The Nebraska Center for the Book

AWARDS

Nebraska Book Award Winners

The Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB), recognizes and honors books that are written by Nebraska authors, illustrated by Nebraska artists, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska or concerning Nebraska.

2024 (25th annual) for books published in 2023

Children's Picture Book
Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder by Carla Ketner
Illustrator: Paula Wallace
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Children's Novel
The Adventures of Pearl & Monty: The Bait and Switch by E. Adams
Publisher: Jade Forest Publishing
Teen Novel
The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom by Allison L. Bitz
Publisher: HarperTeen
Cover and Design
Feisty Righty: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey by Jennifer D. James
Cover Design: Courtney Keller
Publisher: Self Published
Design Honor
Horizons by Julie S. Paschold
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Fiction
The War Begins in Paris: A Novel by Theodore Wheeler
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape by Dana Fritz
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction History
The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration by Richard Edwards and Jacob K. Friefeld
Publisher: Bison Books
Poetry
The Gathering of Bastards by Romeo Oriogun
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry Honor
The Book Eaters by Carolina Hotchandani
Publisher: Perugia Press

> Back to top


2023 (24th annual) for books published in 2022

Children's Design
Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! by James Solheim
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Children's Nonfiction
Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! by James Solheim
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Young Adult
Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Publishing Group
Design
Feeding the Fire by Twyla Hansen
Publisher: Wayne State College Press
Illustration
The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show by Casey Day Rislov
Illustrator: Zachary Pullen
Publisher: Mountain Stars Press
Fiction
Private Way by Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Autobiography
Monkey on the Other Side of the Window: The True Story of the Northeast Nebraska Zoo in Royal, Nebraska by Dick Haskin
Publisher: Morris Publishing
Nonfiction Biography
The Women Who Built Omaha: A Bold and Remarkable History by Eileen Wirth
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction Fellowship
From Your Friend, Carey Dean: Letters from Nebraska’s Death Row by Lisa Knopp
Publisher: Cascade Books
Nonfiction History
Standing Bear’s Quest for Freedom: The First Civil Rights Victory for Native Americans by Lawrence A. Dwyer
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky: Thirty-Five Years at a Sandhills Oasis by Stephen R. Jones
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction Solidarity
Dirt Persuasion: Civic Environmental Populism and the Heartland’s Pipeline Fight by Derek Moscato
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
A Crazy Little Thing by Lucy Adkins
Publisher: Wayne State College Press
Poetry Honor
Cord Blood by Bonnie Johnson-Bartee
Publisher: Sandhills Press

> Back to top


2022 (23rd annual) for books published in 2021

Children's Best Continuing Series
George Meets His Match by Kristin Bauer Ganoung
Illustrated by K. E. Gadeken
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Youth Book
Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens
Illustrated by Matt Huynh
Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company
Cover and Design
After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America's Stolen Lands by Margaret D. Jacobs
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Illustration
Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens
Illustrated by Matt Huynh
Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company
Fiction
The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert
Publisher: Doubleday
Nonfiction Biography
The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis by Melissa J. Homestead
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Nonfiction Biography Honor
Time in the Wilderness: The Formative Years of John "Black Jack" Pershing in the American West by Dr. Tim McNeese
Publisher: Potomac Books
Nonfiction Health and Fitness
Fuel Your Body: How to Cook and Eat for Peak Performance by Angie Asche
Publisher: Agate Publishing
Nonfiction Natural History
Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens
Illustrated by Matt Huynh
Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
Nebraska Golf: Out of the Shadows by Stu Pospisil
Publisher: Omaha World Herald
Nonfiction Popular History
Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Poetry
The Way of Things by Shannon Vesely
Publisher: Rogue Faculty Press
Poetry Honor
Unholy Heart by Grace Bauer
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Special Poetry
More in Time: A Tribute to Ted Kooser by Jessica Poli, Marco Abel, and Timothy Schaffert
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

