This winter, judges pored over 250 books written by Minnesotans, and on Saturday night, the writers of nine of those books got to take home a Minnesota Book Award.
The embodiment of the award is a hand-blown glass statue that looks sort of like a baseball on a pedestal. Last year’s statue, noted 2009 winner Julie Kramer, had a sharp, flamelike silhouette. “People told me it would make an excellent murder weapon,” she said, and indeed, when she took it along on a reading at the women’s prison in Shakopee, she got in without any problems, but the award got hung up in security.
Little stories like these lit up the evening. Heid Erdrich noted that the poetry category lacked a sponsor, and boldly suggested a few local businesses that poets especially appreciate take the honor: namely, Dunn Bros. Coffee, Surly Beer, and Summit Brewing Co.
David Housewright seemed nearly giddy to have finally collected an award for his mystery writing, after watching William Kent Krueger make off with a whole shelf-load of the things. He talked about visiting a tourist business in Northern Minnesota that stocked Krueger’s books, but not his, and the shopkeeper, not knowing that Housewright stood before her, said, “[Housewright] writes about the Twin Cities. We don’t care for that up here.” Maybe now that he’s won the statewide competition he can get a little space on that shelf.
Here are the winners:
Genre Fiction: David Housewright,”Jelly’s Gold”
General Nonfiction: Joy K. Lintelman, “I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson”
Young People’s Literature: Kate DiCamillo, “The Magician’s Elephant”
Children’s Literature: Joyce Sidman, “Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors”
Poetry: Jude Nutter, “I Wish I Had a Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman”
Minnesota: Cary J. Griffith, “Opening Goliath: Danger and Discovery in Caving”
Memoir and Creative Nonfiction: Kent Nerburn,“The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey Through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows”
Novel and Short Story: Marlon James, “The Book of the Night Women”
Reader’s Choice Award: Dave Kenney, “Honor Bright: A Century of Scouting in Northern Star Council”
