New Names Make Minnesota Book Awards Final List

Sarah T. Williams, Star Tribune
February 6, 2005

This year's crop of Minnesota Book Awards finalists includes many familiar names -- Evelina Chao, Paul Douglas, Judith Guest, Patricia Hampl, Pete Hautman, Robert Hedin, Bill Holm, Alison McGhee, Julie Schumacher and (posthumously) Brenda Ueland -- along with 14 first-time authors.

Winners in 13 categories will be announced at 8 p.m. April 16 at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis. Last year's award ceremonies, sponsored by the Minnesota Humanities Commission, featured a daylong festival of readings, demonstrations, presentations and signings at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, an event canceled this year because of state budget cuts. The financing squeeze also prompted a $10 ticket charge for the April 16 event, a commission spokeswoman said.

Here are the finalists (asterisk denotes a new voice); for more information, go to www.minnesotahumanities.org :

• Anthology and Collections: *"As Long as the Moon Shall Rise: Reflections on the Full Moon," edited by Ellen Moore Anderson (Holy Cow!); *"Charlotte's Table: An Anthology of Writings by the 42nd Street Irregulars," edited by Roger Jones and Rick Fournier (Piecemeal Publications); *"For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitters Art," edited by Kari Cornell (Voyageur Press); "Old Glory: American War Poems from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism," edited by Robert Hedin (Persea Books); "The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald," edited by Patricia Hampl and Dave Page (Borealis Books).

• Autobiography and Memoir: *"Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History" by Jennifer Vogel (Scribner); *"Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard" by Fan Shen (University of Nebraska); "O Clouds, Unfold! Clara Ueland and Her Family" by Brenda Ueland (Nodin); "Yeh Yeh's House" by Evelina Chao (St. Martin's Press).

• Children's and Young Adult Nonfiction: "The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings" by Lise Lunge-Larsen, illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton Mifflin); "Lewis & Clark: Adventures West" by John C. Hamilton (Sparrow Media Group); "Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics," by Catherine Thimmesh, illustrated by Douglas B. Jones (Houghton Mifflin).

• Children's Fiction and Poetry: "The Darkest Evening," by William Durbin (Orchard/Scholastic); "The Double-Digit Club," by Marion Dane Bauer (Holiday House); "Grass Angel" by Julie Schumacher (Delacorte Press); "Snap" by Alison McGhee (Candlewick).

• Children's Picture Books: "The Best Pet of All" by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama (Dutton/Penguin); "Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale From the Andes Mountains" by Barbara Knutson (Carolrhoda/Lerner); "Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth" by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss (Harcourt); *"Rules of the Wild: An Unruly Book of Manners" by Bridget Levin, illustrated by Amanda Shepherd (Chronicle).

• General Nonfiction: "Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide," edited by Sherelyn Ogden (Minnesota Historical Society); "Meetings" by Paul Shambroom (Chris Boot Ltd.); *"Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns" by Cheryl L. Reed (Berkley/Penguin). "Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen," by David Walsh (Free Press).

• History and Biography: "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" by Jack Weatherford (Crown); *"In Gatsby's Shadow: The Story of Charles Macomb Flandrau" by Larry Haeg (University of Iowa); "Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front During World War II" by Dave Kenney (Minnesota Historical Society); "On Foot: A History of Walking" by Joseph A. Amato (New York University); "Strange Days, Dangerous Nights: Photos from the Speed Graphic Era" by Larry Millett (Borealis/Minnesota Historical Society).

• Nature and Minnesota: *"The Angry Trout Cafe Notebook: Friends, Recipes, and the Culture of Sustainability" by George H. Wilkes (Northwind Sailing Inc.); "The Forest for the Trees: How Humans Shaped the North Woods" by Jeff Forester (Minnesota Historical Society); *"Minnesota Treasures: Stories Behind the State's Historic Places" by Denis P. Gardner (Minnesota Historical Society); "Restless Skies: The Ultimate Weather Book" by Paul Douglas (Barnes & Noble); "Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd Olson," edited by David Backes (University of Minnesota).

• Novel and Short Story: "Left Hand" by Ken McCullough, (Seismicity); "The Real Minerva" by Mary Sharratt (Houghton Mifflin); *"Those Who Save Us" by Jenna Blum (Harcourt); "The Work of Wolves" by Kent Meyers (Harcourt).

• Poetry: *"Atlas" by Katrina Vandenberg (Milkweed); "The Jewish Fake Book" by Sima Rabinowitz (Elixir); "Naming the Stars" by Joyce Sutphen (Holy Cow!); "Playing the Black Piano" by Bill Holm (Milkweed); "Shut Up Shut Down" by Mark Nowak (Coffee House)

• Popular Fiction: "Alone at Night" by KJ Erickson (St. Martin's); "Blood Hollow" by William Kent Krueger (Atria); "Lake of Sorrows" by Erin Hart (Scribner); "Live Bait" by P.J. Tracy (Putnam); "The Tarnished Eye" by Judith Guest (Scribner).

• Young Adult Fiction and Poetry: "The Alison Rules" by Catherine Clark (HarperCollins); "Godless" by Pete Hautman (Simon & Schuster); *"A Long Year of Silence" by Kathryn Adams Doty (Edinborough); "Too Big a Storm" by Marsha Qualey (Dial Books).

Sarah T. Williams is at swilliams@startribune.com

For more information on the awards, go to www.minnesotahumanities.org