Minnesota Book Award finalists announced

Minnesota writer Larry Millett is a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award in two categories; the children's literature category is a hotbed of competition with all nominees previous winners; and Star Tribune editorial writer Lori Sturdevant has been nominated for her biography of Rosaline Wahl.

The winners will be announced on April 18 at the annual Minnesota Book Awards gala event at the Historic Union Depot in St. Paul's Lowertown. Here are the finalists:

Children's Literature, sponsored by Books For Africa: "It's an Orange Aardvark," by Michael Hall; "Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster," by Mike Wohnoutka; "Water Can Be… ," by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija; "Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold," by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen.

General Nonfiction, sponsored by Minnesota AFL-CIO: "Harriet Beecher Stowe," by Nancy Koester; "My Grandfather's Knocking Sticks," by Brenda J. Child; "New Scenic Café: The Cookbook," by Scott Graden with Arlene Anderson; "Queer Clergy," by R.W. Holmen.

Genre Fiction, sponsored by Alerus Financial: "Fallen Angel," by Chuck Logan; "The Life We Bury," by Allen Eskens; "The Secret of Pembrooke Park," by Julie Klassen; "Strongwood: A Crime Dossier," by Larry Millett.

Memoir & Creative Nonfiction: "Love Imagined," by Sherry Quan Lee; "Northern Orchards," by James Silas Rogers; "Seeking the Cave," by James P. Lenfestey; "Tailings: A Memoir," by Kaethe Schwehn.

Minnesota: "Amphibians and Reptiles in Minnesota," by John J. Moriarty and Carol D. Hall; "Her Honor: Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota Women's Movement," by Lori Sturdevant; "Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook," by Tricia Cornell; "Minnesota's Own," by Larry Millett, photography by Matt Schmitt.

Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management: "Dangerous Goods," by Sean Hill; "Albedo," by Kathleen Jesme; "Soul Over Lightning," by Ray Gonzalez; "This Way to the Sugar," by Hieu Minh Nguyen.

Young People's Literature, sponsored by The Creative Writing Programs at Hamline University: "Ambassador," by William Alexander; "Leroy Ninker Saddles Up," by Kate DiCamillo; "West of the Moon," by Margi Preus, "The Witch's Boy," by Kelly Barnhill.

Previously announced are the Book Artist Award, which will be awarded to Harriet Bart, Philip Gallo and Jill Jevne, and the Kay Sexton Award, which will go to Mary François Rockcastle.

Tickets for the Minnesota Book Award gala are $50 and are available at www.thefriends.org or by calling 651-222-3242.