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 not yet open.

The Awards competition opens February 14th and entries are due by May 31st. Books published in 2023, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination in 2024. 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 October 12th, 2024 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 2023 for the 2024 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

    2024 (25th annual) for books published in 2023

    Children's Picture Book
    Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder by Carla Ketner
    Illustrator: Paula Wallace
    Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
    Children's Novel
    The Adventures of Pearl & Monty: The Bait and Switch by E. Adams
    Publisher: Jade Forest Publishing
    Teen Novel
    The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom by Allison L. Bitz
    Publisher: HarperTeen
    Cover and Design
    Feisty Righty: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey by Jennifer D. James
    Cover Design: Courtney Keller
    Publisher: Self Published
    Design Honor
    Horizons by Julie S. Paschold
    Publisher: Atmosphere Press
    Fiction
    The War Begins in Paris: A Novel by Theodore Wheeler
    Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
    Nonfiction Nebraska as Place
    Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape by Dana Fritz
    Publisher: Bison Books
    Nonfiction History
    The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration by Richard Edwards and Jacob K. Friefeld
    Publisher: Bison Books
    Poetry
    The Gathering of Bastards by Romeo Oriogun
    Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
    Poetry Honor
    The Book Eaters by Carolina Hotchandani
    Publisher: Perugia 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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