Washington State Book Award

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The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, up to ten outstanding books of any genre, which have been written by Washington authors in the previous year are recognized with awards based on literary merit, lasting importance, and overall quality of the publication.

History[edit]

When the Governor's Writers Awards was established in 1967, it was based at the Washington State Library in Olympia. In 2001, the Washington Center for the Book based at the Seattle Public Library took over the administration of the program, renaming it as the Washington State Book Awards.

In 2005, an additional category was added to represent children's books. Since established, two children's books are honored each year with the Scandiuzzi Children's Book Awards. One book is honored for picture books, while the other for middle grades and young adults.

In 2006, the Center for the Book divided the entire awards program into categories, significantly reducing the number of awards presented. From 2006 through 2010, the genres of History and Biography formed one category. In 2011, Biography was regrouped with Memoir, while History was regrouped with General Nonfiction. In 2013, the categories encompass General Nonfiction (History), Biography and Memoir, Fiction, Poetry, and two to four Scandiuzzi Children's Books Awards. As of 2020, there are five categories for adults (Fiction, Poetry, Biograph/Memoir, Creative Nonfiction and General Nonfiction) and three categories for books for youth (Picture Books, Books for Young Readers, and Young Adult Literature).

In 2017, the Washington Center for the Book became a joint partnership of the Washington State Library and The Seattle Public Library.[1] The Washington State Book Awards continue as a project for the Center for the Book.

Washington State Book Award winners and finalists[edit]

2000s[edit]

Between 2002 and 2004, the award was presented to a group of books rather than to a single winner with a selection of finalists.

Year Author Title
2002 Sharon Bertsch McGrayne Prometheans in the Lab: Chemistry and the Making of the Modern World
Michael Collins The Keepers of Truth
Chris Crutcher Whale Talk
Madeline DeFrees Blue Dusk: New and Selected Poems: 1951-2001
Carole Glickfeld Swimming Toward the Ocean
Lyanda Lynn Haupt Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds: Notes from a Northwest Year
Mira Kamdar Motiba's Tattoos: A Granddaughter's Journey from America Into Her Indian Family's Past
Carolyn Kizer Cool, Calm and Collected: Poems, 1960-2000
Duff Wilson Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret
Robin K. Wright Northern Haida Master Carvers
2003 Deloris Tarzan Ament Iridescent Light: The Emergence of Northwest Art
Charles Bergman Red Delta: Fighting for Life at the End of the Colorado River
Rebecca Brown Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary
Debra Magpie Earling Perma Red
Deborah Hopkinson Under the Quilt of Night
Tina Kelley The Gospel of Galore
Pamela McClusky Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back
Gregory Spatz Wonderful Tricks: Stories
Indu Sundaresan The Twentieth Wife
Hill Williams The Restless Northwest
2004 Gary Atkins Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging
Fred Beckey Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range
Karen Cushman Rodzina
Chris Forhan The Actual Moon, the Actual Stars
Alan Gallay The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717
Linda Lawrence Hunt Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America
Erik Larson The Devil in the White City
David R. Montgomery King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon
Jack Nisbet Visible Bones: Journey Across Time in the Columbia River Country
Matt Ruff Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

In 2005, the Washington State Book Awards were separated into categories, and individual winners were selected.

General Books[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2005 Charles D'Ambrosio Orphans Winner
Lesley Hazleton Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother Winner
Christopher Howell Light's Ladder: Poems Winner
Paul Hunter Breaking Ground Winner
Stephanie Kallos Broken for You Winner
David Laskin The Children's Blizzard Winner
Nikhil Pal Singh Black Is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy Winner
Peter Ward Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History Winner

Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award[edit]

