Outstanding Books
2023 General Categories 1-53
(Links to Other Categories Listed Below)
1. Fine Art
GOLD
Codex Taawa: Exploring the Cosmos of the Hopi
by Gerald Dawavendewa
(Rio Nuevo Publishers)
SILVER
Bámigbóyè: A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition
by James Green, with contributions by Olúṣẹ̀yẹ Adéṣọlá, Anne Turner Gunnison, Efeoghene Igor, Will Rea, and Cathy Silverman
(Yale University Art Gallery)
BRONZE
Manifest Exhibition Annual Season 17
edited by Jason Franz
(Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center)
2. Performing Arts (Music/Dance/Cinema/Theater)
GOLD
There Are No Small Parts
by John DiLeo
(Glitterati)
SILVER
Stardust by the Bushel
by Brent Lewis
(Secant Publishing)
BRONZE
Root of Two
by Maya Dunietz
(X Artists’ Books)
3. Photography
GOLD
Fox: Neighbour, Villain, Icon
by Neil Aldridge, Matt Maran & Andy Parkinson
(Hemisphere Publishing)
SILVER
All Eyes Speak One Language
by David Lloyd
(Envisage Books)
BRONZE
Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures
edited by Rebecca Epstein
(UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center)
4. Architecture
GOLD
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple: A Good-Time Place Reborn
by Patrick F. Cannon and James Caulfield
(Unity Temple Restoration Foundation)
SILVER
The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream
by Stefan Al
(The MIT Press)
BRONZE (tie)
The Architecture of Jean Welz
by Peter Wyeth
(DoppelHouse Press)
Architecture 101: Palm Springs, California and Desert Cities
by Ron & Barbara Marshall
(Palm Springs Preservation Foundation)
5. Coffee Table Books
GOLD
MY GRATEFUL DEAD PHOTOS And How I Came to Take Them - 1966-1991
by Rosie McGee
(TIOLI Press & Bytes)
SILVER
Travels Across the Roof of the World
by William Frej with Anne Frej
(George F. Thompson Publishing)
BRONZE
The Naked Truth About Breast Cancer
by Jane Marshall
(Publish Central)
6. Popular Fiction
GOLD
The Third Way
by Aimee Hoben
(She Writes Press)
SILVER
Buck’s Pantry
by Khristin Wierman
(SparkPress)
BRONZE
Once in a Lifetime
by Suzanne Mattaboni
(TouchPoint Press)
7. Literary Fiction
GOLD
Brisbane
by Eugene Vodolazkin
(Plough Publishing)
Tides
by Sara Freeman
(Grove Press)
SILVER
Burst
by Mary Otis
(Zibby Books)
BRONZE
The Color of Ice
by Barbara Linn Probst
(She Writes Press)
8. Short Story Fiction
GOLD
How to Date a Flying Mexican
by Daniel A. Olivas
(University of Nevada Press)
SILVER
Ezra’s Ghosts
by Darcy Tamayose
(NeWest Press)
BRONZE
Safe Places
by Kerry Dolan
(University of Massachusetts Press)
9. Poetry - Standard
GOLD (tie)
The Air in the Air Behind It
by Brandon Rushton
(Tupelo Press)
Urbanshee
by Siaara Freeman
(Button Poetry)
SILVER (tie)
Afternoon in Cartago
by Margaret Mackinnon
(The Ashland Poetry Press)
Only
by Rebecca Foust
(Four Way Books)
BRONZE
When I Was the Wind
by Hannah Lee Jones
(June Road Press)
10. Poetry - Specialty
GOLD
The Theoretical Tiger Society
by Brian Fuchs
(Scissortail Press)
SILVER
Pullman
by JoAnne McFarland
(Grid Books)
BRONZE
Psych Murders
by Stephanie Heit
(Wayne State University Press)
11. Anthologies
GOLD
Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry
edited by Ruben Quesada
(University of New Mexico Press)
SILVER (tie)
Chiral Mad 5
edited by Michael Bailey
(Written Backwards)
Valley of the Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing
edited by Lauren DeLaunay Miller
(Mountaineers Books)
BRONZE
Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in Between Worlds
edited by Sergio Troncoso
(Texas A&M University Press)
12. Juvenile Fiction
GOLD
Lemon Drop Falls
by Heather Clark
(Jolly Fish Press)
SILVER
Daisy Woodworm Changes the World
by Melissa Hart
(Jolly Fish Press)
