2008 Great Lakes Book Awards Finalists

Fiction
Dear American Airlines, Jonathan Miles, Houghton Mifflin
Keeping the House, Ellen Baker, Random House
Knockemstiff, Donald Ray Pollock, Random House
A Ticket to Ride, Paula McLain, Harper Collins

General
American Band, Kristen Laine, Penguin Group
Little Heathens, Mildred Armstrong Kalish, Random House
Sin in the Second City, Karen Abbott, Random House
The Third Coast, Ted McClelland, Chicago Review Press
Ty and the Babe, Tom Stanton, Macmillan

Children's Chapter Books
Barnstormers Game 3, Phil Bildner and Loren Long, Simon & Schuster
The Comeback Season, Jennifer E. Smith, Simon & Schuster
A Crooked Kind of Perfect, Linda Urban, Harcourt
Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis, Scholastic
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, Sarah Miller, Simon & Schuster

Children’s Picture Books
Do Unto Otters, Laurie Keller, Macmillan
Iggy Peck Architect, Andrea Beaty, David Roberts (Illus.), Harry N. Abrams
Toy Boat, Randall de Sève, Loren Long (Illus.), Penguin Group
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything, Elise Broach, David Small (Illus.), Simon & Schuster
Woolbur, Leslie Helakoski, Lee Harper (Illus.), Harper Collins

Past Great Lakes Book Awards Winners

2007
Fiction: Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
General: The Great Lakes Water Wars, Peter Annin, Island Press
Children’s: Dairy Queen, Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Houghton Mifflin Co.

2006
Fiction: The Kindness of Strangers, Katrina Kittle, William Morrow/HarperCollins
General: Made in Detroit, Paul Clemens, Doubleday/Anchor Books
Children's: A Good Night Walk, Elisha Cooper, Orchard Books/Scholastic

2005
Fiction: An Unfinished Season, Ward Just
General: Bound for Canaan, Fergus M. Bordewich
Mystery/Intrigue: Tonight I Said Goodbye, Michael Koryta
Children’s: Bucking the Sarge, Christopher Paul Curtis

2004
Fiction: Ursula, Under, Ingrid Hill, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
General: One Man’s Castle, Phyllis Vine, Amistad/Harper Collins
Children’s Picture Book: Boxes for Katje, Candace Fleming, illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen, Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus & Giroux
Children’s Chapter Book: Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliett, Scholastic, Inc.

Slide Show of 2004 Finalists

2003
Fiction Award: Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides, Farrar Straus & Giroux
General Book Award: To Conquer the Air, James Tobin, Simon & Schuster Inc.
Children’s Award: Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings, Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Terry Widener, Simon & Schuster Children's

Slide Show of 2003 Finalists

2002
Fiction: The Dive from Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer, Knopf
General: Lake Effect by Rich Cohen, Knopf
Children’s Medal Winner: Fair Weather by Richard Peck, Dial Press
Children’s Honor Book: The Shoe Tree of Chagrin by J. Patrick Lewis,
illustrated by Chris Sheban, Creative Editions

2001
Children’s: The Journey, Sarah Stewart, illus. David Small
Fiction: Hatbox Baby, Carrie Brown
General: Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler, Bill Vlasic & Bradley Stertz
Voice of the Heartland: Indiana University Press

2000
Children’s: Barn Burner, Patricia Willis
Fiction: Midnight Champagne, A. Manette Ansay
General: Bodies in Motion and at Rest, Thomas Lynch

1999
Children’s: Legend of Mackinac Island, Kathy-Jo Wargin & Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Fiction: Four Corners of Night, Craig Holden
Nonfiction: The Other Side of the River, Alex Kotlowitz
General: Places of Grace, Gary Irving & Michal Strutin

1998
Children’s: The Broken Blade, William Durbin
Fiction: Dewey Defeats Truman, Thomas Mallon
General: The Haygoods of Columbus, Wil Haygood
Voice of the Heartland: Studs Terkel

1997
Children’s: Big Annie of Calumet: A True Story of the Industrial Revolution, Jerry Stanley
Fiction: Read This and Tell Me What it Says, A. Manette Ansay
General: City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, Donald L. Miller

1996
Children’s: Once on This Island, Gloria Whelan
General: Writing from the Center, Scott Russell Sanders
History & Culture: Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea, Gary & Joanie McGuffin

Nominations
We accept nominations for the current year all year long. Click here to download a nomination form. The criteria for the awards are explained below and on the form.

Selection Criteria:

The Prize

Founded in 1995, The Great Lakes Book Awards annually honor the year’s brightest and most deserving books about America’s heartland. Established by the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, the purpose of the awards is to recognize and reward excellence in the writing and publishing of books that capture the spirit and enhance awareness of the Great Lakes region. In addition to these awards for specific titles, the Voice of the Heartland Award may be given to an author, publisher, or some other member of the book industry for their contribution to the literature of the region.