> Back to top


2021 (22nd annual) for books published in 2020

Children's Picture Book
Letters from Space, by Clayton Anderson
Illustrated by Susan Batori
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Design
Sy's Barbershop and Pool Hall: New and Selected Poems and Paintings, by Jay D. Gerber
Publisher: Infusionmedia
Illustration
Lily Discovers People are Like Donuts, by Rob Otte
Illustrated by Carey Goddard
Publisher: Jelly Donut Publishing
Illustration Honor
The Day We Went to the Park, by Linda Stephen and Christine Manno
Origami Artwork by Linda Stephen
Publisher: Handersen Publishing
Fiction
The Brightest Place in the World, by David Philip Mullins
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Nonfiction Legal History
A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation's Founding to the Civil War, by William G. Thomas III
Publisher: Yale University Press
Nonfiction Memoir
Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime, by Debora Harding
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Nonfiction Memoir Honor
Yards After Contact - Team Jack: Scoring a Touchdown Against Childhood Brain Cancer, by Andrew Hoffman, forward by Rex Burkhead
Publisher: Nico 11 Publishing and Design
Nonfiction Military History
A Mighty Force for Peace: A History of the Former Lincoln Air Force Base, by Robert M. Branting
Publisher: Infusionmedia
Nonfiction Nebraska History
Never Caught Twice: Horse Stealing in Western Nebraska, 1850-1890, by Matthew S. Luckett
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze: Nebraska Historical Markers and Monuments, 1854-1967, by Jeff Barnes
Publisher: The Donning Company
Nonfiction Solidarity
American Harvest: God, Country, and Farming in the Heartland, by Marie Mutsuki Mockett
Publisher: Graywolf Press
Nonfiction Urban History
My Omaha Obsession: Searching for the City, by Miss Cassette, forward by Chris Ware
Publisher: Bison Books
Poetry
Two-Toned Dress, by Lucy Adkins
Publisher: Blue Light Press
Poetry Honor
Forever War, by Kate Gaskin
Publisher: YesYes Books

> Back to top


2020 (21st annual) for books published in 2019

Children's Picture Book
Your Bridge to History, by Portia Love & Preston Love, Jr.
Illustrated by Regina Jeanpierre
Publisher: Preston Publishing
Children's Picture Book Honor
Major: A Soldier Dog, by Trevor Jones
Illustrated by Ming Hai
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
The Spirit of Nebraska: A History of Husker Game Day Traditions – the Tunnel Walk, Mascots, Cheer, and More, by Debra Kleve White
Design by Concierge Marketing and Publishing Services.
Publisher: Cheerful Books
Fiction
See Willy See, by Faith Colburn
Publisher: Prairie Wind Press
Fiction Honor Series
The Line Between: A Thriller and A Single Light: A Thriller by Tosca Lee
Publisher: Howard Books
Nonfiction Investigative Journalism
Zoo Nebraska: Dismantling of an American Dream, by Carson Vaughan
Publisher: Little A
Nonfiction Nature Reference
Great Plains Birds: Discover the Great Plains, by Larkin Powell
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction Immigration Story
Citizen Akoy: Basketball and the Making of a South Sudanese American, by Steve Marantz
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Nebraska Perseverance
Nebraska During the New Deal: The Federal Writers’ Project in the Cornhusker State, by Marilyn Irvin Holt
Publisher: Bison Books
Nonfiction Native American History
Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power, by Pekka Hämäläinen
Publisher: Yale University Press
Poetry
This Bright Darkness, by Sarah McKinstry-Brown
Publisher: Black Lawrence Press
Poetry Honor
In a Good Time, by Mark Sanders
Publisher: WSC Press