BRONZE
Elephant and Bird
by Sally Hinkley
(Gold Clover Books)
13. Young Adult Fiction - General
GOLD
The Truth About Everything
by Bridget Farr
(Flux)
SILVER
The Promise of Lost Things
by Helene Dunbar
(Sourcebooks Fire)
BRONZE
Paper Planes
by Jennie Wood
(Maverick)
14. Young Adult Fiction - Fantasy
GOLD
Heroes of the Empire Book 1: The Cavalier
by Israh Azizi
(PageTurnerPress)
SILVER
Game of Strength and Storm
by Rachel Menard
(Flux)
BRONZE
Love in the Age of Dragons
by Fatima R. Henson
(SparkPress)
15. Fantasy
GOLD
Ever the Night Road
by Michael Breen
(Self-Published)
SILVER
A Dream of Shadows
by Peter Eliott
(Further Press)
BRONZE
Catalyst
by Brandon Crilly
(Atthis Arts)
16. Science Fiction
GOLD
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38
edited by David Farland
(Galaxy Press)
SILVER
The Ptolemy Project
by Kate St.Clair
(Greenleaf Book Group)
BRONZE (tie)
Identifiable
by Julia Tvardovskaya
(New Degree Press)
When Earth Shall Be No More
by Paul Awad and Kathryn O’Sullivan
(Secant Publishing)
17. LGBTQ+ Fiction
GOLD
What We Give, What We Take
by Randi Triant
(She Writes Press)
SILVER
Unlawful DISorder
by David Jackson Ambrose
(Jaded Ibis Press)
BRONZE
Army of Lovers
by K.M. Soehnlein
(Amble Press)
18. Erotica
GOLD
Rookie Mistake
by Anna Zabo & L.A. Witt
SILVER
The Outcast
by Eve M. Riley
BRONZE
The Right to Remain
by L.A. Witt
19. Historical Fiction
GOLD
The Time Between Us
by Mariana McCarron
(Aria/Bloomsbury)
SILVER (tie)
Finding La Negrita
by Natasha Gordon-Chipembere
(Jaded Ibis Press)
The Blue Butterfly
by Leslie Johansen Nack
(She Writes Press)
BRONZE
The River Remembers
by Linda Ulleseit
(She Writes Press)
20. Military/Wartime Fiction
GOLD
A Slender Thread
by John Rhodes
(Girl Friday Productions)
SILVER
Lost Souls of Leningrad
by Suzanne Parry
(She Writes Press)
BRONZE
The Broken Hallelujah
by Wendy H. Adair
(Bungalow Books Publishing)
21. Horror
GOLD
Pleasant Surprises
by Wesley Moor
(Self-Published)
SILVER
The Other Ones
by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Toma Feizo Gas
(Inhabit Media)
BRONZE
When the Night Bell Rings
by Jo Kaplan
(CamCat Books)
22. Multicultural Fiction
GOLD
A Convergence of Solitudes
by Anita Anand
(Book*hug)
SILVER
The Lost River
by Phillip Carroll Morgan
(Chickasaw Press)
BRONZE
Send Her Back
by Munashe Kaseke
(Mukana Press)
23. Multicultural Fiction – Juv-Young Adult
GOLD
Inuunira: My Story of Survival
by Brian Koonoo; illustrated by Ben Shannon
(Inhabit Media)
SILVER
Japanese Folktales
by Kathie Goodale
(Cole Dixon Publishing)
BRONZE
Growing in the Gray
by Christian Cook
(Idun, an imprint of W. Brand Publishing)
24. Mystery
GOLD (tie)
The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way
by Raymond Benson
(Beaufort Books)
The Photo Thief
by J. L. Delozier
(CamCat Books)
SILVER
Fifty-Four Pigs
by Philipp Schott
(ECW Press)
BRONZE
Thunder Road
by Colin Holmes
(CamCat Books)
25. Suspense/Thriller
GOLD
Vigilant
by Will Bowron
(Self-Published)
SILVER
The Sequence
by Lucien Telford
(FriesenPress)
BRONZE
Bishop's Endgame: A Spy Game Novel - The Aiken Trilogy, Book 2
by Michael Frost Beckner
(Montrose Station Press)
26. Religious Fiction
GOLD
A Sacred Duty
by Rhona Weaver
(Two Oaks Press)
SILVER
The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and Talmud
by Maggie Anton
(Banot Press)
BRONZE
The Choices She Made
by Felicia Ferguson
(End Game Press)
27. Romance
GOLD
Bewitching a Highlander
by Roma Cordon
(CamCat Books)
SILVER
The Almost Lovebirds
by Lucy Day
(Blue Crow Books)
BRONZE (tie)
All the Flowers of the Mountain
by Christina Holbrook
(Sunroom Studios)
An Affectionate Heart
by Heather Moll
(Excessively Diverted Press)
28. Urban Fiction
GOLD
Bangin’: The Making of a Y.G.