Year Category Author Title Result
2005 Middle Grades and Young Adults Deb Caletti Honey, Baby, Sweetheart Winner
Picture Book Carmela D'Amico, illustrated by Steven D'Amico Ella the Elegant Elephant Winner
2006 Middle Grades and Young Adults Michael Gruber The Witch's Boy Winner
Deb Caletti Wild Roses Finalist
Picture Book Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin So, What's It Like to Be a Cat? Winner
Carole Lexa Schaefer, illustrated by Catherine Stock The Bora-Bora Dress Finalist
2007 Middle Grades and Young Adults Brent Hartinger Grand & Humble Winner
Kirby Larson Hattie Big Sky Finalist
Michele Torrey Voyage of Plunder
Picture Book Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Carin Berger Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems Winner
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jack E. Davis Moose Tracks Finalist
2008 Middle Grades and Young Adults Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Winner
Picture Book George Shannon, illustrated by Laura Dronzek Rabbit's Gift Winner
2009 Middle Grades and Young Adults Richard Farr Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster in the Antarctic, 1910-13 Winner
Picture Book Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! Winner
Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady M. Denton A Visitor for Bear Honorable mention

Fiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2006 Karen Fisher A Sudden Country Winner
MacKenzie Bezos The Testing of Luther Albright Finalist
Matt Briggs Shoot the Buffalo
Stacey Levine Frances Johnson
Nancy Rawles My Jim
Jess Walter Citizen Vince
2007 Charles D'Ambrosio The Dead Fish Museum Winner
David Long The Inhabited World Finalist
Ryan Boudinot The Littlest Hitler: Stories
Jess Walter The Zero
2008 Matt Ruff Bad Monkeys Winner
Nancy Horan Loving Frank Finalist
Alex Mindt Male of the Species
Ann Pancake Strange as This Weather Has Been
Joseph Powell Fish Grooming and Other Stories
2009 Jonathan Evison All About Lulu Winner
Dave Boling Guernica Finalist
Carol Cassella Oxygen
David Guterson The Other Alcott
Alex Kuo White Jade and Other Stories

General nonfiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2006 John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell In the Company of Crows and Ravens Winner
Hugo Kugiya 58 Degrees North Finalist
James McKean Home Stand
David E. Miller Toward a New Regionalism
Jonathan Raban My Holy War
2007 William D. Layman River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia Finalist
2008 David R. Montgomery Dirt: the Erosion of Civilizations Winner
Kathleen Flinn The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School Finalist
Lesley Hazelton Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen
Robert D. Morris The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster and the Water We Drink
Robert Michael Pyle Sky Time in Grays River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place
2009 Barbara Brotherton, editor S'abadeb: The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Arts and Artists Winner
Paul Bannick The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Most Iconic Birds Finalist
Bruce Barcott The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman’s Fight to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Bird
Cliff Mass The Weather of the Pacific Northwest
David Shields The Thing About Life is That One Day You’ll Be Dead

History/Biography[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2006 Timothy Egan The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl Winner
Jack Hamann On American Soil Finalist
David Neiwert Strawberry Days
Eric Scigliano Michelangelo's Mountain
2007 Julie Phillips James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon Winner
Daniel James Brown Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 Finalist
Charles R. Cross Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks; Joshua Wolf Shenk
Lyanda Lynn Haupt Pilgrim on the Bird: Pilgrim on the Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks
Joshua Wolf Shenk Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness
2008 Coll Thrush Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place Winner
Michael Honey Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign Finalist
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator: from Arts and Crafts to Modern Architecture
2009 Robert Clark Dark Water: Flood and Redemption in the City of Masterpieces Winner
Kate Jackson Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo Finalist
Debra Jarvis It’s Not About the Hair: And Other Uncertainties of Life & Cancer
Jim Kershner Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life
Richard Scheuermann Finding Chief Kamiakin: The Life and Legacy of a Northwest Patriot

