May 30, 2024
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The Ohioana Library is pleased to announce the finalists for the 83rd annual Ohio Book Awards. First given in 1942, the awards are the second-oldest state literary prizes in the nation and honor outstanding works by Ohio authors and illustrators in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Middle Grade & Young Adult Literature, and Juvenile Literature. The sixth category, About Ohio or an Ohioan, may also include books by non-Ohio authors.
The recognition this year’s stellar list of authors has received includes the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the PEN America Literary Award, the Kirkus Prize, the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Caldecott and Newbery Honors, and the IPPY Gold Medal. Five finalists are debut authors. Eight finalists are previous Ohioana Book Award winners.
On June 3, Ohioana will kick off the eleventh annual “30 Books, 30 Days,” our popular feature in which we profile one award finalist every day on our social media. This year, the Ohioana Book Award committees selected thirty-three finalists, so our feature will expand by three books and three days!
In mid-June we’ll launch the annual Readers’ Choice Award poll. First held in 2016, the poll allows the public to vote online for their favorite book from among all the finalists.
Winners will be announced in July. The 2024 Ohio Book Awards ceremony will be held at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, October 29. The finalists are:
Fiction
Cunningham, Michael. Day, Random House
Hyde, Allegra. The Last Catastrophe: Stories, Vintage Books
McBride, James. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, Riverhead Books
McDaniel, Tiffany. On the Savage Side, Knopf
Thai, Thao. Banyan Moon, Mariner Books
Umrigar, Thrity, The Museum of Failures, Algonquin Books
Nonfiction
Dawidziak, Mark. A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, St. Martin’s Press
Gay, Ross. The Book of (More) Delights, Algonquin Books
Judd, Robin. Between Two Worlds: Jewish War Brides after the Holocaust, The University of North Carolina Press
Lohman, Sarah. Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods, W. W. Norton & Company
Smith, Maggie. You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir, Atria Books
About Ohio/An Ohioan
Bordewich, Fergus M. Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction, Knopf
Grush, Loren. The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts, Scribner
Meckler, Laura. Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity, Henry Holt and Company
Schneider, Amy. In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life, Avid Reader Press
Weatherford, Carole Boston. Illus. by Frank Morrison. How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee, Candlewick
Poetry
Byas, Taylor. I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times: Poems, Soft Skull Press
Glaser, Elton. Ghost Variations, University of Pittsburgh Press
Hessenauer, Anita M. Let Go, Resource Publications
Reeves, Phoebe. Helen of Bikini, Lily Poetry Review Press
Robinson, Nicole. Without a Field Guide, Unbound Edition Press
Stephens, Dior J. CRUEL/CRUEL, Nightboat Books
Middle Grade & Young Adult Literature
Adams, Richard. Adapted by James Sturm. Illus. by Joe Sutphin. Watership Down: The Graphic Novel, Ten Speed Graphic
Chen, Kara H. L. Love and Resistance, Quill Tree Books
Erebia, Federico. Pedro & Daniel, Levine Querido
Leahy, Elisa Stone. Tethered to Other Stars, Quill Tree Books
Rex, Adam. A Little Like Waking, Roaring Brook Press
Woodson, Jacqueline. Remember Us, Nancy Paulsen Books
Juvenile Literature
Awan, Jashar. I’m Going to Build a Snowman, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Bentley, Tadgh. One Chicken Nugget, Balzer + Bray
Gray, Gary R. Illus. by Oge Mora. I’m From, Balzer + Bray
Hillenbrand, Will. The Voice in the Hollow, Holiday House
Lee, Chiquita Mullins and Carmella Van Vleet. Illus. by Jennifer Mack-Watkins. You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce! The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce, Kokila