> Back to top


2019 (20th annual) for books published in 2018

Children's Picture Book
A is for Astronaut: Blasting Through the Alphabet, by Astronaut Clayton Anderson
Illustrated by Scott Brundage
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Young Adult
Squint, by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Cover/Design/Illustration
Portraits of the Sandhills in Words and Watercolors, by Richard Schilling
Publisher: Chinook Wind Books
Fiction
Lost Creed, by Alex Kava
Publisher: Prairie Wind Publishing
Fiction Honor
The Sea of Grass: A Family Tale from the American Heartland, by Walter R. Echo-Hawk
Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
Nonfiction Environmental History
Flood on the Tracks: Living, Dying, and the Nature of Disaster in the Elkhorn River Basin, by Todd M. Kerstetter
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Nonfiction Essay
Five Plots, by Erica Trabold
Publisher: Seneca Review Books
Nonfiction Local History
Robber’s Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections, by Joel Green
Publisher: Mighty’s Son Publications
Nonfiction Nebraska as a Place
Portraits of the Sandhills in Words and Watercolors, by Richard Schilling
Publisher: Chinook Wind Books
Poetry
The Woman in the Moon, by Marjorie Saiser
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Poetry Honor
Where the Waters Take You, by Neil Harrison
Publisher: Pinyon Publishing
Poetry Honor
Landscapes, with Horses, by Mark Sanders and Charles D. Jones
Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press

> Back to top


2018 (19th annual) for books published in 2017

Children's Picture Book
Simpson’s Sheep Just Want to Sleep, by Bruce Arant
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press, Inc.
Chapter Book
George and the Stolen Sunny Spot, by Kristin Bauer Ganoung
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Young Adult Honor
The November Girl, by Lydia Kang
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Cover/Design/Illustration
Nebraska’s First College: Shaping the Future Since 1867, by Dan Sullivan
Design by Christine Zueck-Watkins.
Publisher: Peru State College Foundation
Fiction
World, Chase Me Down: A Novel, by Andrew Hilleman
Publisher: Penguin Books
Fiction Honor
Kings of Broken Things, by Theodore Wheeler
Publisher: Little A
Fiction: Short Story Honor
One With Bird: And Other Stories, by Douglas K. German
Publisher: iUniverse
Nonfiction Biography
The Weight of the Weather: Regarding the poetry of Ted Kooser, edited by Mark Sanders
Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press
Nonfiction Culture
The Sex Effect: Baring Our Complicated Relationship with Sex, by Ross Benes
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Nonfiction History
Homesteading the Plains: Toward a New History, by Richard Edwards, Jacob K. Friefeld, and Rebecca S. Wingo
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Immigration Story
Short Hair Detention: Memoir of a Thirteen-Year-Old Girl Surviving the Cambodian Genocide, by Channy Chhi Laux
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Nonfiction Memoir
What is Gone, by Amy Knox Brown
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Nonfiction Reference
Atlas of Nebraska, by J. Clark Archer, Richard Edwards, Leslie M. Howard, Fred M. Shelley, Donald A. Wilhite, and David J. Wishart
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Sesquicentennial
150@150: Nebraska’s Landmark Buildings at the State’s Sesquicentennial, by Jeff Barnes
Publisher: The Donning Company Publishers
Poetry
Rock Tree Bird , Twyla M. Hansen
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Poetry Honor
Blind Girl Grunt: The Selected Blues Lyrics and Other Poems, by Constance Merritt
Publisher: Headmistress Press
Poetry Anthology
Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology 1867-2017, edited by Daniel Simon
Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press