Poetry[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2006 Lucia Perillo Luck Is Luck Winner
Lillias Bever Bellini in Istanbul Finalist
Linda Bierds First Hand
J.W. Marshall Taken With
Katrina Roberts The Quick
David Wagoner Good Morning and Good Night
2007 Madeline DeFrees Spectral Waves Winner
Kathleen Flenniken Famous Finalist
Tess Gallagher Dear Ghosts
Jennifer Maier Dark Alphabet
Eric McHenry Potscrubber Lullabies
2008 Samuel Green The Grace of Necessity Winner
Marvin Bell Mars Being Red Finalist
Mary Cornish Red Studio
Peter Periera What's Written on the Body
2009 David Wagoner A Map of the Night Winner
Thomas Aslin A Moon Over Wings Finalist
Linda Bierds Flight: New and Selected Poems Finalist
D. S. Butterworth The Radium Watchdial Painters Finalist
Katrina Roberts Friendly Fire Finalist

2010s[edit]

Biography/Memoir[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2011 Doug Merlino The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White Winner [2]
Claire Dederer Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses Finalist [2]
Kurt Hoelting The Circumference of Home: One Man's Yearlong Quest for A Radically Local Life [2]
Robert Michael Pyle The Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year [2]
Ana Maria Spagna Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus: A Daughter's Civil Rights Journey [2]
2012 Paul Lindholdt In Earshot of Water: Notes from the Columbia Plateau Winner [3]
Jana Harris Horses Never Lie About Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her Finalist
Shiro Kashiba Shiro: Wit, Wisdom & Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer
Katherine Malmo Who In This Room: The Realities of Cancer, Fish, and Demolition
Ana Maria Spagna Potluck: Community on the Edge of Wilderness
2013 Timothy Egan Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis Winner [4]
Ellen Forney Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & Me Finalist
Karl Marlantes What It Is Like to Go to War
Domingo Martinez The Boy Kings of Texas
2014 David Laskin The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century Winner
Peter Bagge Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story Finalist [5]
Nicole Hardy Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin
Jonathan Raban Driving Home: An American Journey
2015 Charles D’Ambrosio Loitering: New and Collected Essays Winner
Bryce Andrews Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the West Finalist
Kathleen Flinn Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family
Tom Robbins Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life
Elissa Washuta My Body Is a Book of Rules
2016 Mark Rozema Road Trip Winner
Sonya Lea Wondering Who You Are Finalist
Michael N. McGregor Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax Finalist
Ana Maria Spagna Reclaimers Finalist
Tara Austen Weaver Orchard House: How a Neglected Garden Taught One Family to Grow Finalist
2017 Brenda Miller An Earlier Life Winner
Susan Marie Conrad Inside: One Woman’s Journey through the Inside Passage Finalist
Lindy West Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman Finalist
Leif Whittaker My Old Man and the Mountain Finalist
2018 Claudia Rowe The Spider and the Fly Winner [6]
Geraldine DeRuiter All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft Finalist
Kristin Jarvis Adams The Chicken Who Saved Us
2019 Janet Buttenwieser Guts Winner
Sarah Cannon The Shame of Losing Finalist
Kristi Coulter Nothing Good Can Come from This
Patrick Parr The Seminarian
Paul Souders Arctic Solitaire

Fiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2010 Jim Lynch Border Songs Winner [7]
Ryan Boudinot Misconception Finalist
Pete Dexter Spooner
Jamie Ford Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
2011 Karl Marlantes Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War Winner [2]
Susan Froderberg Old Border Road: A Novel Finalist [2]
Valerie Trueblood Marry or Burn: Stories [2]
Jess Walter The Financial Lives of the Poets [2]
Carol Wiley Cassella Healer [2]
2012 Peter Mountford A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism Winner [3]
Jonathan Evison West of Here Finalist
David Guterson Ed King
Stacey Levine The Girl With Brown Fur: Tales Stories
Melinda Moustakis Bear Down, Bear North: Alaska Stories
2013 Amanda Coplin The Orchardist Winner [4]
Ryan Boudinot Blueprints of the Afterlife Finalist
Jonathan Evison The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Lucia Perillo Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain
Jess Walter Beautiful Ruins
2014 Nicola Griffith Hild Winner
Scott Elliott Temple Grove Finalist
Gregory Spatz Half as Happy
Jess Walter We Live in Water
Lance Weller Wilderness
2015 Bruce Holbert The Hour of Lead Winner [8]
Heather Brittain Bergstrom Steal the North Finalist
Adrianne Harun A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain Finalist
Martin Limón The Iron Sickle Finalist
Peter Mountford The Dismal Science Finalist
2016 Sharma Shields The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac Winner
S.M. Hulse Black River Finalist
Stephanie Kallos RT Finalist
Shann Ray American Copper Finalist
2017 Shawn Vestal Daredevils Winner
Laurie Blauner The Solace of Monsters Finalist
Ted Chiang Stories of Your Life and Others
Annie Proulx Barkskins, Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country
2018 Laurie Frankel This Is How It Always Is Winner
Laura Anne Gilman The Cold Eye Finalist
Elise Hooper The Other Alcott
Matthew D. Hunt Solar Reboot
Nancy Pearl George and Lizzie
Ingrid Thoft Duplicity
2019 Nicola Griffith So Lucky Winner
Katrina Carrasco The Best Bad Things Finalist
Kim Fu The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore
Charles Johnson Night Hawks
Robin Oliveira Winter Sisters

General nonfiction[edit]

Year Author Title Results Ref.
2010 Carol Kaesuk Yoon Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science Winner [7]
Tony Angell Puget Sound Through an Artist's Eye Finalist
Lyanda Lynn Haupt Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness
Brenda Miller Blessing of the Animals
David Williams Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology

History/Biography[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2010 Timothy Egan The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America Winner [7]
Daniel James Brown The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride Finalist
Lynda Mapes Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Unearthing of Tse-whit-zen Village
Jack Nisbet The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest
Mishna Wolff I'm Down: A Memoir

History/General nonfiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2011 David Laskin The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War Winner [2]
Thea Cooper Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of A Medical Miracle Finalist [2]
Frances McCue The Car That Brought You Here Still Runs: Revisiting the Northwest Towns of Richard Hugo [2]
David Shields Reality Hunger: A Manifesto [2]
Craig Welch Shell Games: Rogues, Smugglers, and the Hunt for Nature's Bounty [2]
2012 Erik Larson In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin Winner [3]
Stephanie Coontz A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s Finalist
Jeff Crane Finding the River: An Environmental History of the Elwha
John Findlay and Bruce Hevly Atomic Frontier Days: Hanford and the American West
Thor Hanson Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
2013 David R. Montgomery The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood Winner [4]
Kirsten Grind The Lost Bank: The Story of the Biggest Bank Failure in American History Finalist
Blaine Harden Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
Jack Nisbet David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work: An Illustrated Exploration Across Two Centuries in the Pacific Northwest
Douglas Smith Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy
2014 Daniel James Brown The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Winner
Nancy Bartley The Boy Who Shot the Sheriff: The Redemption of Herbert Niccolls, Jr. Finalist
Langdon Cook The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America
David Moskowitz Wolves in the Land of Salmon
2015 Justin Wadland Trying Home: The Rise and Fall of an Anarchist Utopia on Puget Sound Winner [8]
Greg Atkinson In Season: Culinary Adventures of a Pacific Northwest Chef Finalist
William Dietrich The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby
Greg Gordon When Money Grew on Trees: A.B. Hammond and the Age of the Timber Baron
Frances McCue Mary Randlett Portraits
2016 Erik Larson Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Winner
Thor Hanson The Triumph of Seeds Finalist
Ruth Kirk Ozette: Excavating a Makah Whaling Village
David Neiwert Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us
Jack Nisbet Ancient Places: People and Landscape in the Emerging Northwest
2017 Steve Olson Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens Winner
Timothy Egan The Immortal Irishman Finalist
Eli Sanders While the City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and a Young Man’s Descent into Madness
Adrienne Ross Scanlan Turning Homeward: Restoring Hope and Nature in the Urban Wild
Margaret Willson Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge
2018 Lyanda Lynn Haupt Mozart’s Starling Winner
Various authors, curated and edited by Jaimee Garbacik Ghosts of Seattle Past Finalist
Langdon Cook Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table
David R. Montgomery Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil to Life
Jonathan White Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean
David B. Williams and Jennifer Ott Waterway: The Story of Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal
2019 Ijeoma Oluo So You Want to Talk About Race Winner
Ken Armstrong A False Report Finalist
Paige Embry Our Native Bees
Angela Garbes Like a Mother
Ana Maria Spagna Uplake
Nathan Vass The Lines That Make Us: Stories from Nathan’s Bus

