Novelist Marlon James and poet Joyce Sidman each picked up their second Minnesota Book Award on Saturday night, and previous nominees Julie Klassen and Margi Preus also were among the winners. The Star Tribune's editorial writer Lori Sturdevant picked up her first award for writing; she had previously won two Minnesota Book Awards for editing.
The annual event drew about 800 people to St. Paul's Union Depot for a festive night of music, champagne and celebration of the written word. Here are the winners:
Children's Literature, sponsored by Books for Africa:
Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen: "Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold," published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. Sidman, a Newbery Honor-winning author, won a Minnesota Book Award in 2010. She lives in Wayzata. Allen is an award-winning illustrator and printmaker in Duluth.
General Nonfiction, sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO:
Nancy Koester: "Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Spiritual Life," published by William B. Eerdman Publishing Co. Koester is an ordained Lutheran minister and spiritual director.
Genre Fiction, sponsored by Macalester College:
Julie Klassen: "The Secret of Pembrooke Park," published by Bethany House Publishers. Klassen is the author of eight novels, including three winners of the Christy Award for Historical Romance.
Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, sponsored by Northwestern Mutual:
Kaethe Schwehn: "Tailings: A Memoir," published by Cascade Books/Wipf and Stock Publishers. Schwehn is the co-editor of "Claiming Our Callings: Toward a New Understanding of Vocation in the Liberal Arts." She teaches at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Minnesota, sponsored by St. Mary's University of Minnesota:
Lori Sturdevant: "Her Honor: Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota Women's Movement," published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Sturdevant is an editorial columnist for the Star Tribune and has written a number of books on Minnesota history.She won a Minnesota Book Award in 2003 for editing "Overcoming: The Autobiography of W. Harry Davis," and in 2001 for editing Elmer L. Andersen's "A Man's Reach."
Novel & Short Story, sponsored by Education Minnesota:
Marlon James: "A Brief History of Seven Killings," published by Riverhead Books. James is the author of "The Book of Night Women," winner of a 2010 Minnesota Book Award. He teaches at Macalester College in St. Paul.
Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.:
Sean Hill: "Dangerous Goods," published by Milkweed Editions. Hill, who was born and raised in Milledgeville, Ga., also is the author of "Blood Ties & Brown Liquor."
Young People's Literature, sponsored by the Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University:
Margi Preus: "West of the Moon," published by Amulet Books. Preus, who lives in Duluth, is a Newbery Honor Award-winning author of five books for young readers.
Also at the event, writer and educator Mary François Rockcastle received the previously announced Kay Sexton Award for her long-standing contributions to Minnesota's literary community. And Harriet Bart and her collaborative partners, Philip Gallo and Jill Jevne, won the eighth annual Book Artist Award for a new piece entitled "Ghost Maps." Since 2000, Bart, Gallo and Jevne have collaborated to produce 10 artist books, two of which have received Minnesota Book Awards.
Judges sifted through 250 books nominated for awards this year, with 32 books selected as finalists. The winners were chosen by judges from around the state.