Contest Winners

2023 Awards for Books Published in 2022

ADULT FICTION

WINNER:

Rita Woods, “The Last Dreamwalker,” Forge Books. (Author lives in Homer Glen, Illinois.)

HONOREES:

— Wendy Wimmer, “Entry Level,” Autumn House Press. (Author lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.)

— Carol Dunbar, “The Net Beneath Us,” Forge Books. (Author lives in Superior, Wisconsin.)

— Antonia Angress, “Sirens & Muses,” Ballantine Books. (Author lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota)

The judges for Adult Fiction were Kate McIntyre, Andrew J. Graff, and Christina Clancy.

RICHARD FRISBIE AWARD FOR ADULT NONFICTION

WINNER:

Kathleen Hale, “Slenderman: Online Obsessions, Mental Illness and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls,” Grove Atlantic Press. (Author was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and now lives in Los Angeles, California.)

HONOREES:

— Ghassan Zeineddine, Nabeel Abraham, and Sally Howell, editors, “Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging,” Wayne State University Press. (The editors live in Michigan.)

— Gary Marx, “Illinois Trails & Traces: Portraits and Stories along the State’s Historic Routes,” Southern Illinois University Press. (Marx grew up in Schiller Park, Illinois, and lived recently in Carbondale, Illinois; he died in December.)

The judges for Adult Nonfiction were Kim Todd, Greg Borzo, and Marlene Targ Brill.

BERNARD J. BROMMEL AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

WINNER:

Sofia Samatar, “The White Mosque: A Memoir,” Catapult. (Author was born in Indiana and now teaches in Harrisonburg, Virginia.)

HONOREES:

— Chloé Cooper Jones, “Easy Beauty: A Memoir,” Avid Reader Press. (Author is from Tonganoxie, Kansas, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.)

— Jennifer Homans, “Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century,” Random House. (Author grew up in Chicago and is now based in New York.)

— Michael W. Nagle, “The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811–1875,” Wayne State University Press. (Author lives in lives in Ludington, Michigan.)

The judges for Biography & Memoir were Robert Remer, Steve Paul, and Sarah Vogel.

HISTORY

WINNER:

Hugh Eakin, “Picasso’s War: How Modern Art Came to America,” Crown. (Author lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.)

HONOREES:

— Deborah Cohen, “Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War,” Random House. (Author lives in Chicago.)

— Jon K. Lauck, “The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800–1900,” University of Oklahoma Press. (Author lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.)

The judges for History were John Holden, Joseph Gustaitis, and Dominic Pacyga.

POETRY

WINNER:

Sun Yung Shin, “The Wet Hex,” Coffee House Press. (Author lives in Minneapolis.)

HONOREES:

— Katie Marya, “Sugar Work,” Alice James Books. (Author lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.)

— Courtney Faye Taylor, “Concentrate,” Graywolf Press. (Author lives in Kansas City, Missouri.)

— Hussain Ahmed, “Soliloquy with the Ghosts in Nile,” Black Ocean. (Author is a Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati.)

The judges for Poetry were Simone Muench, Jackie K. White, and Tara Betts.

CHILDREN’S FICTION

WINNER:

Janet Halfmann, “How Can We Be Kind? Wisdom from the Animal Kingdom,” Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. (Author lives in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)

HONOREES:

— Monica Brown, “El Cuarto Turquesa/The Turquoise Room,” Lee & Low Books. (Author earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.)

— W. Nikola-Lisa, “Ichiro and the Great Mountain,” Gyroscope Books. (Author lives in Chicago.)

— Kelly Barnhill, “The Ogress and the Orphans,” Algonquin Young Readers. (Author lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

The judges for Children’s Fiction were Laura Hirshfield, Kelly J. Baptist, and Sandra Renner.

CHILDREN’S READING ROUND TABLE AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S NONFICTION

WINNER:

Jingmai O’Connor, “When Dinosaurs Conquered the Skies: The Incredible Story of Bird Evolution,” Words & Pictures. (Author lives in Chicago.)

HONOREES:

— Barbara Binns, “Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist,” Scholastic Focus. (Author lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois.)

— Sally M. Walker, “Underground Fire: Hope, Sacrifice and Courage in the Cherry Mine Disaster,” Candlewick. (Author lives in Dekalb, Illinois.)

— Jill Esbaum, “Jack Knight’s Brave Flight: How One Gutsy Pilot Saved the U.S. Air Mail Service,” Calkins Creek. (Author lives in Dixon, Iowa.)

The judges for Children’s Nonfiction were Laurie Lawlor, Suzanne Slade, and Marianne Malone.

The annual awards dinner took place Tuesday, May 9, at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan, 22nd floor, Chicago, which features a beautiful view of Lake Michigan and Millennium Park. A reception with cash bar began at 6 p.m. followed by the dinner and awards ceremony at 7 p.m. The emcee was Paul Lisnek, a political analyst for WGN-TV and WGN-AM radio.

The Society, founded in 1915 by a group of authors including Hamlin Garland, Harriet Monroe, and Vachel Lindsay, has given out annual awards since 1957. The juried competition is open to authors who live in, were born in, or have strong ties to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin.

Notable winners have included Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut, Studs Terkel, Gwendolyn Brooks, Mike Royko, Jane Smiley, Dempsey Travis, Leon Forrest, William Maxwell, Louise Erdrich, Scott Turow, Alex Kotlowitz, Aleksandar Hemon, Stuart Dybek, and Roger Ebert.

The 2023 winners each received a $500 award and a recognition plaque.