Poetry[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2010 Lucia Perillo Inseminating the Elephant Winner [7]
Sherman Alexie Face Finalist
Shirley Kaufman Ezekiel's Wheels
Tod Marshall The Tangled Line
Heather McHugh Upgraded to Serious
Judith Skillman Prisoner of the Swifts
2011 Frances McCue The Bled: Poems Winner [2][9]
Kelli Russell Agodon Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room Finalist [2]
Don Mee Choi The Morning News Is Exciting [2]
Oliver de la Paz Personal website [2]
Susan Rich The Alchemist's Kitchen [2]
2012 Christine Deavel Woodnote Winner [3]
Arlene Kim What Have You Done to Our Ears to Make Us Hear Echoes? Finalist
Katrina Roberts Underdog
Martha Silano The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception
2013 Kathleen Flenniken Plume Winner [4]
Bruce Beasley Theophobia Finalist
Andrew Feld Raptor
Colleen McElroy Here I Throw Down My Heart
Claire McQuerry Lacemakers
2014 Ed Skoog Rough Day Winner
Sherman Alexie What I've Stolen, What I've Earned Finalist
Rebecca Hoogs Self-Storage
Derek Sheffield Through the Second Skin
Nance van Ninckel Pacific Walkers
2015 Tod Marshall Bugle Winner [8]
Red Pine (trans.) The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse [8]
Kelli Russell Agodon Hourglass Museum Finalist
Kim-An Lieberman In Orbit
2016 Carl Phillips Reconnaissance Winner
Rob Carney 88 Maps Finalist
Laura Da' Tributaries
Emily Johnston Her Animals
Christina Stoddard Hive
2017 Tara Hardy My, My, My, My, My Winner
Don Mee Choi Hardly War Finalist
Paisley Rekdal Imaginary Vessels
Michael Schmeltzer Blood Song
Megan Snyder-Camp Wintering
2018 Lena Khalaf Tuffaha Water & Salt Winner
Claudia Castro Luna Killing Marias: A Poem for Multiple Voices Finalist
Glenna Cook Thresholds
Frances McCue Timber Curtain
Melinda Mueller Mary’s Dust
Eugenia Toledo with Carolyne Wright (trans.) Trazas de mapa, trazas de sangre / Map Traces, Blood Traces
2019 Laura Da’ Instruments of the True Measure Winner
Michele Bombardier What We Do Finalist
Lorraine Ferra Between Darkness and Trust
Sierra Golden The Slow Art
Rob Carney The Book of Sharks

Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award[edit]

