ST. PAUL — The 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, April 22, was a historic night.
Apart from the spirited celebration of Minnesota books and authors, writer Kao Kalia Yang went home with a record three Minnesota Book Awards in Children’s Literature, Middle Grade Literature and Memoir & Creative Nonfiction.
Yang also contributed to the book Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces, which won in the Anthology category.
Anthology
Locker Room Talk: Women in Private Spaces edited by Margret Aldrich & Michelle Filkins (Spout Press)
Children’s Literature
The Rock in My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang; illustrated by Jiemei Lin (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group)
General Nonfiction
The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists by Lisa Mueller (Beacon Press)
Genre Fiction
Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie Rendon (Bantam/Penguin Random House)
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother's Life by Kao Kalia Yang (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)
Middle Grade Literature
The Diamond Explorer by Kao Kalia Yang (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction
The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America by Michelle S. Phelps (Princeton University Press)
Novel & Short Story
Obligations to the Wounded by Mubanga Kalimamukwento (University of Pittsburgh Press)
Poetry
Bluff by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press)
Young Adult Literature
Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer (Arthur Levine/Levine Querido)
The Kay Sexton Award for “longstanding dedication and outstanding work in fostering books, reading, and literary activity in Minnesota” was awarded to Ann Regan, who recently retired after over 40 years at the Minnesota Historical Society Press.
More information on the Minnesota Book Awards can be found on their website.