by Jonas Royster
(Paradise Publishing Company)
SILVER
Edison in the Hood
by Nadia Uddin
(Apperception Press)
BRONZE
The Interviews
by Lazarus
(Self-Published)
29. Visionary/New Age Fiction
GOLD
Magician and Fool
by Susan Wands
(SparkPress)
SILVER
Beyond the Threshold
by Mark Ristau
(Beaver’s Pond Press)
BRONZE
Headless World
by Sheila Ascher and Dennis Straus
(McPherson and Company)
30. True Crime
GOLD
Lynched by a Mob! The 1892 Lynching of Robert Lewis in Port Jervis, New York
by Michael J. Worden
(Sisu Books)
SILVER
In My DNA: My Career Investigating Your Worst Nightmares
by Lindsey Wade
(One Idea Press)
BRONZE
The End of Her: Racing Against Alzheimer's to Solve a Murder
by Wayne Hoffman
(Heliotropebooks)
31. Graphic Novel/Drawn Book
GOLD
Undesirables: A Holocaust Journey to North Africa
by Nadjib Berber & Aomar Boum
(Stanford University Press)
SILVER
Needle & Thread
by David Pinckney, Ennun Ana Iurov, and Micah Myers
(Maverick)
BRONZE
The Last Session Vol. 1: Roll for Initiative
by Jasmine Walls, Dozerdraws, and Micah Myers
(Mad Cave Comics, Inc.)
32. Humor
GOLD
The Twisted History of the GOP
by Mike Luckovich
(ECW Press)
SILVER
When Mommy Was a Commie
by Jon Sorensen
(Self-Published)
BRONZE
Dungeon Jest: The Ruby of Power
by Andrew Snook
(Self-Published)
33. Children’s Picture Books (7 & Under)
GOLD
With a Butterfly’s Wings
by Pilar López Ávila, illustrated by Zuzanna Celej
(Cuento de Luz)
SILVER (tie)
Yeti Needs a Haircut by Angela Halgrimson, illustrated
by Brian Barber
(Beaver’s Pond Press)
Werewolf? There Wolf!