> Back to top


2017 (18th annual) for books published in 2016

Anthology
Not Quite So Stories, by David S Atkinson
Publisher: Literary Wanderlust
Children's Picture Book
Choose Your Days, by Paula S. Wallace
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Young Adult
Keeping Captain, by N. L. Sharp
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Young Adult Honor
The Ghost Juggler, by Nona Brooks Morrison
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
Okoboji: Over 160 Years of History and Images, by Cristy Clarke Hedgpeth
Editing and content design by Sandra Wendel and Ellie Pelto. Graphic Design by Rachel Moore. Production by Lisa Pelto, Concierge Marketing
Publisher: Hedgpeth Publishing
Illustration Honor
Leaves of Absence: An Illustrated Guide to Common Garden Affection, by Laura Madeline Wiseman
Art by Sally Deskins
Publisher: Red Dashboard
Fiction
The Bones of Paradise: A Novel, by Jonis Agee
Publisher: William Morrow
Fiction: Short Story Honor
Where We Land: Stories, by Daryl Farmer
Publisher: Brighthorse Books
Nonfiction Biography
A Warrior of the People: How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial and Gender Inequality to Become America’s First Indian Doctor, by Joe Starita
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Nonfiction Folklore
Why I’m an Only Child and Other Slightly Naughty Plains Folktales, by Roger L. Welsch
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Memoir
Bread: A Memoir of Hunger, by Lisa Knopp
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
Nonfiction Photography
Last Days of Red Cloud Agency, by Thomas R. Buecker
Publisher: Nebraska State Historical Society Books
Nonfiction Reference
Great Plains Indians, by David J. Wishart
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Travel
Trespassing Across America: One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland , by Ken Ilgunas
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Poetry
Homing: The Collected Poems of Don Welch (1975-2015), edited by Dwaine Spieker
Publisher: Rogue Faculty Press
Poetry Honor
I Have Nothing to Say about Fire, by Marjorie Saiser
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Poetry Honor
Singing and Dying, by Glenna Luschei
Publisher: Penciled In

> Back to top


2016 (17th annual) for books published in 2015

Anthology
A Sandhills Reader: Thirty Years of Great Writing from the Great Plains, by Mark Sanders
Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press
Chapbook
Hard Times, by Lin M. Brummels
Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Children/Young Adult
This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon, by Nancy Plain
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
Rodeo Nebraska, by Mark Harris
Design by N. Putens
Publisher: Nebraska State Historical Society
Illustration Honor
The Fishes of Nebraska, by Robert A. Hrabik, Steven C. Schainost, Richard H. Stasiak, Edward J. Peters
Illustrated by Justin T. Sipiorski. Design by Jim L. Friesen
Publisher: Conservation and Survey Division of University of Nebraska Lincoln
Creative Nonfiction
The Ordinary Spaceman: from Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut, by Clayton C. Anderson
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Fiction
The Fishermen: A Novel, by Chigozie Obioma
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Fiction: Short Story Honor
A Man in Trouble: Stories, by Lon Otto
Publisher: Brighthorse Books
Nonfiction: Current Biography
Nebrasketball: Coach Tim Miles and a Big Ten Team on the Rise, by Scott Winter
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Historical Biography
Sister’s Memories: The Life and Work of Grace Abbott from the Writings of Her Sister, Edith Abbott, by Edith Abbott and John Sorensen
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Nonfiction: Nebraska as Place
New Prairie Kitchen: Stories and Seasonal Recipes from Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans of the Great Plains, by Summer Miller
Publisher: Midway
Nonfiction: Reference
The Fishes of Nebraska, by Robert A. Hrabik, Steven C. Schainost, Richard H. Stasiak, Edward J. Peters
Illustrated by Justin T. Sipiorski. Design by Jim L. Friesen
Publisher: Conservation and Survey Division of University of Nebraska Lincoln
Nonfiction: True Crime
In Cold Storage: Sex and Murder on the Plains, by James W. Hewitt
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Wildlife
A Chorus of Cranes: The Cranes of North America and the World, by Paul A. Johnsgard and Thomas D. Mangelsen
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Nonfiction: Wildlife Honor
Hunting for Food: Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game, by Jenny Nguyen and Rick Wheatley
Publisher: Living Ready
Poetry
Breezes on Their Way to Being Winds, by Charles Peek
Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Poetry Honor
Quiet City, by Susan Aizenberg
Publisher: BkMk Press

