The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library announced the winners of the 23rd annual Minnesota Book Awards at its annual gala on Saturday, April 16. The Friends announced winners in eight categories as well as a Readers’ Choice Award selected by nearly 2,000 voters from across Minnesota. A complete list of nominated books, divided by category, with winners in each category listed first, is available at the New. Best & Fun tab of the library catalog.
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.
The winners of the 2011 Minnesota Book Awards are:
Award for Children’s Literature:
Michael Hall – My Heart Is Like a Zoo
This bright picture book features twenty animals created out of heart shapes.
Award for General Nonfiction:
Michael Nordskog and Aaron W. Hautala – The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition
A commemoration of the history, culture and practice of Finnish sauna in the northwoods.
Award for Genre Fiction:
Wendy Webb – The Tale of Halcyon Crane
Told that her mother died in a fire decades earlier, Hallie James travels to her mother’s home and discovers dark family secrets.
Award for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction:
Bonnie J. Rough – Carrier: Untangling the Danger in My DNA
As Bonnie J. Rough and her husband consider becoming parents, their biological legacy haunts every decision.
Award for Minnesota:
Mary Lethert Wingerd – North Country: The Making of Minnesota
This comprehensive text explains how the land the Dakota named Mini Sota Makoce became the State of Minnesota. The narrative is enhanced by more than 170 illustrations and informative captions.
Award for Novel & Short Story:
John Reimringer – Vestments
James Dressler finds himself at a crossroads, torn between his first love and the priesthood.
Award for Poetry:
Lightsey Darst – Find the Girl
This debut examines the change from girlhood to womanhood and America’s interest in missing and exploited children.
Award for Young People’s Literature:
Pete Hautman – Blank Confession
New kid in town Shayne Blank is not afraid of anything and his background doesn’t add up. But when he confesses to a murder, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems.
The Readers’ Choice Award:
Laurie Hertzel – News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist
Hertzel worked at the Duluth News Tribune in multiple roles, and is currently books editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.