2018 Finalists
The following books were selected as finalists in the twenty-ninth Annual Oklahoma Book Award Competition. The books are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the lead author, illustrator, designer or photographer.
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT
Abraham by Frank Keating
Simon & Schuster
Angie Debo: Daughter of the Prairie by Patricia Loughlin
Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing
The Cloud Artist by Sherri Maret
The RoadRunner Press
Rules for Thieves by Alexandra Ott
Aladdin
The Survivor Tree by Gaye Sanders
The RoadRunner Press
Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent
Delacorte Press
DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION
The Robson Ranch: Hard Work and Family Ties, designed by Laura Hyde
Mullerhaus Legacy Publishing
Don’t Never Be Afraid of Your Horses: Looking Back, art by Mike Larsen, and book design by Skip McKinstry
Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing
Good Night, Trilobite, illustrated by Shanda Willis McDonald, and designed by Gentry Fisher
White Dog Press
Marmie: A Mouse on Main Street, illustrated by Janet Skates
The Museum Broken Arrow Publisher
Oklahoma Winter Bird Atlas, book design by Julie Rushing, and cover design by Anthony Roberts
University of Oklahoma Press
Abraham, illustrated by Mike Wimmer
Simon & Schuster
FICTION
Justice Returns by William Bernhardt
Babylon Books
The Return of the Raven Mocker by Donis Casey
Poisoned Pen Press
The Bone Picker by Lu Clifton
Two Shadows Books
Burials by Mary Anna Evans
Poisoned Pen Press
Let the Dead Bury the Dead by Joan King
Beating Windward Press
The Bridge Troll Murders by Sheldon Russell
The RoadRunner Press
Live from Medicine Park by Constance Squires
University of Oklahoma Press
Dry Run, Oklahoma by Lucinda Stein
CreateSpace—Lucinda Stein Publisher
Old Scores by Will Thomas
Minotaur Books
NON-FICTION
Frank Little and the IWW by Jane Little Botkin
University of Oklahoma Press
Oklahoma’s Brown Decision Test Case: A Participant’s Perspective by Betty Katherine Permetter Falato
Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Doubleday
Killing Albert Berch by Alan Berch Hollingsworth
Pelican Publishing Company
Don’t Never Be Afraid of Your Horses: Looking Back by Mike Larsen
Oklahoma Hall of Fame Publishing
Seat of Power by Douglas Miller and John Hamill
Mullerhaus Legacy Publishing
Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
John Joseph Matthews: Life of an Osage Writer by Michael Snyder
University of Oklahoma Press
The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny by Michael Wallis
Liveright Publishing
POETRY
Colin is Changing His Name by John Andrews
Sibling Rivalry Press
Zippy Zappy: Diminutive Poetry by Kevin Acers
CreateSpace—Kevin Acers Publisher
Ordinary Monsters by Justin Bond
Mongrel Empire Press
Bring an Extry Mule by Ken Hada
Purple Flag Press
Self-Portrait as Wikipedia Entry by Dean Rader
Copper Canyon Press
Constant Fires by Rebecca Hatcher Travis
White Dog Press
Church People by Maria Polson Veres
Stonecrop Press
Renegade by Ron Wallace
TJMF Publishing
See the 2017 winners and the full list of 2017 finalists.
View the list of all previous Oklahoma Book Award winners and special recognitions.