Community and Repairing Harm in School (Living Justice Press) by Nancy Riestenberg

Cruel & Unusual: The American Death Penalty and the Founders’ Eighth Amendment (Northeastern University Press/University Press of New England) by John D. Bessler

Dakota Women’s Work: Creativity, Culture, & Exile (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Colette A. Hyman

Debating the End of History: The Marketplace, Utopia, and the Fragmentation of Intellectual Life (University of Minnesota Press) by David W. Noble

Eat More Vegetables: Making the Most of Your Seasonal Produce (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Tricia Cornell

Education for a Civil Society: How Guidance Teaches Young Children Democratic Life Skills (NAEYC Books) by Dan Gartrell

Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Anton Treuer

Five Lieutenants: The Heartbreaking Story of Five Harvard Men Who Led America to Victory in World War I (St. Martin’s Press) by James Carl Nelson

The Forger’s Apprentice: Life with the World’s Most Notorious Artist (Createspace) by Mark Forgy

Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole (Octane Press) by Tyler Fish and John Huston

Ghost Burglar: The True Story of Bernard Welch Master Thief, Ruthless Con Man and Cold-Blooded Killer (Savage Press) by Jack Burch and James D. King

The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction (Wayne State University Press) by Elizabeth R. Baer

The Happy Hour Effect: 12 Secrets to Minimize Stress and Maximize Life (Goodman Beck) by Kristen K. Brown

Knives on the Cutting Edge: The Great Chefs’ Dining Revolution (Red Portal/Scarletta Press) by Bob Macdonald

Living Proof: Telling Your Story to Make a Difference (Granville Circle Press) by John Capecci and Timothy Cage

Management Culture: Innovative & Bold Strategies to Engage Employees (Two Harbors Press) by Denise Moreland

Out of the Shadows: Stories of Adoption and Reunion (North Star Press) by Linda Back McKay

Pictured Rocks—From Land and Sea (Blacklock Photography Galleries) by Craig Blacklock

The Quest for Cortisone (Michigan State University Press) by Thom Rooke

Reading Classes: On Culture and Classism in America (Cornell University Press) by Barbara Jensen

Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life (Atlantic Monthly Press/Grove/Atlantic, Inc.) by David Treuer

Rhubarb Renaissance (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Kim Ode

The Spoonriver Cookbook (University of Minnesota Press) by Brenda Langton and Margaret Stuart

Twelve Desperate Miles: The Epic World War II Voyage of the SS Contessa (Crown Publishers/Random House) by Tim Brady

The Untold Story of Adele aus der Ohe: From a Liszt Student to a Virtuoso (Beaver’s Pond Press) by LaWayne Leno

Use Your Words: A Writing Guide For Mothers (Viva Editions/Cleis Press) by Kate Hopper

Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Ember Reichgott Junge

Genre Fiction

A Murder of Crows: A Bob White Birder Murder Mystery (North Star Press) by Jan Dunlap

A Prairie Homicidal Companion: A Doyle Malloy Mystery (North Star Press) by Brian Landon

Beyond Escape (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Deborah Jensen

Blooming Prairie: Book Four of the Abercrombie Trail Series (North Star Press) by Candace Simar

Bone Shadows (Conquill Press) by Christopher Valen

Broken Down (North Star Press) by Susan Koefod

Convergence at Two Harbors (North Star Press) by Dennis Herschbach

Curse of the Jade Lily (Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press) by David Housewright

December Dread: A Murder-By-Month Mystery (Midnight Ink/Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.) by Jess Lourey

The Deposit Slip (Bethany House Publishers) by Todd M. Johnson

The Devil and the Diva (Down and Out Books) by David Housewright and Renee Valois

Fallout (North Star Press) by Colin T. Nelson

Finders Keepers (Down and Out Books) by David Housewright

Finding Home (Kensington Books) by Lois Greiman

Found and Destroyed: A Second Sara Martin Mystery (North Star Press) by Danelle Helget

Harvesting Ashwood: Minnesota 2037 (North Star Press) by Cynthia Kraack

Headaches Can Be Murder (North Star Press) by Marilyn Rausch & Mary Donlon

Hellburger (North Star Press) by David P. Holmes

Hide and Snake Murder (Midnight Ink Books/Llewellyn Worldwide) by Jessie Chandler

Home Sweet Murder: A Tale of a Tenacious Housesitter Mystery (North Star Press) by Theresa M. Jarvela

