The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

s, illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

s or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.

Awards are presented in eight categories: Children’s Literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

, General Nonfiction, Genre Fiction

Genre fiction

Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre....

, Memoir

Memoir

A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...

 & Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction

Creative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, Novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 & Short Story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

, Poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, and Young People's Literature. In addition, awards are presented for Readers' Choice, the Minnesota Book Artist (recognizing a Minnesota book artist or long-standing book artist collaborative group for excellence of artistic work, as well as significant contributions to Minnesota’s book arts community) and the Kay Sexton Award (which is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of long-standing dedication and outstanding work in fostering books, reading

Reading (process)

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...

 and literary activity in Minnesota). The award honors Kay Sexton, a book buyer for many years at Dayton's

Dayton's

Minneapolis-based Dayton's was among the leading department stores in the United States for nearly a century after its founding in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. In 1969, the Detroit-based J.L. Hudson Company merged with the Dayton Corporation to form the Dayton-Hudson Corporation, adding 21...

 Department Stores and B. Dalton

B. Dalton

B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by the Dayton's department store chain. Located primarily in shopping malls, B. Dalton competed primarily with Waldenbooks, and operated 798 stores at its peak...

 Bookstores in the Twin Cities

Twin cities

Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...

. She was the first recipient of the award in 1988.

The Minnesota Book Awards was created over two decades ago by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as part of a larger festival of the book. In the intervening years, the Book Awards was led by other host organizations, but throughout, the groups and individuals heading up the Awards strove to showcase the tremendous literary talent and output of the state. Having again assumed leadership of the Awards in 2006, The Friends continues this long tradition of honoring Minnesota books and authors.

Books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans are eligible for Minnesota Book Awards. The Awards are given each year for books published in the previous year. For instance, the winners in 2008 were books published in 2007. The Book Awards process begins with nominations, which are received from author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

s, publishers and others from throughout the state. From the nominated works, Award finalists are chosen by panels of preliminary round judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

s. Award winners are then selected by different, final round, judging panels. Over the years of the Book Awards program, the categories of Award winners and the number of finalists has varied from year to year, but now remains firmly at eight categories, with four finalists in each category.

From the Minnesota Book Awards website: "A book unread is a tragedy. In addition to celebrating writers and books, the Book Awards program connects Minnesota readers to Minnesota books. Thanks to strong library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 and bookseller partners, and through active promotion efforts, the Awards program works to have more people of all ages read, and especially to read and support our own authors, publishers and book creators. Read local!"