| The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce Mary Lethert Wingerd, author of North Country: The Making of Minnesota, as winner of the first-ever Hognander Minnesota History Award. This new honor, a biennial distinction of the Minnesota Book Awards supported by the Hognander Family Foundation, is bestowed in recognition of outstanding scholarly work exploring some facet of Minnesota’s rich history. North Country, published by the University of Minnesota Press, is a comprehensive and unflinching account of how the land the indigenous Dakota named Mini Sota Makoce ultimately became the State of Minnesota, as well as of the people who, at one time or another, have called this land home. Wingerd will be honored at the Minnesota Book Awards Gala. At last April's Gala Wingerd was presented with the 2011 Minnesota Award for North Country. |
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| The Hognander Minnesota History Award recognizes the author of the most outstanding scholarly work related to Minnesota history published during the preceding two years. To be presented every other year beginning in 2012, the award is funded by the Hognander Family Foundation. This award stems from the Hognander family’s belief in the importance of studying and preserving history. As Joe Hognander notes, “We established this award because of our relationship with the Minnesota Historical Society. Its commitment to excellence is noteworthy in promoting scholarly research and writing. We hope this award will inspire more such activity by recognizing and rewarding the finest work in this field.” |
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| All Minnesotans are invited to take part in the Readers’ Choice Award, sponsored by Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com. Now that the finalists have been chosen for the 2012 Minnesota Book Awards, it’s your turn as a reader to have a say! Anytime during March, you can vote for your favorite title. And, as book lovers, you can vote once a day. The title with the most popular votes will be awarded the Readers’ Choice Award at the April 14, 2012 Gala. Look for the VOTE tab on the left-hand margin at facebook.com/mnbookawards. |
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As readers delve into this year's finalists for the Minnesota Book Award (MNBA), requests are mounting for these popular titles. To help relieve stress on local library collections and meet the public demand, SELCO purchased copies of each book. Selected by a team of readers, the 32 titles represent the best books written by Minnesota authors published during 2011. The titles fall into eight broad genres:
- Children's Literature
- General Nonfiction
- Genre Fiction
- Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
- Minnesota
- Novel & Short Story
- Poetry
- Young People's Literature
| The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce the finalists in all eight categories for the 24th Annual Minnesota Book Awards, sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors. Click here for the complete list. |  |
| The Friends of the St. Paul Library still has funds to allocate towards expense reimbursement for Minnesota libraries (or affiliated non-profits) that sponsor programming featuring past Minnesota Book Awards winners. Funding of up to $500 is available to defray an author honorarium and/or any variable programming costs a library or Friends group may incur. Download the Author Event Funding Application Form. |
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| The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is pleased to announce Cave Paper and its founders, Bridget O’Malley and Amanda Degener, as the winners of the 2012 Minnesota Book Artist Award (MNBA) sponsored by Lerner Publishing Group. This annual award, presented by the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) and the Minnesota Book Awards, recognizes a Minnesota book artist or book artist collaborative group for excellence throughout a body of work, as well as significant contributions to Minnesota’s book arts community. For more information about the 2012 Book Artist Award Winner, click here. |
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Help us better serve your libraries by participating in the quick survey described below.
The Minnesota Book Awards (MNBA) is seeking feedback on its programming and outreach activities. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and will help gauge how well the Book Awards is serving the Minnesota library community and helping readers connect with local authors. The survey remains open through
Tuesday, November 1. Please click here to participate.
The Minnesota Book Awards is still accepting applications from public libraries and public schools interested in funding reimbursement for a 2012 program featuring one or more Minnesota Book Awards finalist or winning authors. Applicants may apply for up to $500, and programs can feature any finalist or winning author(s) from the Book Awards’ 24 year history. Applications will be accepted until all funding has been allocated, although interested parties are encouraged to apply by Tuesday, November 15. More information, including the MNBA Author Program application form, is available on the MNBA website.
Thank you for your participation in and support of the Minnesota book community.