Year Category Author Title Result Ref.
2010 Early Readers Bonny Becker The Magical Ms. Plum Winner [7]
Middle Grades and Young Adults Michael Harmon Brutal Winner [7]
Picture Book Samantha Vamos with Santiago Cohen (illus.) Before You Were Here, Mi Amor Winner [7]
2011 Early Readers Patrick Jennings Guinea Dog Winner [2]
Middle Grades and Young Adults Lish McBride Hold Me Closer,Necromancer Winner [2]
Picture Book Erik Brooks Polar Opposites Winner [2]
2012 Middle Grades and Young Adults Katherine Schlick Noe Something to Hold Winner [3]
Picture Book Nikki McClure To Market, To Market Winner [3]
2013 Picture Book Barbara Kerley Those Rebels, John & Tom Winner [4]
Young Adult J. Anderson Coats The Wicked and the Just Winner [4]
2014 Early Readers M.H. Clark And Then, Story Starters Winner
Middle Readers Suzanne Selfors The Sasquatch Escape Winner
Picture Book Kobi Yamada with Mae Besom (illus.) What Do You Do With an Idea? Winner
Brenda Guiberson with Gennady Spirin (illustrator) Frog Song Finalist
Nina Laden with Renata Liwska (illustrator) Once Upon a Memory
Jack Prelutsky with Carin Berger (illustrator) Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems
George Shannon with Julie Paschkis (illustrator) Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?
Young Adult Patrick Flores-Scott Jumped In Winner
Steven Arntson The Wrap-Up List Finalist
Sean Beaudoin Wise Young Fool
Thatcher Heldring The League
Kirby Larson Duke
2015 Middle Readers Dana Simpson Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle Winner [8]
Ken Jennings Ken Jennings’ Junior Genius Guides: Maps and Geography Finalist
Maureen McQuerry Beyond the Door
Picture Book Jennifer K. Mann Two Speckled Eggs Winner [8]
Keith Baker Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Color Finalist
George Shannon with Taeeun Yoo (illus.) Hands Say Love
Hannah Viano S Is for Salmon: A Pacific Northwest Alphabet
Young Adult Leslye Walton The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender Winner [8]
Mary Cronk Farrell Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific Finalist
Katherine Kirkpatrick Between Two Worlds
Jennifer Longo Six Feet Over It
2016 Early Readers Deborah Underwood Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat Winner
Kelly Jones Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer Finalist
Middle Readers A.L. Sonnichsen Red Butterfly Winner
Beth Hautala Waiting for Unicorns Finalist
Picture Book Jessixa Bagley Boats for Papa Winner
Lisa Mantchev Strictly No Elephants Finalist
Laurie Thompson Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
Young Adult Martha Brockenbrough The Game of Love and Death Winner
Carolyn Lee Adams Ruthless Finalist
2019 Middle Grade Ben Guterson Winterhouse Winner
Beth Hautala The Ostrich and Other Lost Things Finalist
Dav Pilkey Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas
Suzanne Selfors Wish Upon a Sleepover
Picture Books Alexandra Penfold with Suzanne Kaufman (illus.) All Are Welcome Winner
Jim Averbeck with Amy Hevron (illus) Trevor Finalist
Bonny Becker with Mark Fearing (illus.) The Frightful Ride of Michael McMichael
Marcy Campbell with Corinna Luyken (illus.) Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse
Blake Liliane Hellman with Steven Henry (illus.) Something Smells
Rubin Pfeffer with Mike Austin (illus.) Summer Supper
Young Adult Joy McCullough Blood Water Paint Winner
Martha Brockenbrough Unpresidented Finalist
Deb Caletti A Heart in a Body in the World
Kate Alice Marshall I Am Still Alive
David Patneaude Fast Backward
Leslye Walton The Price Guide to the Occult
Young Readers Ben Clanton Peanut Butter and Jelly Winner
Dori Hillestad Butler King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth Finalist
Crix Sheridan The Sasquatch and the Lumberjack

2020s[edit]

Biography/Memoir[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Aaron Bobrow-Strain The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story Winner [10]
Gina Siciliano I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi Finalists [11]
Julie Tate-Libby The Good Way: A Himalayan Journey [11]
Jeff Smoot Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change, and the Race for 5.14 [11]
Paula Becker A House on Stilts: Mothering in the Age of Opioid Addiction [11]
2021 E.J. Koh The Magical Language of Others Winner [12]
Erica Bauermeister House Lessons: Renovating a Life Finalists
Molly Wizenberg The Fixed Stars
Erica C. Barnett Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery
2022 Elsa Sjunneson Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism Winner [13][14]
Jennifer Berney The Other Mothers: Two Women’s Journey to Find the Family That Was Always Theirs Finalist [15]

