2017 Oklahoma Book Award Finalists
The following books have been selected as finalists in Oklahoma Book Award Competition. The books are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the lead author, illustrator, designer, and/or photographer.
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT
Aging Out by Alton Carter
The RoadRunner Press
Seeking Cassandra by Lutricia Clifton
Holiday House
My Friend Maggie by Hannah E. Harrison
Dial Books/Penguin Random House
Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks
Lee & Low Books
The Night the Mice Sang by Marla F. Jones
Doodle and Peck Publishing
Dust Storm by Jane McKellips
Oklahoma Heritage Association Publishing
Mary Had a Little Glam by Tammi Sauer
Sterling Publishing
DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION
My Friend Maggie, illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison
Dial Books/Penguin Random House
4th & Boston: Heart of the Magic Empire, designed by Douglas Miller
Mullerhaus Legacy
Portrait of Route 66: Images from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives
book design by Julie Rushing; cover design by Anthony Roberts
University of Oklahoma Press
Picher, Oklahoma: Catastrophe, Memory, and Trauma
book design by Julie Rushing; photography by Todd Stewart
University of Oklahoma Press
My Name is James Madison Hemings, illustrated by Terry Widener
Schwartz & Wade/Penguin Random House
FICTION
The Wantland Files by Lara Bernhardt
Admission Press
Challengers of the Dust by William Bernhardt
This Land Press
Scalp Dance by Lu Clifton
Five Star
Three Weeks in Washington by Luana Ehrlich
Potter’s Word Publishing
Beulah’s House of Prayer by Cynthia A. Graham
Brick Mantel Books
The Woman in the Photo by Mary Hogan
William Morrow/Harper Collins
For the Record by Regina Jennings
Bethany House Publishers
I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows
Henry Holt and Company
Hell Bay by Will Thomas
Minotaur Books
The Wandering Tree by Daniel Wimberley
Design Vault
NON-FICTION
Ma Barker: America’s Most Wanted Mother by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss
Two Dot/Rowman & Littlefield
4th and Boston: Heart of the Magic Empire by Douglas Miller and Steve Gerkin
Mullerhaus Legacy
The Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle by Rusty Williams
Texas A&M University Press
Right Down the Middle: The Ralph Terry Story by Ralph Terry with John Wooley
Mullerhaus Legacy
POETRY
The Murder of Crows and Other Quirky Poems by Kevin Acers
CreateSpace—Kevin Acers publisher
Strong Medicine by Sly Alley
Village Books Press
Celestial Bodies by Laura Apol
Leaf Press
My Salvaged Heart: Story of a Cautious Courtship by Nathan Brown
Mezcalita Press
If Earth Can Find Its Orbit by Karen Coody Cooper
Soddenbank Press
Driving Without a License by Janine Joseph
Alice James Books
Arachnid Verve by Shauna Osborn
Mongrel Empire Press
If you missed last year’s awards, go to the 2016 winners and finalists.
Also view the 2015 winners and finalists.
See the full list of all previous Oklahoma Book Award winners and special recognitions.