by Kyle Sullivan, art by Meg Hunt
(Hazy Dell Press)
BRONZE
Armadillo Antics
by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Nathalie Beauvois
(Brown Books Kids)
34. Children’s Picture Books (All Ages)
GOLD
Hector Fox and the Raven’s Revenge
by Astrid Sheckels
(Islandport Press)
SILVER (tie)
The Shaman’s Apprentice
by Zacharias Kunuk, illustrated by Megan Kyak-Monteith
(Inhabit Media)
God’s Holy Darkness
by Sharei Green and Beckah Selnick, illustrated by Nikki Faison
(Beaming Books)
BRONZE
Making Happy
by Sheetal Sheth, illustrated by Khoa Le
(Barefoot Books)
35. Children’s Interactive
GOLD
How to Draw Adorable
by Carlianne Tipsey
(Girl Friday Books)
SILVER
Something Old, Something New
by Catherine Kreutter; music by Rita Sabiiti
(Old Mzee Books)
BRONZE
Stay Safe with Ruby and Reuben
by Sneha Sabu
(White Falcon Publishing)
36. Juvenile-Young Adult Non-Fiction
GOLD (tie)
I See Lincoln’s Underpants
by Mick Sullivan; illustrated by Suki Anderson
(Heart Ally Books)
Lilibet the Brave
by Katy Rose
(End Game Press)
SILVER
Trauma Recovery Workbook for Teens
by Deborah Vinall, PsyD, LMFT
(Rockridge Press)
BRONZE
Fired Up About Consent
by Sarah Ratchford
(Between the Lines)
37. Multicultural Non-Fiction - Juv-Young Adult
GOLD
Black Girls Unbossed
by Khristi Lauren Adams
(Beaming Books)
SILVER
The Story of Ukraine: An Anthem of Glory and Freedom
by Olena Kharchenko and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Polina Doroshenko
(Brown Books Kids)
BRONZE (tie)
The Tales of Dwipa
by Prajwala Dixit; illustrated by Duncan Major
(Breakwater Books)
Unbelievable! The Life Journey of Art Williams, Baseball’s First Black National League Umpire
by Dr. Audie Williams
(Self-Published)
38. Multicultural Non-Fiction - Adult
GOLD
Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America
by Gregory D. Smithers
(Beacon Press)
SILVER (tie)
A Sky of Infinite Blue
by Kyomi O’Connor
(She Writes Press)
Nonwhite and Woman
edited by Darien Hsu Gee and Carla Crujido
(Woodhall Press)
BRONZE
Salted Plums
by Alison Hong Nguyen Lihalakha
(Kahana Press)
39. Essay
GOLD
Academic Outsider: Stories of Exclusion and Hope
by Victoria Reyes
(Stanford Briefs, an imprint of Stanford University Press)
SILVER
Dear Damage
by Ashley Marie Farmer
(Sarabande Books)
BRONZE
Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene
by Alessandra Naccarato
(Book*hug Press)
40. Creative Non-Fiction
GOLD
Strike Patterns: Notes from Postwar Laos
by Leah Zani
(Redwood Press)
SILVER
Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging
edited by Ghassan Zeineddine, Nabeel Abraham, and Sally Howell
(Made in Michigan Writers Series)
BRONZE
A Cheerleader's Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment: A Memoir in Essays
by MB Caschetta
(Engine Books)
41. Autobiography/Memoir I (Celebrity/Political)
GOLD
A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, New Mexico
by Bob Rosebrough
(Rio Nuevo Publishers)
SILVER
RU$E: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street
by Robert Kerbeck
(Steerforth Press)
BRONZE
Unconventional: A Memoir of Entrepreneurism, Politics, and Pot
by Jamie Andrea Garzot
(Girl Friday Books)
42. Autobiography/Memoir II (Coming of Age/Family Legacy/Travel)
GOLD
Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory, and Family
by Madhushree Ghosh
(University of Iowa Press)
SILVER
Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly: A Memoir
by Dana Tai Soon Burgess
(University of New Mexico Press)
BRONZE
A Daughter’s Kaddish: My Year of Grief, Devotion, and Healing
by Sarah Birnbach
(Wonderwell)
43. Autobiography/Memoir III (Personal Struggle/Health Issues)
GOLD
Everybody Just Breathe: A COVID Nurse Memoir of Stamina and Swear Words
by Amanda V. Peterson
(Beaver’s Pond Press)
SILVER (tie)
The Plum Tree Blossoms Even in Winter
by M. Roy Wilson
(Wayne State University Press)
Twenty to Life
by David Steece
(Idaho Insider Press)
BRONZE
Under the Naga Tail
by Mae Bunseng Taing
(Greenleaf Book Press)
44. Biography
GOLD
"No Equal Justice": The Legacy of Civil Rights Icon George W. Crockett Jr.