Kmart Shoes (Seventh Avenue Productions) by Lance Ward

Laman’s River(Cloquet River Press) by Mark Munger

Loon Child (North Star Press) by Joanne Vruno

M-O-T-H-E-R Spells Murder (iUniverse) by E. B. Boatner

Murder at Spirit Falls: A No Ordinary Women Mystery (North Star Press) by Barbara Deese and Dorothy Olson

The Noding Field Mystery (Second Wind Publishing) by Christine Husom

Off the Grid: A Monkeewrench Novel (Putnam/Penguin Group (USA) by P.J. Tracy

The Possession of Cassie Quinn (North Star Press) by Kathryn Knutson

Rest for the Wicked (Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press) by Ellen Hart

Ruth 3:5 (Dreamlly Books) by Michael Fridgen

Sapphire Trails (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Marilyn Jax

Shadowland (North Star Press) by Pam Leonard

Shunning Sarah (Emily Bestler Books/Atria) by Julie Kramer

Spilled Blood (SilverOak/Sterling Publishing) by Brian Freeman

Sword of Queens (FLT Publications) by Joan Marie Verba

Trickster’s Point (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster) by William Kent Krueger

The Tutor’s Daughter (Bethany House Publishers) by Julie Klassen

Memoir & Creative Nonfiction

3,000 “Coffee Breaks”: A Ventriloquist’s Journey on the Gerson Alternative Cancer Therapy (Knock Wood LLC) by James Wedgewood

Big Waves, Small Boat, Two Kids: A Family Sailing Adventure (North Star Press) by Katya Goodenough Gordon

Can’t Never Did Nothin’: A Minnesota Pioneer Memoir (Savage Press) by Glenn W. Ekbom with Clyde W. Ekbom

Catholic Alcoholic: A Witness to Addiction and Redemption (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Annetta Sanow Sutton

Cricket: Secret Child of a Sixties Supermodel (Outskirts Press) by Susan Fedorko

The Days of Song and Lilacs (North Star Press) by Mary Beth Sartor Obermeyer

The Day the Watertower Froze: And Other Stories From My Days with The Mille Lacs Band (North Star Press) by David MacArthur

A Dog Named Leaf: The Hero from Heaven Who Saved My Life (Lyons Press/Globe Pequot Press) by Allen Anderson with Linda Anderson

Dreaming in German: A Memoir About the Meaning of Home (Triple Water Press) by Claudia Poser

The Farm at Holstein Dip: An Iowa Boyhood (University of Iowa Press) by Carroll Engelhardt

The Farm at Pony Gulch: Michael and Anna Sophia (Witt) Baier Come to America and Homestead in North Dakota 1883-1926 (North Dakota State University Libraries) by Eddie Knalson

From Village Boy to Global Citizen: Volume 1, The Journey of a Journalist (Xlibris Corporation) by Shelton A. Gunaratne

Going Full Circle: A 1,555 Mile Walk Around the World’s Largest Lake (Lake Superior Port Cities Inc.) by Mike Link and Kate Crowley

Hartland to Capitol Hill: The Journey of a Wounded Healer (North Star Press) by Mary and Ernie Gunderson

Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community (Viking) by Brenda J. Child

Hoping for More: Having Cancer, Talking Faith, and Accepting Grace (Cascade Books/Wipf and Stock Publishers) by Deanna A. Thompson

It’s You: The Poignant Story of Two Cousins Reunited After a Shocking Diagnosis (Red Umbrella Publishing) by Stacy Ebert

Letters to a Young Madman: A Memoir (Levins Publishing) by Paul Gruchow

Life on Ice: 25 Years of Artic Exploration (Keen Editions) by Lonnie Dupre

Muddy Jungle Rivers: A River Assault Boat Cox’n’s Memory Journey of His War in Vietnam and Return Home (Hawthorn Petal Press) by Wendell Affield

My Mother Is Now Earth (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Mark Anthony Rolo

Only God Knows Why: A Mother’s Memoir of Death and Rebirth (Chalice Press) by Amy Lyon

Rockpeople: Beyond Chester Creek (Canukshuk Artworks Publishing) by Joel Carter

The Silent Heart: A Personal Journey Back from Cardiac Arrest (iUniverse) by Larry J. Matthews

Songs of My Families: A Thirty-Seven-Year Odyssey from Korea to America and Back (Lantern Books) by Kelly Fern with Brad Fern

Sugarhouse: Turning the Neighborhood Crack House into Our Home Sweet Home (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Matthew Batt

Suitcase Full of Horses (CrossBooks) by Cheri Beatty

Tell My Sons… (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Lt. Col. Mark M. Weber with David Murray

