The Nebraska Center for the Book

AWARDS
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Nebraska Book Awards

The Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB), recognizes and honors books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or concerning Nebraska.

Nebraska Book Awards Graphic

Nominations

Nominations for the 2025 Book Awards are CLOSED!

The Awards competition opens February 18th and entries are due by May 31st. Books published in 2024, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination in 2025. They must be professionally published, have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and be bound. Books may be entered in one or more of the following categories: Nonfiction, Fiction, Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, and Poetry. Certificates will be awarded to the winners in each category.

Winners in each category will be invited to participate as featured authors at the Nebraska Celebration of Books in Lincoln. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony for the authors, illustrators, publishers, and their families, where winning books will be displayed and authors will have the opportunity to read from and sign their books.

Nebraska Book Awards Graphic Banner

The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered.
Deadline for entries is May 31, 2024.

Enter in one of two ways:

  • Complete the Online Entry Form and submit payment through PayPal. Mail three copies of the book to the below address.
  • Mail the Entry Form [pdf], three copies of the book, and the entry fee to:
    NCB Book Awards Competition
    c/o Nebraska Library Commission
    The Atrium
    1200 N Street, Suite 120
    Lincoln, NE 68508-2023

    Eligibility

    The competition is open to Nebraska authors, Nebraska illustrators, Nebraska publishers, and other authors or publishers of books set in or relating to Nebraska. To be eligible, the book must be:

    • Published the previous year as indicated by the copyright date (e.g., published in 2024 for the 2025 awards);
    • Published professionally and assigned an ISBN number; and
    • Bound (no loose-leaf).

    Books may be one or more of the following:

    • Written by a Nebraskan or Nebraska-related author;
    • Illustrated by a Nebraskan or Nebraska-related artist;
    • Published by a Nebraska publisher; or
    • Have a Nebraska theme or setting.

    Entries must be made in one or more of the following categories:

    • Children/Young Adult
    • Cover/Design/Illustration
    • Fiction
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry

    Certificates will be awarded to the winners in each category.

    Award Recipients

    2025 (26th annual) for books published in 2024

    Teen Novel
    Quagmire Tiarello Couldn’t Be Better by Mylisa Larsen
    Publisher: Clarion Books
    Cover/Illustration
    Animal Climate Heroes Alison Pearce Stevens
    Illustration: Jason Ford
    Publisher: Godwin Books
    Cover/Illustration Honor
    Do You Know the Value of You? by Isabelle Hall
    Illustration: Megan Earley
    Publisher: Joyful Page Press
    Design
    Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol by Susanne Shore, Kevin Moser, and Drew Davies
    Publisher: Bison Books
    Design Honor
    Rodeo Clown by Quentin Fortney
    Publisher: 777 Press
    Fiction
    Isamu’s American Dream by D. D. Davenport
    Publisher: Donald D. Davenport
    Fiction Honor
    Sacrificial Animals: A Novel by Kailee Pedersen
    Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
    Nonfiction Biography
    Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II by Gregg Jones
    Publisher: Citadel Press
    Nonfiction Conservation
    Into Whooperland: A Photographer’s Journey with Whooping Cranes by Michael Forsberg
    Publisher: Michael Forsberg Photography
    Nonfiction History
    Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters’ Escape from Nebraska Territory by Gail Shaffer Blankenau
    Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
    Nonfiction Memoir
    Running Naked: Surviving the Legacy of Family in Rural Nebraska by Colby Coash
    Publisher: Cahoy & Crook
    Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
    The Nebraska Sandhills edited by Monica M. Norby, Judy Diamond, Aaron Sutherlen, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Kim Hachiya, Douglas A. Norby, and Michael Forsberg
    Publisher: Bison Books
    Poetry
    The Watching Sky by Judy Brackett Crowe
    Publisher: Cornerstone Press
    Poetry Honor
    Those We Can No Longer See: New and Selected Poems by Bob Ross
    Publisher: Stephen F. Austin University Press

    Go to the comprehensive list of winners, dating back to 2000.

    Previous Submissions

    View the lists of submissions from previous years:

     

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