> Back to top


2015 (16th annual) for books published in 2014

Anthology
The Wheeling Year: A Poet’s Field Book, by Ted Kooser
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
As All My Fathers Were: A Novel, by James A. Misko
Cover and design by Jonathan Friedman
Publisher: Northwest Ventures Press
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
Intimates and Fools, by Laura Madeline Wiseman
Art by Sally Deskins. Internal layout and design by Adam Wagler
Publisher: Les Femmes Folles Books
Fiction
Last Night at the Blue Angel, by Rebecca Rotert
Publisher: William Morrow
Fiction: Short Story
In Reach, by Pamela Carter Joern
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Investigative Journalism
The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food, by Ted Genoways
Publisher: Harper
Nonfiction: Memoir
Leaving the Pink House: A Memoir, by Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Nonfiction: Nebraska as Place
This Place, These People: Life and Shadow on the Great Plains, by David Stark and Nancy Warner
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Nonfiction: Nebraska History
Nebraska POW Camps: A History of World War II Prisoners in the Heartland, by Melissa Amateis Marsh
Publisher: The History Press
Nonfiction: Nebraska Spirit
Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II, by James J. Kimble
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Reference
History of Nebraska, by Ronald C. Naugle, John J. Montag, and James C. Olson
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Morning: Last Poems, by Don Welch
Publisher: pigeonpress
Poetry Honor
Always the Detail, by Barbara Schmitz
Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press

> Back to top


2014 (15th annual) for books published in 2013

Anthology
The Untidy Season: An Anthology of Nebraska Women Poets, edited by Heidi Hermanson, Liz Kay, Jen Lambert, and Sarah McKinstry-Brown
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Anthology Honor
The Northwoods Hymnal, by Luke A. Hawley
Publisher: River Otter Press
Children's Picture Book
Simpson’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep!, Bruce Arant
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
Simpson’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep!, Bruce Arant
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press
Fiction
Stranded, Alex Kava
Publisher: Doubleday
Fiction Honor
Haven’s Wake, Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Biography
Black Print with a White Carnation: Mildred Brown and the Omaha Star Newspaper, 1938-1989, Amy Helene Forss
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: History
The Last Days of the Rainbelt, David J. Wishart
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Natural History
Yellowstone Wildlife: Ecology and Natural History of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Paul A. Johnsgard, photographs by Thomas D. Mangelsen
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Nonfiction: Reference
Witness: A Húnkpapȟa Historian’s Strong-Heart Song of the Lakotas, Josephine Waggoner and Emily Levine
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Saving Singletrees, Leo Dangel
Publisher: WSC Press
Young Adult Fiction
Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

> Back to top


2013 (14th annual) for books published in 2012

Anthology
Artifacts & Illuminations: Critical Essays on Loren Eiseley, edited by Tom Lynch and Susan N. Maher
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Children's Picture Book
House Held Up by Trees, Ted Kooser
Publisher: Candlewick
Cover/Design/Illustration
Nebraska's Post Office Murals: Born of the Depression, Fostered by the New Deal, L. Robert Puschendorf
Publisher: Nebraska State Historical Society Books
Designer: Nathan Putens
Cover/Design/Illustration Book Arts Award
In Times of Considerable Wars and Interludes, Don Welch
Publisher: All Along Press
Design, Illustration and Production: Elysia Mann
Fiction
Hell or High Water, Joy Castro
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Fiction Honor
Lake Country: A Novel, Sean Doolittle
Publisher: Bantam
Nonfiction: Autobiography
Backstage: Stories from My Life in Public Television, Ron Hull
Publisher: Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Autobiography
Called to Justice: The Life of a Federal Trial Judge (Law in the American West), Hon. Warren K. Urbom and William Jay Riley
Publisher: Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Biography
Free Radical: Ernest Chambers, Black Power, and the Politics of Race, Tekla Agbala Ali Johnson and Quintard Taylor
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Nonfiction: Essay
What the River Carries: Encounters with the Mississippi, Missouri, and Platte, Lisa Knopp
Publisher: University of Missouri
Nonfiction: History
Standing Firmly by the Flag: Nebraska Territory and the Civil War, 1861-1867, James E. Potter
Publisher: Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction: Nebraska as Place
Nebraska's Post Office Murals: Born of the Depression, Fostered by the New Deal, L. Robert Puschendorf
Publisher: Nebraska State Historical Society Books
Poetry
Stray Cat Blues, Hal Sirowitz
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Young Adult Fiction
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, emily m. danforth
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Youth Nonfiction
Light on the Prairie: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska's Pioneer Days, Nancy Plain
Publisher: Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press

