The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, up to ten outstanding books of any genre, which have been written by Washington authors in the previous year are recognized with awards based on literary merit, lasting importance, and overall quality of the publication.
History When the Governor's Writers Awards was established in 1967, it was based at the Washington State Library in Olympia. In 2001, the Washington Center for the Book based at the Seattle Public Library took over the administration of the program, renaming it as the Washington State Book Awards.
In 2005, an additional category was added to represent children's books. Since established, two children's books are honored each year with the Scandiuzzi Children's Book Awards. One book is honored for picture books, while the other for middle grades and young adults.
In 2006, the Center for the Book divided the entire awards program into categories, significantly reducing the number of awards presented. From 2006 through 2010, the genres of History and Biography formed one category. In 2011, Biography was regrouped with Memoir, while History was regrouped with General Nonfiction. In 2013, the categories encompassed General Nonfiction (History), Biography and Memoir, Fiction, Poetry, and two to four Scandiuzzi Children's Books Awards. From 2020 to 2022, there were five categories for adults (Fiction, Poetry, Biograph/Memoir, Creative Nonfiction and General Nonfiction) and three categories for books for youth (Picture Books, Books for Young Readers, and Young Adult Literature). As of 2023, there are four categories for adults (Creative Nonfiction/Memoir, Fiction, General Nonfiction/Biography, and Poetry) and three for youth (Picture Books, Books for Young Readers, and Young Adult Literature).
In 2017, the Washington Center for the Book became a joint partnership of the Washington State Library and The Seattle Public Library. The Washington State Book Awards continue as a project for the Center for the Book.
Washington State Book Award winners and finalists
2000s Between 2002 and 2004, the award was presented to a group of books rather than to a single winner with a selection of finalists. YearAuthorTitle2002 Prometheans in the Lab: Chemistry and the Making of the Modern World Whale Talk Blue Dusk: New and Selected Poems: 1951-2001 Swimming Toward the Ocean Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds: Notes from a Northwest Year Motiba's Tattoos: A Granddaughter's Journey from America Into Her Indian Family's Past Cool, Calm and Collected: Poems, 1960-2000 Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret Northern Haida Master Carvers2003 Iridescent Light: The Emergence of Northwest Art Red Delta: Fighting for Life at the End of the Colorado River Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary Perma Red Under the Quilt of Night Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back Wonderful Tricks: Stories2004 Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging Range of Glaciers: The Exploration and Survey of the Northern Cascade Range Rodzina Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon Visible Bones: Journey Across Time in the Columbia River Country Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls In 2005, the Washington State Book Awards were separated into categories, and individual winners were selected.
General Books YearAuthorTitleResult2005 OrphansWinner Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin MotherWinner Light's Ladder: PoemsWinner Breaking GroundWinner Broken for YouWinner Winner Black Is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for DemocracyWinner Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's HistoryWinner
Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award YearCategoryAuthorTitleResult2005Middle Grades and Young Adults Honey, Baby, SweetheartWinnerPicture Book, illustrated by Steven D'Amico Ella the Elegant ElephantWinner2006Middle Grades and Young AdultsWinner Wild RosesFinalistPicture Book, illustrated by Betsy Lewin So, What's It Like to Be a Cat?Winner, illustrated by Catherine StockFinalist2007Middle Grades and Young Adults Grand & HumbleWinner Hattie Big SkyFinalist Voyage of PlunderPicture Book, illustrated by Carin Berger Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other PoemsWinner, illustrated by Jack E. Davis Moose TracksFinalist2008Middle Grades and Young Adults, illustrated by Ellen ForneyWinnerPicture Book, illustrated by Laura Dronzek Rabbit's GiftWinner2009Middle Grades and Young Adults Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster in the Antarctic, 1910-13WinnerPicture Book, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!Winner, illustrated by Kady M. DentonHonorable mention
Fiction YearAuthorTitleResult2006 Winner Finalist Shoot the Buffalo Frances Johnson My Jim Citizen Vince2007 WinnerFinalist 2008 Bad MonkeysWinner Loving FrankFinalist Male of the Species Strange as This Weather Has Been Fish Grooming and Other Stories2009 All About LuluWinner GuernicaFinalist Oxygen White Jade and Other Stories
