Minnesota Book Awards finalists announced

Link to January 31 St. Paul Pioneer Press report.

Excerpt: Finalists for the 22nd Minnesota Book Awards were announced Saturday by Friends of the St. Paul Public Library in consortium with the St. Paul Public Library and the St. Paul mayor's office. Two of the nominees have already earned accolades: "Red Sings from Treetops," by Joyce Sidman, won a Caldecott Honor award for children's literature this month, and "The Book of Night Women," a novel by Marlon James, has been nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award.

Winners will be announced April 17 at the Book Awards gala at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Paul. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. with the awards presentation at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40; to order, go to thefriends.org or call 651-222-3242. Minnesotans can decide the Readers' Choice Award in March by going to TwinCities.com. The book with the most votes will be awarded the Readers' Choice Award, sponsored by the Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com.

Two special awards for contributions to the literary and artistic community in Minnesota will also be given. Wilber H. Schilling is recipient of the third annual Book Artist Award, presented with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Schilling is the owner of Indulgence Press, which specializes in hand-bound, letterpress printed fine press books, artist books and limited-edition fine art prints. The Kay Sexton Award, sponsored by Common Good Advertisement.