by Edward J. Littlejohn and Peter J. Hammer
(Wayne State University Press)
SILVER (tie)
No Place for a Woman: Harriet Dame’s Civil War
by Mike Pride
(Kent State University Press)
The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes
by Michael W. Nagle
(Wayne State University Press)
BRONZE
The Prophet of Harvard Law: James Bradley Thayer and his Legal Legacy
by Andrew Porwancher, Jake Mazeitis, Taylor Jipp, and Austin Coffey
(University of Oklahoma Press)
45. Aging/Death & Dying
GOLD (tie)
Touching Two Worlds
by Sherry Walling, PhD
(Sounds True)
Mother Lode
by Gretchen Staebler
(She Writes Press)
SILVER
As Long as I Know You
by Anne-Marie Oomen
(University of Georgia Press)
BRONZE
If You Love Them Leave Them Lists
by Catherine Rahal
(Self-Published)
46. Animals/Pets
GOLD
Sacred Sendoffs
by Sarah A. Bowen
(Monkfish Book Publishing Company)
SILVER
Animal Biographies: Toward a History of Individuals
by Eric Baratay; translated by Lindsay Turner
(The University of Georgia Press)
BRONZE
Blue Zeus: Legend of the Red Desert
by Carol J. Walker
(Living Images by Carol Walker, LLC)
47. Business/Career/Sales
GOLD
Irresistible
by Josh Bersin
(Ideapress Publishing)
SILVER
Assemblage
by Dr. Emmanuel Probst
(Ideapress Publishing)
BRONZE (tie)
Optimizing Strategy for Results
by Timothy Mwololo Waema, PhD, Ron Price, and Evans Baiya, PhD
(An Inc. Original)
Reputation Capital
by T.J. Winick
(Berrett-Koehler)
48. Cookbooks - General
GOLD
Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits
by Sammy Hagar with James O. Fraioli
(Skyhorse)
SILVER
Make Your Own Party: Twenty blueprints to MYO Party!
by Chef Kelli Lewton
(Scribe Publishing Company)
BRONZE
Badass Backyard Cooking
by Johan "Big Swede BBQ" Magnusson
(Magnusson Partners Incorporated)
49. Cookbooks - Specialty
GOLD
The Mexican Chile Pepper Cookbook: The Soul of Mexican Home Cooking
by Dave DeWitt and José C. Marmolejo
(University of New Mexico Press)
SILVER
Simply More Greek: Foods from the Garden, the Sea & the Bakery
by Ruth Bardis
(Kanella Productions)
BRONZE
Anti-Aging Dishes from Around the World
by Grace O
(Skyhorse)
50. Current Events I (Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs)
GOLD
Pinelandia: An Anthropology and Field Poetics of War and Empire
by Nomi Stone
(University of California Press)
SILVER
Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong About Poverty
by Mark Robert Rank, Lawrence, M. Eppard, and Heather E. Bullock
(Oxford University Press)
BRONZE
After Stories: Transnational Intimacies of Postwar El Salvador
by Irina Carlota Silber
(Stanford University Press)
51. Current Events II (Social Issues/Humanitarian)
GOLD
The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work and Thrive in the Next Decade
by Rohit Bhargava and Henry Coutinho-Mason
(Ideapress Publishing)
SILVER
The Moment: Changemakers on Why and How They Joined the Fight for Social Justice
by Steve Fiffer
(The University of Georgia Press)
BRONZE
Black Culture, Inc.: How Ethnic Community Support Pays for Corporate America
by Patricia A. Banks
(Stanford University Press)
52. Education I (Workbook/Resources)
GOLD
The Identity-Conscious Educator
by Liza A. Talusan
(Solution Tree Press)
SILVER
Change Starts with Me
by Madeleine Rogin
(Solution Tree Press)
BRONZE
Bolstering Student Resilience
by Jason E. Harlacher and Sara A. Whitcomb
(Marzano Resources)
53. Education II (Commentary/Theory)
GOLD
The Future of Smart
by Ulcca Joshi Hansen, PhD, JD
(Capucia Publishing)
SILVER
Knowledge-ABLE: Igniting a New Generation of Lifelong Learners
by Bradley Lands
(Uplearn LLC)
BRONZE
Education for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean
by Lorna Down and Therese Ferguson
(The University of the West Indies Press)