Creative nonfiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Eric Liu Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy Winner [10]
Briallen Hopper Hard to Love: Essays and Confessions Finalists [11]
Lindy West The Witches Are Coming [11]
Tiffany Midge Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s [11]
Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers [11]
2021 Clyde Ford Think Black Winner [12]
Natasha Marin, curator Black Imagination: Black Voices on Black Futures Finalists
Kelly Brenner Nature Obscura: A City’s Hidden Natural World
Kristen Millares Young Seismic: Seattle, City of Literature edited
Charles Bergman Every Penguin in the World: A Quest to See Them All
2022 Kate Lebo The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes) Winner [13][16]

Fiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2020 Karl Marlantes Deep River Winner [10]
Madeline ffitch Stay and Fight Finalists [11]
Kira Jane Buxton Hollow Kingdom [11]
G. Willow Wilson The Bird King [11]
Sharma Shields The Cassandra [11]
Olivia Hawker One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow [11]
2021 Jess Walter The Cold Millions Winner [12]
Donna Miscolta Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories Finalists
Olivia Waite The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
Melissa Anne Peterson Vera Violet
Alma Alexander The Second Star
2022 E. Lily Yu On Fragile Waves Winner [13]
JoAnne Tompkins What Comes After Finalist [17]

General nonfiction[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2020 Chris Linder, text by Eric Scigliano, with Dr. Robert Max Holmes, Dr. Susan Natali, and Dr. John Schade The Big Thaw: Ancient Carbon, Modern Science, and a Race to Save the World Winner [10]
Anu Taranath, illustrated by Ronald Otts Bolisay Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World Finalists [11]
Jennifer Ott Olmsted in Seattle: Creating a Park System for a Modern City [11]
Susanna Ryan Seattle Walk Report: An Illustrated Walking Tour through 23 Seattle Neighborhoods [11]
Museum of History & Industry and Clara Berg Seattle Style: High Fashion/High Function [11]
2021 Jennifer Haupt Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 edited Winner [12]
Dean Spade Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During the Crisis (and the Next) Finalists
Steve Olson The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age
Emily Levesque The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers
Cassandra Tate Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre and Its Shifting Legacy in the American West
Lauren Ko Pieometry: Modern Tart Art and Pie Design for the Eye and the Palate
2022 Lynda Mapes Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home Winner [13]
Trevor Bond Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimíipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage Finalist [18]

Picture book[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Bridget Beth Collins Flora Forager ABC Winner [10]
Kevan Atteberry Ghost Cat Finalists [11]
Caroline Wright, illustrated by Willow Heath Lasting Love [11]
2021 Jennifer K. Mann The Camping Trip Winner [12]
Toni Yuly Play Day School Day Finalists
Corey Tabor Snail Crossing
Martha Brockenbrough, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo This Old Dog
Amanda Abler, illustrated by Levi Hastings The Spirit of Springer
2022 Jennifer Bradbury with Sam Boughton (illus.) Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand Winner [19][13]
Marcy Campbell with Corinna Luyken (illus.) Something Good Finalist [15]
Nikki McClure 1, 2, 3 Salish Sea: A Pacific Northwest Counting Book [15]

Poetry[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Paisley Rekdal Nightingale Winner [10]
Keetje Kuipers All Its Charms Finalists [11]
David Guterson, illustrated by Justin Gibbens Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest [11]
Abby E. Murray Hail and Farewell [11]
Francesca Bell Bright Stain [11]
2021 Phoebe Bosché, Anna Bálint, and Thomas Hubbard (editors) Take a Stand: Art Against Hate, a Raven Chronicles Anthology Winner [12]
Don Mee Choi DMZ Colony Finalists
Jessica Gigot Feeding Hour
Kathleen Flenniken Post Romantic
Gina Hietpas Terrain
Ebo Barton Insubordinate
2022 Sharon Hashimoto More American Winner [13]
Kelli Russell Agodon Dialogues with Rising Tides Finalist [17]
Kathryn Smith Self-Portrait with Cephalopod [20]

