Promoted by independent booksellers across many western and mid-western states, the Reading the West Book Awards honor the best fiction, nonfiction, and illustrated books for adults and children set in one of the states or created by an author or artist living or working in the region.
The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) announced the 31st Annual Reading the West Book Awards shortlists in nine award categories. Member booksellers and the reading public are encouraged to vote for their favorite titles in each category at readingthewest.com, through May 15, 2021.
The awards winners will be announced on May 25, at 6:00 p.m. MDT at a live, virtual event hosted by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, winner of the 30th Annual Reading the West Book Award for Fiction for her book, Sabrina & Corina: Stories. This first ever event is open to the public, who can register now for free.
The winning authors and their books will be celebrated by independent bookstores across the MPIBA region and beyond, with in-store displays, newsletter stories, website and social media posts, and customer events.
Promoted by independent booksellers across many western and mid-western states, the Reading the West Book Awards honor the best fiction, nonfiction, and illustrated books for adults and children set in one of the states or created by an author or artist living or working in the region. The awards, given to books published in the previous calendar year, celebrate the spirit of the west and the rich variety of writing in and about this region and reflect the extraordinary diversity of the reading public.
Bookseller reading committees have curated shortlists from an outstanding list of titles nominated by publishers. The shortlists (in no particular order):
FICTION
Telephone, Percival Everett, Graywolf Press
The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones, Gallery/Saga Press
All God's Children, Aaron Gwyn, Europa Editions
Barn 8, Deb Olin Unferth, Graywolf Press
Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse, Gallery/Saga Press
DEBUT FICTION
Nights When Nothing Happened, Simon Han, Riverhead Books
Above Us the Milky Way, Fowzia Karimi, Deep Vellum Publishing
All Things Left Wild, James Wade, Blackstone Publishing
Winter Counts, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Ecco
Valentine, Elizabeth Wetmore, Harper
POETRY
Guillotine: Poems, Eduardo C. Corral, Graywolf Press
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry, Joy Harjo (editor), W. W. Norton & Company
The Death of Sitting Bear: New and Selected Poems, N. Scott Momaday, Harper
Postcolonial Love Poem: Poems, Natalie Diaz, Graywolf Press
Anodyne, Khadijah Queen, Tin House Books
NARRATIVE NONFICTION
Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West, Justin Farrell, Princeton University Press
Half Broke: A Memoir, Ginger Gaffney, W. W. Norton & Company
The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone's Legendary Druid Pack, Rick McIntyre, Greystone Books
Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land, N. Scott Momaday, Harper
The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West, Megan Kate Nelson, Scribner
ILLUSTRATED NONFICTION
Our Wild Tails, Cynthia Bennett, Gibbs Smith
Cross Country: A 3,700-Mile Run to Explore Unseen America, Rickey Gates, Chronicle Books
Colorado's Highest: The History of Naming the 14,000-Foot Peaks, Jeri Norgren, John Fielder Publishing
Wild Horses of the West, Jan Drake, Gibbs Smith
Through a Native Lens: American Indian Photography, Nicole Strathman, University of Oklahoma Press
YOUNG ADULT
Forget This Ever Happened, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Holiday House
I'll Be the One, Lyla Lee, Katherine Tegan Books
Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger, Levine Querido
Tigers, Not Daughters, Samantha Mabry, Algonquin Young Readers
Everything Sad is Untrue, Daniel Nayeri, Levine Querido
YOUNG READERS (MIDDLE GRADE)
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, Fleur Bradley, Viking Books for Young Readers
Santiago's Road Home, Alexandra Diaz, S&S/Paula Wiseman Books
96 Miles, J. L. Esplin, Starscape
The Elephant's Girl, Celesta Rimington, Crown Books for Young Readers
Desert Diary, Michael O. Tunnell, Charlesbridge
PICTURE BOOKS
Cow Boy is NOT a Cowboy, Gregory Barrington, HarperCollins
The Old Truck, Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, Norton Young Readers
On Account of the Gum, Adam Rex, Chronicle Books
Simon at the Art Museum, Christina Soontornvat, Atheneum BYR
Green on Green, Dianne White and Felicita Sala, Beach Lane Books
EATING THE WEST (COOKBOOKS & CULINARY WRITING)
Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona, Jackie Alpers, West Margin Press
Chicano Eats, Esteban Castillo, Harper Design
Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food, Gina Rae La Cerva, Greystone Books
The Mexican Home Kitchen: Traditional Home-Style Recipes That Capture the Flavors and Memories of Mexico, Mely Martinez, Rock Point
The Little Local Southwest Cookbook: Recipes for Classic Dishes, Marilyn Noble, Countryman Press
The mission of the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) is to support and promote independent booksellers in our region, raise awareness of the value of locally owned businesses in our communities, and celebrate literary culture and an open exchange of ideas as crucial to a free society. MPIBA is a nonprofit professional association of bookstores, booksellers, authors, and industry professionals. The association began over fifty years ago in Denver, Colorado, and has grown to represent booksellers in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
