St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang picked up her fourth Minnesota Book Award on Tuesday night — and her first for a children's book — while Macalester College professor Marlon James picked up his third.
But there were first-time winners, as well: Su Hwang won for "Bodega," her debut collection of poetry, and Kate Allen for her debut middle-grade novel, "The Line Tender."
Books from Minnesota publishers won four of the awards.
Because of COVID-19, the Minnesota Book Awards were livestreamed on the Web, with actor T. Mychael Rambo serving as the virtual emcee. Here are the winners for the 2019 publishing year:
Children's literature: Kao Kalia Yang, "A Map Into the World," illustrated by Seo Kim, published by Carolrhoda Books of Minneapolis. Yang won previously for "The Latehomecomer" (in both the readers' choice and the memoir category) and "The Song Poet."
General nonfiction: David Treuer, "The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present" (Riverhead Books).
Genre fiction: Marlon James, "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" (Riverhead Books). This novel, the first of a planned trilogy, was also a finalist for a National Book Award.
Memoir and creative nonfiction: Karen Babine, "All the Wild Hungers" (Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis). This is Babine's second Minnesota Book Award.