> Back to top


2012 (13th annual) for books published in 2011

Anthology
Aspects of Robinson: Homage to Weldon Kees, edited by Christopher Buckley and Christopher Howell
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Anthology Honor
Women on the North American Plains, edited by Renee Laegreid and Sandra K. Mathews
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
First Telegraph Line across the Continent: Charles Brown’s 1861 Diary, edited by Dennis Mihelich and James E. Potter
Designer: Reigert Graphics
Publisher:Nebraska State Historical Society Books
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
Flushed During Play: 51 Pet Rodent Deaths, compiled by Jeff Lacey
Artwork: Calvin Banks
Fiction
To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Nonfiction: Biography
Rattlesnake Daddy: A Son's Search for His Father by Brent Spencer
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Nonfiction: History
The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the ‘68 Racial Divide by Steve Marantz
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press 
Nonfiction: Nebraska as Place
Portraits Of The Prairie: The Land That Inspired Willa Cather by Richard Schilling
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press 
Nonfiction: Reference
Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains by Jon Farrar 
Publisher: University of Iowa Press 
Poetry
Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet, Twyla M. Hansen and Linda M. Hasselstrom
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top


2011 (12th annual) for books published in 2010

Cover/Design/Illustration
The Flower Girl/The Ring Bear by N.L. Sharp
Illustrated by Tim Hantula
Designer: Lynn Gibney
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
Belle Boy by Anne Fuller
Designer: Gary James Withrow
Publisher: Fuller Minds LLC
Fiction
Lamb Bright Saviors by Robert Vivian
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Fiction Honor
Stolen Horses by Dan O'Brien
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction
Life is What You Make It by Peter Buffet
Publisher: Harmony Books
Nonfiction Honor
North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied: Volume 2, April-September 1833 by Stephen S. Witte and Marsha V. Gallagher, Editors
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Poetry
Cradling Monsoons by Sarah McKinstry-Brown
Publisher: Blue Light Press
Young Adult Fiction
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Young Adult Nonfiction
Sky Sailors: True Stories of the Balloon Era by David L. Bristow
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

> Back to top


2010 (11th annual) for books published in 2009

Anthology
African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology
Edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Anthology Honor
The Loren Eiseley Reader by Loren C. Eiseley
Forward by Ray Bradbury
Edited by The Loren Eiseley Society
Cover art and illustrations: Aaron Franco
Publisher: Abbatia Press/Infusionmedia Publishing
Cover/Design/Illustration
“I Do Not Apologize for the Length of This Letter”: The Mari Sandoz Letters on Native American Rights, 1940-1965 by Mari Sandoz and Kimberli A. Lee
Designer: Lindsay Starr
Cover photos: Courtesy Caroline Sandoz Pifer Collection, Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, Chadron State College
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild by Michael Forsberg
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Fiction
A Sandhills Ballad by Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Nonfiction
“I Am a Man”: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice by Joe Starita
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Nonfiction Honor
Louise Pound: Scholar, Athlete, Feminist Pioneer by Robert Cochran
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Garden of Stars by Dwaine Spieker
Publisher: All Along Press
Young Adult
Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill
Publisher: New American Library

> Back to top


2009 (10th annual) for books published in 2008

Cover/Design/Illustration
BVH Architects: Forty Years by Suzanne Smith Arney
Designer: Elizabeth Murphy
Cover photo: Fashid Assassi
Publisher: Omaha Books, a division of Eventive Marketing, LLC
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder by Stew Magnuson
Designer: Lindsay Starr
Cover photo: John Vachon
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Fiction
Exiles by Ron Hansen
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Nonfiction
The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder by Stew Magnuson
Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
Nonfiction Honor
Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail by Keith Terry
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Geographia by James Magorian
Publisher: Black Oak Press

