Book finalists named

Created on Wednesday, 30 May 2012 09:30 Published Date Hits: 1282

After the review of 86 nominated books, 19 finalists have been chosen for seven categories in the 2012 High Plains Book Awards.

The books were reviewed and ranked by volunteer readers throughout Billings. The books by finalists in each category have been sent to professional authors in the United States and Canada. Three of the books nominated are finalists in two categories.

This year, three of the finalists are Canadian authors, while four authors reside in Billings. Two of the finalists have won a High Plains Book Award in past years.

The authors come from 11 different states – Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Maine, Washington, Iowa, Connecticut, Arizona and Montana, as well as the Canadian providences of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The winner in each category will receive a $500 cash prize.

The High Plains Book Awards and BookFest will take place Oct. 18-20. There will be a reception for the finalists on Friday, Oct. 19, at the Babcock Theater, followed by a public reading. All the finalists are invited to read at the Yellowstone Art Museum on Saturday, Oct. 20, as a part of the 10th annual High Plains BookFest.

The Parmly Billings Library Board established the High Plains Book Awards in 2006.

The awards were established to recognize regional authors and/or literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Best Art and Photography

Arapaho Journeys: Photographs and Stories from the Wind River Reservation, Sara Wiles, Wyoming

Fra Dana: American Impressionist in the Rockies, Valerie Hedquist and Sue Hart, Nebraska and Montana

Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana, Chere Jiusto and Christine W. Brown

Montana Relatives With Roots: A Story About Metis Women’s Connection to the Land, Leah Marie Dorion, Saskatchewan, Canada

Best Fiction

Kings of Colorado, David E. Hinton, Texas

Liberty Lanes, Robin Troy, Connecticut

The Ringer, Jenny Shank, Colorado

Best First Book

American Masculine, Shann Ray, Washington

The Big Sky, By and By, Ed Kemmick, Montana

Kings of Colorado, David E. Hinton, Texas

Rim Haven, Lynne Montague, Montana

Best Nonfiction

The Boy, Betty Jane Hegerat, Alberta, Canada

Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana, Chere Jiusto and Christine W. Brown, Montana

Honyocker Dreams: Montana Memories, David Mogen, Colorado

Best Poetry

Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet, Twyla M Hansen and Linda Hasselstrom, Nebraska and South Dakota

Killing the Murnion Dogs, Joe Wilkins, Iowa, (formerly of Miles City)

Songs of Unreason, Jim Harrison, Montana and Arizona

Best Short Stories

American Masculine, Shann Ray, Washington

Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, Craig Lancaster, Montana

Best Woman Writer

Married Into It, Patricia Frolander, Wyoming

Racing Home, Adele Dueck, Saskatchewan, Canada

Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana’s Frontier, Lael Morgan, Maine