Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Ballantine) by Jamie Ford won the 2009 Montana Book Award, which recognizes literary excellence in a book that was written or illustrated by someone who lives in Montana, is set in Montana, or deals with Montana themes or issues.
Four other books were recognized: The 600 Hours of Edward (Riverbend Publishing)
by Craig Lancaster , The Big Burn (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Timothy Egan , The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet (Penguin) by Reif Larsen and Stick Horses and Other Stories of Ranch Life (Gibbs Smith) by Wallace MacRae.