Young adult[edit]

Year Author Title Result
2020 Brittney Morris SLAY Winner [10]
Maureen Doyle McQuerry Between Before & After Finalists [11]
Jeff Henigson Warhead: The True Story of One Teen Who Almost Saved the World [11]
Shaun Hutchinson Brave Face [11]
2021 Jennifer Longo What I Carry Winner [12][6]
Diana Ma Heiress Apparently Finalists
Christy Peterson Into the Deep: Science, Technology, and the Quest to Protect the Ocean
J. Anderson Coats Spindle and Dagger
Rachel Lynn Solomon Today Tonight Tomorrow
Deb Caletti Girl, Unframed
2022 Margaret Owen Little Thieves Winner [19][13]

Young reader[edit]

Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Clare Hodgson Meeker Growing Up Gorilla: How a Zoo Baby Brought Her Family Together Winner [10]
Kelly Jones Sauerkraut Finalists [11]
Sara Nickerson Last Meeting of the Gorilla Club [11]
Randall Platt Professor Renoir’s Collection of Oddities, Curiosities, and Delights [11]
Trudi Trueit Explorer Academy: The Falcon’s Feather [11]
Dori Hillestad Butler King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred [11]
2021 Sarah Kapit Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! Winner [12]
Joy McCullough A Field Guide to Getting Lost Finalists
Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu Measuring Up
Cat Patrick Tornado Brain
Heidi Lang and Kati Bartowski Whispering Pines
Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry Dear Beast
2022 Sundee Frazier Mighty Inside Winner [19][13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "State Library joins The Seattle Public Library to lead WA Center for the Book 6/8 | The Seattle Public Library". www.spl.org. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Washington State Book Awards Party". Hugo House. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Awards: Washington State Book Winners". Shelf Awareness. September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Awards: PEN International/New Voices, Washington State Winners". Shelf Awareness. September 12, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Alison (October 8, 2014). "Peter Bagge at Washington State Book Awards". Drawn & Quarterly. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Washington State Book Awards: Jennifer Longo And 'What I Carry'". EverOut Seattle. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Awards: MPIBA Regional Book Awards; Washington State Prizes". Shelf Awareness. September 14, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Gwinn, Mary Ann (October 10, 2015). "Winners of the Washington State Book Awards". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Frances McCue Wins Book Award". University of Washington Honors Program. September 19, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Macdonald, Moira (September 25, 2020). "Washington State Book Awards 2020 winners announced". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Ausley, Christina (August 24, 2020). "Finalists named for 2020 Washington State Book Awards". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "Awards: Washington State Book Winners; Kirkus Finalists". Shelf Awareness. September 17, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h "Drum Roll, Please: The 2022 Washington State Book Award Winners". Shelf Talk. September 13, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  14. ^ "2022 Washington State Book Award Winners". Locus Online. September 13, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c Boone, Rolf (August 23, 2022). "3 Olympia authors are finalists for Washington Book Awards". The Olympian. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  16. ^ "Kate Lebo, Sundee Frazier win Washington State Book Awards". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Bergstein, Al (August 24, 2022). "Peninsula authors finalists for Washington State Book Awards". Rainshadow Journal. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  18. ^ "Libraries' Trevor Bond Named Finalist for Washington State Book Award". Washington State University Libraries. August 31, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "2022 Washington State Book Award Winners Announced". Seattle's Child. September 13, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Lamberson, Carolyn (August 24, 2022). "Spokane writers Kate Lebo, Kathryn Smith are finalists for the Washington State Book Awards". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

External links[edit]