Ohio Book Awards

Established in 1942, the Ohio Book Awards recognize Ohio authors and illustrators for outstanding books published each calendar year in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Adult Literature, Middle Grade Literature, Juvenile Literature, and Book about Ohio or an Ohioan (which may include books by non-Ohio authors or illustrators). Click here for the nomination form and more information about eligibility. Nomination forms must be postmarked by December 31, 2024, to be considered for the 2025 Awards.

Thank you to our event sponsors, media support, & in-kind contributions for helping make the 83rd annual Ohio Book Awards a success!

And thank you to our members and friends for joining us to celebrate the Ohio Book Award winners!

This year, the Awards have officially been renamed to the Ohio Book Awards, Presented by Ohioana Library. Each year, juried awards are given to books in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, About Ohio/an Ohioan, Young Adult Literature, Middle Grade Literature, and Juvenile Literature. Fans have the opportunity to make their voices heard by selecting the Readers’ Choice Book Award from among all thirty finalists in an online poll. Finally, we present a special prize for emerging writers, the Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant.

Ohio Book Awards

First given in 1942, the Ohio Book Awards presented by the Ohioana Library Association are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 80 years has been honored, including James Thurber, Robert McCloskey, Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver, Rita Dove, Anthony Doerr, Celeste Ng, and many more.

Seven of the Ohio Book Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, are selected by juries. The Readers’ Choice Award is determined by voters in a public online poll. Over 3,500 votes were cast for this year’s Readers’ Choice Award.

Listed below are the 2024 Ohio Book Award winners. Click on the title to learn more about the author or illustrator and their winning book.

Nonfiction: Sarah Lohman, Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods

Fiction: James McBride, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Poetry: Taylor Byas, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times: Poems

Book About Ohio or an Ohioan: Laura Meckler, Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity

Middle Grade/Young Adult: Illus. by Joe Sutphin, Watership Down: The Graphic Novel

Juvenile: Will Hillenbrand, The Voice in the Hollow

Readers’ Choice: Sarah Lohman, Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods

Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant

2024 Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant Winner, Sienna Zeilinger

Sienna Zeilinger is from Cleveland and now lives in Philadelphia. Her writing has appeared in The Cincinnati Review, CutBank, Passages North, Real Life, and elsewhere. Sienna's work has been supported by the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and recognized with The Florida Review Editors Prize in Creative Nonfiction. She is an editor at Alien Magazine and Autofocus and a recent graduate of the MFA Program at Rutgers University-Camden. Look out for her award-winning submission in the upcoming fall issue of the Ohioana Quarterly.