For more information contact Ann Nelson, MN Book Awards Coordinator
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
325 Cedar Street, Suite 555
Saint Paul, MN 55101
(651) 366-6497 – direct line
(651) 222-3242 – main line
(651) 222-1988 - fax
Nominations for the 24th Annual Minnesota Book Awards (MNBA) are open now through December 9, 2011! Visit The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library website for more information or to nominate your favorite book of 2011 to be considered for the MNBA!
Keep in mind that the book must be written by a Minnesota resident, published in 2011, and fit into one of eight categories: Children's Literature, General Nonfiction, Genre Fiction, Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, Minnesota, Novel & Short Story, Poetry, and Young People's Literature.
Winning titles from the 2011 Minnesota Book Awards are now available as Book Club in a Bag kits.
New titles include:
Halycon Crane by Wendy Webb,Vestments by John Reimringer, Carrier: Untangling the Danger in My DNA by Bonnie J. Rough, North country: The Making of Minnesota by Mary Lethert Wingerd, Find the Girl by Lightsey Darst,
The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods finnish Sauna Tradition by Michael Nordskog & Aaron Hautala, Blank Confession by Pete Hautman, My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall, News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist by Laurie Hertzel.
Help choose the winner of the Minnesota Book Awards Readers’ Choice Award sponsored by TwinCities.com and the Pioneer Press. Readers may vote anytime between March 1 and March 31, 2011.
Here’s how:
- Visit your local library or bookseller to check out this year’s finalist books. Remember – SELCO has extra copies for loan, including downloadable versions through our new OverDrive Value Added Service in audio and ebook formats.
- Read (or read up on) the 32 finalists in contention for the 23rd annual Book Awards.
- Pick your favorite book.
- Visit the TwinCities.com Readers' Choice poll. If you're not registered, click on the registration tab to start the process.
- Click on the vote tab and mark your selection!
- Click on "save." That's it!
The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library manage the Minnesota Book Awards (MNBA) and challenge readers to read 32 Books in 32 Days --- that is each of the four nominees in the eight genre categories.
Enjoy and vote.
Each year the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library award the Minnesota Book Awards to Minnesota authors, illustrators, and book artists in 8 categories. Categories include children's literature, general non-fiction, genre fiction, memoir and creative non-fiction, poetry, young people's literature, Minnesota, novel and short story. A people's choice award is also given. All Minnesotans can vote on their favorite nominee for the people's choice. Selco will be sponsoring author tours featuring winning and nominated authors of the Minnesota Book Awards. Presentations will occur at local libraries and are free of charge. A complete list of presentations can be found under the author tours tab above. Titles for the Book Club in a Bag kits are selected from Minnesota Book Award winners and can be checked out through your local library.
The 2012 Winter Author Tour features Doug Ohman Minnesota Book Award nominee for 2011. Check back here for updates.
| Location | Program |
Date |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City Public Library | Journey Down the River | January 12 |
2:00 PM |
| City Council Chambers Blooming Prairie |
Minnesota Byways |
January 13 |
7:00 PM |
| Buckham Memorial Library Faribault |
Free to All: Libraries of Minnesota |
January 26 |
6:00 PM |
| Hokah City Hall |
State Parks of Minnesota |
January 29 |
1:00 PM |
| Spring Grove Public Library | Heart of the Farm |
February 7 |
7:00 PM |
| All Saints Episcopal Church Northfield |
Just Down the Road |
February 9 |
7:00 PM |
| Kasson Public Library |
State Parks of Minnesota |
February 13 |
7:00 PM |
| Chatfield Center for the Arts American Legion Room |
Vanishing Landmarks |
February 23 |
7:00 PM |
| Cannon Falls Public Library |
School House Memories |
February 25 |
11:00 AM |
| Houston Community Center |
Free to All: Libraries of Minnesota |
February 26 |
3:00 PM |
| Rushford Public Library |
Scandanavian Churches of Minnesota |
March 3 |
7:00 PM |
| Austin Public Library |
Historic Homes of Minnesota |
March 10 |
2:00 PM |
| Freeborn County Historical Museum, Albert Lea |
School House Memories |
March 11 |
2:00 PM |
| LeRoy Public Library |
Minnesota Byways |
March 19 |
6:00 PM |
| Preston Public Library |
Heart of the Farm |
March 20 |
7:00 PM |
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* The Latehomecomer
* The Plague of Doves
* Hard Work and a Good Deal
* The Compassionate Carnivore
* National Monuments
* Twelve Long Months
* Stalking Susan
For booking and other information about the Book Club in a Bag Kits, please click here . This project was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Doug Ohman - MNBA 2011 nominee for the book Prairie, Lake, Forest.