> Back to top


2008 (9th annual) for books published in 2007

Anthology
The Big Empty: Contemporary Nebraska Nonfiction Writers
Edited by Ladette Randolph and Nina Shevchuk-Murray
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Anthology Honor
Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry
Edited by Greg Kosmicki and Mary K. Stillwell
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Cover/Design/Illustration
Husker Numbers: A Nebraska Number Book by Rajean Luebs Shepherd
Illustrated by Sandy Appleoff
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Fiction
Dead Ex by Harley Jane Kozak
Publisher: Doubleday
Nonfiction
150: A Commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of Hall County, Nebraska
Edited by Pete Letheby
Publisher: Grand Island Independent
Nonfiction Honor
Africa on Six Wheels: A Semester on Safari by Betty Levitov
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Book of Grass by JV Brummels
Publisher: Grizzly Media

> Back to top


2007 (8th annual) for books published in 2006

Children/Young Adult
Tomorrow, the River by Dianne E. Gray
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Cover/Design/Illustration
Things We Don’t Know We Don’t Know by Matt Mason
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Fiction
The Floor of the Sky by Pamela Carter Joern
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press Flyover Fiction Series
Fiction Honor
The Cleanup by Sean Doolittle
Publisher: Bantam Dell, a Division of Random House, Inc.
Nonfiction
The National Grasslands: A Guide to America’s Undiscovered Treasures by Francis Moul
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press Bison Books
Photography: Georg Joutras
Nonfiction Honor
Toast to Omaha: A Cookbook by Junior League of Omaha
Publisher: Omaha Books
Poetry
Things We Don’t Know We Don’t Know by Matt Mason
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top


2006 (7th annual) for books published in 2005

Anthology
Slamma Lamma Ding Dong: An Anthology of Nebraska’s Slam Poets
Edited by J.M. Huscher, Matt Mason, Dan Leamen
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Children/Young Adult
The Nebraska Adventure by Jean A. Lukesh
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Cover/Design/Illustration
These Trespasses by Jim Reese
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Fiction
This is Not the Tropics by Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Nonfiction
Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, A Journalist In The Gilded Age by Elia W. Peattie
Edited by Susanne George-Bloomfield
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Honor
Rainmakers: A Photographic Story of Center Pivots
Publisher: Groundwater Foundation
Poetry
No Accident by Aaron Anstett
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top


2005 (6th annual) for books published in 2004

Anthology
A Different Plain: Contemporary Nebraska Fiction Writers
Edited by Ladette Randolph
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Children
Going North by Janice N. Harrington
Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Children Honor
Effie’s Image by N. L. Sharp
Illustrated by Dorothia Rohner
Publisher: Prairieland Press
Young Adult Honor
Worth by A. LaFaye
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Cover/Design/Illustration
On Ancient Wings by Michael Forsberg
Publisher: Michael Forsberg Photography
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor
Mirror of the Wood by Karen Kunc and Jukka Partanen
Publisher: Blue Heron Press
Fiction
Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak
Publisher: Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.
Fiction Honor
Little Men by Gerald Shapiro
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Nonfiction
A Life with Dogs by Roger Welsch
Publisher: MBI Publishing Company
Nonfiction Honor
On Ancient Wings by Michael Forsberg
Publisher: Michael Forsberg Photography
Poetry
How Much Our Dancing Has Improved by Barbara Schmitz
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top


