Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) announced the thirty-first annual Reading the West Book Awards Winners in nine categories on Tuesday, May 25. For the first time ever, the awards were presented live at a special virtual event, with esteemed host Kali Fajardo-Anstine, winner of the 30th Annual Award for Fiction for her book Sabrina & Corinna: Stories. The Awards Presentation show can be viewed here.

Congratulations to these fantastic books and authors:

Fiction

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Debut Fiction

All Things Left Wild by James Wade

Poetry

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through edited by Joy Harjo

Illustrated Nonfiction

Our Wild Tails: The Adventures of Henry and Baloo by Cynthia Bennett

Narrative Nonfiction

The Reign of Wolf 21 by Rick McIntyre

Eating the West (Culinary/Cookbook)

The Mexican Home Kitchen by Mely Martínez

Picture Book

Simon at the Art Museum by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Christine Davenier

Young Reader

The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Rimington

Young Adult

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

Advocacy Award

My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland

The Reading the West Book Awards are sponsored and promoted by independent booksellers across many western and mid-western states. The awards honor the best fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated books for adults and children set in one of the member states, created by an author or artist living or working in the region, or whose subject relates to 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.

Publishers and authors submit books for consideration for the Reading the West Book Awards program. Bookseller reading committees then read and evaluate all nominated titles to curate shortlists in each category. This year, almost six thousand bookseller and public votes were cast to select the winners from the shortlisted titles.