Doug is a freelance photographer who captures Minnesota's historical structures and natural landscape. He has photographed a number of titles for the Minnesota Byways series. His presentations are based on his various books. SELCO will host a tour from Jan. - Mar. 2012, nine different programs will be presented. Please see the 2012 Author Tour Schedule for more information.
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Cary Griffith 2010 Winner for the Minnesota Award: Opening Goliath Adventure writer Cary Griffith recounts riveting and life-threatening tales of exploration in the limestone caves of southeastern Minnesota and the man-made caves of St. Paul. http://www.caryjgriffith.com/ |
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Dara Mosowitz Grumdahl 2010 Finalist for General Nonfiction: Drink This: Wine Made Simple Currently Dara writes for Minnesota Monthly and is the editor in chief for the national recipe magazine Real Food. She has also written for Gourmet Magazine, USA Today, Wine & Spirits, Bon Appetit, and Saveur. |
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Nicole Helget 2010 Finalist for Novel and Short Story: The Turtle Catcher Nicole received her BA and an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. NPR's Scott Simon awarded the Turtle Catcher the Tamarack Prize from Minnesota Monthly based on the novel's first chapter. |
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David Housewright 2010 Award for Genre Fiction: Jelly's Gold
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Julie Klassen 2010 Finalist for Genre Fiction: Silent Governess Julie Klassen is an editor and novelist who has worked in Christian publishing for many years. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois and has a background in advertising. The Silent Governess is an interesting and satisfying sojourn in 19th century England. Fans of the Jane (Austen and Eyre) won't want to miss it. http://www.julieklassen.com/ |
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Sue Leaf 2009 Finalist for Memoir and Creative Nonfiction: The Bullhead Queen Sue is a freelance writer and the author. A former college instructor in biology and environmental science, she holds a doctorate in zoology from the University of Minnesota. She is president of Wild River Audubon and lives on the shores of Pioneer Lake. |
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Joy Lintelman 2010 Award for General Nonfiction: I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson Joy K. Lintelman is a professor of history at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Her specialties include immigration history and women's history. Lintelman offers readers both an intimate portrait of Mina Anderson and a window into the lives of the nearly 250,000 young, single Swedish women who immigrated to America from 1881 to 1920. |
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Alison McGhee 2010 Finalist for Children't Literature: Song of Middle C Alison McGhee is a Pulitzer Prize nominee and a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She writes for all ages and in all forms, from poetry and stories to novels and picture books and essays, and her books are popular with critics and readers alike. Alison is an associate professor of creative writing at Metropolitan State University. http://www.alisonmcghee.com/ |
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Kent Nerburn 2010 Award for Memoir and Creative Nonfiction: The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder's Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows Kent Nerburn is the author of twelve books on spirituality and Native themes. He lives in northern Minnesota. In this fictionalized account of actual events, Nerburn brings the land of the northern High Plains alive and reveals the Native American way of teaching and learning with a depth that few outsiders have ever captured. http://www.kentnerburn.com/ |
The Minnesota Book Awards website
Minnesota Book Awards - Reading Guides (Availiable for all winners of 2007, 2008 and 2009)