To Get to the Other Side: Mind and Muscle Discover the Human and Natural Contours of the United States (Tom Yuska) by Tom Yuska

Tracks in the Mud: Trailing the Last Great Fur Boom (North Star Press) by Gene Stark

Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works (University of Minnesota Press) by Atina Diffley

Walk In Their Dust: Retracing Trails of America’s Pioneers (Tate Publishing) by Dr. Barry L. Lane

When Bluebirds Fly: Losing a Child, Living with Hope (Radiant Heart Press) by JoAnn Kuzma Deveny

Yorkville Twins: Hilarious Adventures Growing Up in New York City, 1944-1962 (Golden Valley Publishing) by John and Joseph Gindele

Minnesota

A Battle for Living: The Life and Experiences of Lavina Eastlick (Brown County Historical Society) by John Isch

Archaeology of Minnesota: The Prehistory of the Upper Mississippi River Region (University of Minnesota Press) by Guy Gibbon

Asian Flavors: Changing the Tastes of Minnesota Since 1875 (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Phyllis Louise Harris and Raghavan Iyer

The Big Water: Lake Minnetonka and Its Place in Minnesota History (Deep Haven Books) by Frederick L. Johnson with Thomas U. Tuttle

Black White Blue: The Assassination of Patrolman Sackett (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press) by William Swanson

Dakota Child, Governor’s Daughter: The Life of Helen Hastings Sibley (The Friends of Sibley Historic Site) by Bruce A. Kohn

The Dakota Trials: The 1862-1864 Military Commission Trials (Brown County Historical Society) by John Isch

The Early Resorts of Minnesota: Tourism in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Ren Holland

Eight Days in August: The accounts of the casualties and survivors in Brown County during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 (Brown County Historical Society) by Darla Cordes Gebhard and John Isch

Every Man Did His Duty (Tasora Books) by Wayne D. Jorgenson

For the Good of the Order: Nick Coleman and the High Tide of Liberal Politics in Minnesota, 1971-1981 (Ramsey County Historical Society) by John Watson Milton

From Fields to Fairways: Classic Golf Clubs of Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press) by Rick Shefchik

Growing with Purpose: Forty Years of Seward Community Cooperative (Seward Community Cooperative) by Patricia Cumbie

Hawk Ridge: Minnesota’s Birds of Prey (University of Minnesota Press) by Laura Erickson, illustrated by Betsy Bowen

A History of Lutsen: Gateway to the Wilderness (Lutsen History Press) by Robert Mc Dowell

Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press) by Stewart Van Cleve

Legendary Homes of the Minneapolis Lakes (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Karen Melvin and Bette Hammel

Lost Duluth: Landmarks, Industries, Buildings, Homes, and the Neighborhoods in Which They Stood (Zenith City Press) by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton

The Mankato Reconciliation Powwow (North Star Press) by Loren Dean Boutin

The Minnesota Book of Skills: Your Guide to Smoking Whitefish, Sauna Etiquette, Tick Extraction, and More (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Chris Niskanen

Minnesota’s Miracle: Learning from the Government that Worked (University of Minnesota Press) by Tom Berg

Minnesota Railroads: A Photographic History, 1940-2012 (University of Minnesota Press) by Steve Glischinski

Minnesota’s Outdoor Wonders: Exploring the Wonders of Minnesota Month by Month (Nodin Press) by Jim Gilbert

Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Gwen Westerman and Bruce White

Mysterious Minnesota: Digging up the Ghostly Past at 13 Haunted Sites (Llewellyn Worldwide) by Adrian Lee

Native Orchids of Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press) by Welby R. Smith

Northern Pike: Ecology, Conservation, and Management History (University of Minnesota Press) by Rodney B. Pierce

One in Mission: Luther & Northwestern Seminaries Unite (Lutheran University Press) by Lloyd A. Svendsbye

Out of the Blue: The True Story of Two Sisters and Their Miraculous Survival of One of the Most Powerful Tornadoes in Minnesota History (North Star Press) by Scott Thoma

Somalis in Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Ahmed Ismail Yusuf

Stand Up! The Story of Minnesota’s Protest Tradition (Minnesota Historical Society Press) by Rhoda R. Gilman

A Thrilling Narrative of Indian Captivity: Dispatches from the Dakota War (University of Nebraska Press) by Mary Butler Renville