General Nonfiction YearAuthorTitleResult2006 and Tony Angell In the Company of Crows and RavensWinner 58 Degrees NorthFinalist Home Stand Toward a New Regionalism My Holy War2007 River of Memory: The Everlasting ColumbiaFinalist2008 Dirt: the Erosion of CivilizationsWinner Finalist Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen Sky Time in Grays River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place2009, editor S'abadeb: The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Arts and ArtistsWinner Finalist
History/Biography YearAuthorTitleResult2006 Winner On American SoilFinalist Strawberry Days Michelangelo's Mountain2007 James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. SheldonWinner Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894Finalist Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks; Joshua Wolf Shenk Pilgrim on the Bird: Pilgrim on the Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness2008 Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over PlaceWinner Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last CampaignFinalist Lionel H. Pries, Architect, Artist, Educator: from Arts and Crafts to Modern Architecture2009 Dark Water: Flood and Redemption in the City of MasterpiecesWinner Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the CongoFinalist It's Not About the Hair: And Other Uncertainties of Life & Cancer Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life Finding Chief Kamiakin: The Life and Legacy of a Northwest Patriot
Poetry YearAuthorTitleResult2006 Luck Is LuckWinner Bellini in IstanbulFinalist First Hand Taken With Good Morning and Good Night2007 Spectral WavesWinner FamousFinalist Dear Ghosts Dark Alphabet Potscrubber Lullabies2008Winner Mars Being RedFinalist Red Studio What's Written on the Body2009 Winner Finalist Flight: New and Selected PoemsFinalist Finalist Friendly FireFinalist
2010s
Biography/Memoir YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2011 Winner Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga PosesFinalist Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus: A Daughter's Civil Rights Journey2012 In Earshot of Water: Notes from the Columbia Plateau Winner Horses Never Lie About Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around HerFinalist Shiro: Wit, Wisdom & Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer Who In This Room: The Realities of Cancer, Fish, and Demolition Potluck: Community on the Edge of Wilderness2013 Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward CurtisWinner Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & MeFinalist What It Is Like to Go to War 2014 Winner Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger StoryFinalist Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin Driving Home: An American Journey2015 Loitering: New and Collected Essays Winner Badluck Way: A Year on the Ragged Edge of the WestFinalist Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life My Body Is a Book of Rules2016 Road Trip Winner Wondering Who You AreFinalist Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert LaxFinalist ReclaimersFinalist Orchard House: How a Neglected Garden Taught One Family to GrowFinalist2017 Winner Inside: One Woman's Journey through the Inside PassageFinalist Shrill: Notes from a Loud WomanFinalist My Old Man and the MountainFinalist2018Winner All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty TheftFinalist2019 GutsWinner Finalist Nothing Good Can Come from This Arctic Solitaire
Fiction YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2010 Border Songs Winner MisconceptionFinalist Spooner Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet2011 Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War Winner Old Border Road: A NovelFinalist Marry or Burn: Stories Healer2012 Winner West of HereFinalist Ed King Bear Down, Bear North: Alaska Stories2013 Winner Blueprints of the AfterlifeFinalist Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain Beautiful Ruins2014 HildWinner Temple GroveFinalist Half as Happy We Live in Water Wilderness2015 Winner Steal the NorthFinalist Finalist Finalist Finalist2016 Winner Black RiverFinalist RTFinalist American CopperFinalist2017 Daredevils Winner Finalist Stories of Your Life and Others Barkskins, Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country2018 This Is How It Always IsWinner Finalist Solar Reboot George and Lizzie Duplicity2019So LuckyWinner Finalist Night Hawks Winter Sisters
General Nonfiction YearAuthorTitleResultsRef.2010 Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science Winner Puget Sound Through an Artist's EyeFinalist Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness Blessing of the Animals Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology
History/Biography YearAuthorTitleResultRef.2010 Winner Finalist Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Unearthing of Tse-whit-zen Village I'm Down: A Memoir
History/General nonfiction