Winners of the 2021 Minnesota Book Awards
This year s winners include a book on fish owls in Eastern Russia, a novel about a working-class family set in Hawaii, and a small town mystery.
Kawai Strong Washburn
The 2021 Minnesota Book Awards took place virtually last night for the second year in a row, but that still didn t stop the local celebration of authors and writing.
Among the award winners: Danez Smith s singular style of verse inÂ
Homie: Poems took home the poetry award, the Minnesota-via-Hawaii debut author Kawai Strong Washburn sÂ
Sharks in the Time of Saviors was awarded the best novel, and the teacher and founder of the More Than a Single Story discussion series Carolyn Holbrook s essay collection
Owls and Sharks lead the list of Minnesota Book Award winners Authors Jonathan C. Slaght and Kawai Strong Washburn were among those honored in a virtual celebration. April 29, 2021 8:01pm Text size Copy shortlink:
The Minnesota Book Awards honored writers both established and emerging Thursday night in their second consecutive virtual awards ceremony.
Here s the full list of winners:
Novel & short story: Sharks in the Time of Saviors, by Washburn (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Seven-year-old Noa falls overboard and is carefully, tenderly returned to the boat by sharks. Washburn s story is about a working-class Hawaiian family touched by the gods.
General nonfiction: Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World s Largest Owl, by Slaght (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The author spent five winters in far eastern Russia, tracking, banding and studying the rare Blakiston s fish owl in order to unde