The Wagon Wheel Project (Minnesota Heritage Publishing) by Dave Engen

Novel & Short Story

A Call to Arms (Naval Institute Press) by William Hammond

Angle of Declination (Two Harbors Press) by Doug and Sally Mayfield

Blue Earth (Modern History Press/Loving Healing Press) by Anya Achtenberg

Boarded Windows (Coffee House Press) by Dylan Hicks

Buffalo Ridge (North Star Press) by Forrest Peterson

Capitol Hell (Beaver’s Pond Press) by Jayne J. Jones and Alicia M. Long

Chasing a Dream (CJ Boerger) by CJ Boerger

Conspiracy! Who Really Killed Lincoln? (North Star Press) by Dean Urdahl

Cul de Sac: Stories (Sententia Books) by Scott Wrobel

Dancers of a Third Age (Judith Granahan) by Judith Granahan

The Dragon Keeper (Ashland Creek Press) by Mindy Mejia

End to the Good Life (North Star Press) by Glenn Fishbine

The Fall of Alice K. (Milkweed Editions) by Jim Heynen

The Healing (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday/Random House) by Jonathan Odell

It Takes You Over (New Rivers Press) by Nick Healy

The Keeper of Dawn (Shadeflower Press) by J. B. Hickman

The Last Mercenary (Dog Ear Publishing) by Lee Schomaker

The Lighthouse Road (Unbridled Books) by Peter Geye

Master of the Academy (Deerpath Press) by Marston Moore

Mayor of the Universe (CreateSpace) by Lorna Landvik

Out of Harmony (CreateSpace) by Patti Frazee

Pathos Rising (North Star Press) by Walter J. Roers

Rain and Revelation (Beyond Eden Press, LLC) by Therese Pautz

The Round House (HarperCollins Publishers) by Louise Erdrich

Soul Music Records (Chloe Enterprises, LLC) by Gary Armstead

Swamp Beaver Fever (Capio’s Camp, LLC) by Capio

Twice a False Messiah (Florida Academic Press) by Daniel Gabriel

Unprotected (North Star Press) by Kristin Lee Johnson

The View from a Rusty Train Car (Writers AMuse Me Publishing) by DeeJay Arens

Vladimir’s Mustache: and other stories (Russian Life Books) by Stephan Eirik Clark

Widow Woman (Julia Tagliere) by Julia Tagliere

Poetry

The Alphabet Not Unlike the World (Milkweed Editions) by Katrina Vandenberg

And Then (New Rivers Press) by Tim Nolan

The Boy Who Slept Under the Stars: A Memoir in Poetry (Holy Cow! Press) by Roseann Lloyd

Breath Control: Poems (David Robert Books) by Maryann Corbett

Broken Gates (Red Dragonfly Press) by Ken McCullough

Brutally Frank (North Star Press) by Mark Berriman

Cell Traffic: New and Selected Poems (University of Arizona Press) by Heid E. Erdrich

Circle of Stones (Red Dragonfly Press) by Joe Paddock

Cloves & Honey: love poems (Nodin Press) by Athena Kildegaard

Compos(t) Mentis (BlazeVOX [books]) by Aaron Apps

Conversations: Images and Poetry (Eland Press) by Clem J. Nagel and Elizabeth C. Nagel

Cooking With Pavarotti (Red Dragonfly Press) by Nancy Paddock

Couplets for a Shrinking World (North Star Press) by John Medeiros

Dead Wendy (FutureCycle Press) by Richard Carr

Earlier Lives (Dos Madres Press, Inc.) by Sara Dailey

Fierce This Falling (Mayapple Press) by Betsy-Johnson Miller

The First Day of Spring in Northern Minnesota (Red Dragonfly Press) by Jim Johnson

Imperfect Prayers (Steel Toe Books) by Richard Carr

The Light Within (North Star Press) by Will Marwitz

Meridian (Tupelo Press) by Kathleen Jesme

Now It Is Good (Bumbling Bee Press) by Ami C. Janda

Odessa (Milkweed Editions) by Patricia Kirkpatrick

Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (Pearl Editions) by Jerry Neren

Pitch (W. W. Norton and Company) by Todd Boss

Poems for Ordinary People (North Star Press) by Carol Allis

Potty Poetry #2 (North Star Press) by Brenda L. Rueckert

The Reindeer Camps: Poems (BOA Editions) by Barton Sutter

Repeat the Flesh in Numbers (NYQ Books) by Kris Bigalk

Revisited: Notes on Bob Dylan (North Star Press) by Scott F. Parker

Rough, And Savage (Coffee House Press) by Sun Yung Shin

Salt Pier (University of Pittsburgh Press) by Dore Kiesselbach

Savage Sunsets (West End Press) by Adrian C. Louis

Seasonings (Nodin Press) by Emilio DeGrazia

Sky Thick With Fireflies (Salmon Poetry) by Ethna McKiernan

Smaointe ar an Dulra Perspectives on Nature: A Collection of Poems Narratives and Illustrations on Life and Nature - A Personal Perspective (DG Publications) by Tadhg MacCarthaigh

