This year, over five thousand bookseller and public votes were cast to choose the winners from the shortlisted titles.
This morning, the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) announced the thirtieth annual Reading the West Book Awards Winners in eight categories.
The Reading the West Book Awards are sponsored and promoted by independent booksellers across many western and mid-western states. The awards honor the best fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated books for adults and children set in one of the member states, created by an author or artist living or working in the region, or whose subject relates to the region. The awards, given to books published in the previous calendar year, celebrate the spirit of the west and the rich variety of writing in and about this region, and reflect the extraordinary diversity of the reading public.
Publishers and authors submit books for consideration for the Reading the West Book Awards program. Bookseller reading committees then read and evaluate all nominated titles to curate shortlists in each category. This year, over five thousand bookseller and public votes were cast to choose the winners from the shortlisted titles.
Congratulations to these fantastic books and authors:
Fiction
Winner: Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Runner-up: The River by Peter Heller
Narrative Nonfiction
Winner: Lakota America by Pekka Hamalainen
Runner-up: The Rise of Wolf 8 by Rick McIntyre
Illustrated Nonfiction
Winner: Atlas of the National Parks by Jon Waterman
Runner-up: Fire Ghosts by Philip Metcalf and Patricia Galagan
Young Adult
Winner: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe
Runner-up: The Great Unknowable End by Kathryn Ormsbee
Young Reader/Middle-grade
Winner: Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy
Runner-up: Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
Picture Book
Winner: The Little Snowplow Wishes for Snow by Lora Koehler, illustrated by Jake Parker
Runner-up: The Day Punctuation Came to Town by Kimberlee Gard, illustrated by Sandie Sonke
Eating the West (Culinary/Cookbook)
Winner: The Prairie Homestead Cookbook by Jill Winger
Runner-up: Centennial Celebrations Cookbook by Junior League of Denver
Advocacy Award
Winner: Deep Creek by Pam Houston
Runner-up: Migrating to Prison by César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández
Spirit of the West Literary Achievement Award
2020 Honoree: Larry McMurtry
See more about the awards, including previous winners at readingthewest.com.