2004 (5th annual) for books published in 2003

Anthology
Road Trip: Conversations with Writers
Edited by Shelly Clark and Marjorie Saiser
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Children
The Ring Bear by N. L. Sharp
Illustrated by Michael T. Hassler Jr.
Publisher: Dageforde Publishing, Inc.
Cover/Design/Illustration
Road Trip: Conversations with Writers
Cover photo: Randy Barger
Cover design: Chris Bristol
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Fiction
Acts of Love on Indigo Road by Jonis Agee
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Nonfiction
Restoring the Burnt Child: A Primer by William Kloefkorn
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Potato Soup by Twyla Hansen
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Young Adult
Free to Drink the Wind by Ruth Foreman
Publisher: Beaver Books

> Back to top


2003 (4th annual) for books published in 2002

Children/Young Adult
Together Apart by Dianne E. Gray
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Children/Young Adult Honor
Prairie Summer by Bonnie Geisert
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Cover/Design/Illustration
Times of Sorrow, Times of Grace: Writing by Women of the Great Plains/High Plains
Edited by Marjorie Saiser, Greg Kosmicki, and Lisa Sandlin
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Cover/Design/Illustration Book Arts Production Honor
A Year at the Sorbonne: A Proustian Life, Oliver B. Pollak
Publisher: The Yellow Barn Press
Fiction
The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters, Timothy Schaffert
Publisher: Blue Hen Books/Penguin Putnam
Fiction Short Story Collection Honor
Night Sounds and Other Stories, Karen Gettert Shoemaker
Publisher: Dufour Editions Inc.
Nonfiction
Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps, Ted Kooser
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Muse, Susan Aizenberg
Publisher: Crab Orchard Review & Southern Illinois University Press
Poetry Honor
Times of Sorrow, Times of Grace: Writing by Women of the Great Plains/High Plains
Edited by Marjorie Saiser, Greg Kosmicki, and Lisa Sandlin
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top


2002 (3rd annual) for books published in 2001

Cover/Design/Illustration
All the Horses that He’d Rode by Charles E. Hunt and Daryl Poulin
Publisher: Dageforde Publishing
Fiction
A Cafecito Story: El Cuento Del Cafecito by Julia Alvarez, Belkis Ramirez, Bill Eichner
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Nonfiction
Cold Snap as Yearning by Robert Vivian
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Nonfiction Honor
The Nature of Nebraska by Paul A. Johnsgard
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Bullroarer: A Sequence by Ted Genoways
Publisher: Northeastern University Press
Poetry Honor
Lost in Seward County by Marjorie Saiser
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Poetry Honor
Translation by Hilda Raz
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

> Back to top


2001 (2nd annual) for books published in 2000

Children/Young Adult
Places in Time: A New Atlas of American History by Susan Buckley, Elspeth Leacock, Randy Jones
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Cover/Design/Illustration
Homefield: Sonata in Rural Voice by Robert Richter
Edited by Marjorie Saiser, Greg Kosmicki, and Lisa Sandlin
Publisher: The Backwaters Press
Fiction
Troublemakers, Robert Richter
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Nonfiction
Entering Howard County: A History of the People and the Land of Howard County, Nebraska by Marion Bahensky, Ron Sack
Publisher: Howard County Historical Society
Nonfiction Honor
Black Elk Lives: Conversations with the Black Elk Family by Esther Black Elk DeSersa, Olivia Black Elk Pourier, Aaron DeSersa Jr., Clifton DeSersa
Edited by Hilda Neihardt, Lori Utecht
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Poetry
Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison by Ted Kooser
Publisher: Carnegie Melon University Press

> Back to top


2000 (1st annual) for books published in 1999

Cover/Design/Illustration
Abilene Lawmen by Larry D. Underwood
Publisher: Dageford Publishing
Fiction
The Weight of Dreams by Jonis Agee
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Nonfiction
The Frontier Army and the Settlement of the West by Michael L. Tate
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Nonfiction Honor
Spans in Time: A History of Nebraska Bridges by James Potter and Robert Puschendorf
Publisher: Nebraska State Historical Society
Poetry
Bones of a Very Fine Hand by Marjorie Saiser
Publisher: The Backwaters Press

> Back to top