The Washington State Book Awards are presented by the Washington Center for the Book and The Seattle Public Library. These awards honor outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2021.This year, the judges read and evaluated 243 books.
Biography and Memoir Winner:
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism by Elsa Sjunneson of Seattle
(Simon Element)
Creative Nonfiction Winner:
The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with recipes) by Kate Lebo of Spokane
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Fiction Winner:
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu of Western Washington
(Erewhon)
General Nonfiction Winner:
Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home by Lynda Mapes of Seattle
(Braided River)
Poetry Winner:
More American by Sharon Hashimoto of Tukwila
(Grid Books / Off the Grid Press)
Picture Books Winner:
Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand written by Jennifer Bradbury of Burlington, illustrated by Sam Boughton
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Books for Young Readers Winner:
Mighty Inside by Sundee T. Frazier of Renton
(Levine Querido)
Young Adult Winner:
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen of Seattle
(Henry Holt and Co. BYR)
For the full list of finalists, you can see our article here.
You can find more information about the book awards previous years’ finalists and winners, and submission policies for the 2023 awards at the Washington Center for the Book website.