Sweet Weight (Tiger Bark Press) by Kate Lynn Hibbard

Unless You Count Birds (North Star Press) by Kathleen Weihe

The Weight of Whiteness: A Memoir in Poetry (Wellington-Giles Press) by Caroline Giles Banks

Y (Graywolf Press) by Leslie Adrienne Miller

Young People's Literature

Aldo’s Fantastical Movie Palace (Zondervan) by Jonathan Friesen

A Minnesota Fish Tail (Xlibris Corporation) by Jeremy DeBruzzi, illustrated by Jennifer Barrett

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children (Flux Books/Llewellyn Worldwide) by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Being Emily (Bella Books) by Rachel Gold

The Fairy Ring: or Elsie and Frances Fool the World {a true story} (Candlewick Press) by Mary Losure

Frozen (University of Minnesota Press) by Mary Casanova

Goblin Secrets (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster) by William Alexander

Hocus Pocus Hotel (Capstone) by Michael Dahl

Horse Camp (Egmont USA) by Nicole Helget and Nate LeBoutillier

How Not to Run for President (Egmont USA) by Catherine Clark

If I Know It’s Coming (North Star Press) by Nick Hupton

The Imaginary Day (Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans and Minnesota Humanities Center) by May Lee-Yang, illustrated by Anne Sawyer-Aitch

Keeping Safe the Stars (G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Group USA) by Shelia O’Connor

Lawn Mower Magic (Random House Children’s Books) by Lynne Jonell, illustrated by Brandon Dorman

Lies Beneath (Delacorte/Random House) by Anne Greenwood Brown

Losing Grip (Tate Publishing) by Angela K. Bennett

The Map Maker (North Star Press) by Matthew J. Krengel

The Mount Rushmore Face That Couldn’t See (Capstone) by Steve Brezenoff, illustrated by Marcos Calo

Nothing Special (Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks) by Geoff Herbach

The Obsidian Blade (Candlewick Press) by Pete Hautman

Oh No, My Brother is Frankenstein’s Monster (Featherweight Press) by Lance Zarimba

The Second Spy: The Books of Elsewhere; Volume 3 (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Group (USA)) by Jacqueline West

The Seeing Stone: Book I, The Firestorm Chronicles (North Star Press) by Karlajean Jirik Becvar

Shadow on the Mountain: A Novel Inspired by the True Adventures of a Wartime Spy (Amulet Books/Abrams Books) by Margi Preus

Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon (Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans and Minnesota Humanities Center) by Ka Vang, illustrated by Aimee Hagerty Johnson

Silhouette of a Sparrow (Milkweed Editions) by Molly Beth Griffin

Summer of the Wolves (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children) by Polly Carlson-Voiles

The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (And Their Parents) (Free Spirit Publishing) by Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve, M.D.

Take Your Best Shot (Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan) by John Coy

The Toadhouse Trilogy: Book One (Jess Lourey) by Jess Lourey

Troll Hunters (Capstone) by Michael Dahl

The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls (Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books) by Julie Schumacher

The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic (Writers of the Round Table Press) by Nadja Baer

War on the Prairie (North Star Press) by Carrie Ehlert Newman

What Boys Really Want (Scholastic Press) by Pete Hautman

Zinc Alloy: The Invincible Boy-Bot (Capstone) by Donald Lemke, illustrated by Douglas Holgate

Hognander Minnesota History Award

The Hognander Minnesota History Award, a biennial distinction the Minnesota Book Awards bestows in recognition of outstanding scholarly work exploring some facet of the state’s rich history, will be awarded in 2014. Eligibility requirements include a 2012 or 2013 publication date and scholarly bibliography.

The Minnesota Book Awards is sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors and presented by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Generous support for the Book Awards has been provided by the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts; Huss Foundation; Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation; and The McKnight Foundation, as well as the City of St. Paul’s Cultural STAR program. Outreach partners and supporting organizations include: The Loft Literary Center; Metropolitan Library Services Agency (MELSA); Minnesota Center for Book Arts; Minnesota Department of Education—State Library Services; Minnesota Educational Media Organization; Minnesota Library Foundation; and Saint Paul Almanac. Media sponsors include the Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com; MPR; Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN); and TPT–Minnesota Channel.