Celebrating 78 Years of Literary Excellence
| The Commonwealth Club is currently accepting submissions for the 79th annual California Book Awards, for books published in 2009. To submit your work for consideration click here. |
Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers.
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Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books in search of the very best in literary achievement. Eligible books must be written while the author is a resident of California, and they must be published during the year under consideration. |
Awards are presented in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, First Work of Fiction, Poetry, Californiana, Notable Contribution to Publishing, Juvenile Literature and Young Adult Literature. |
Congratulations to the 78th annual California Book Award winners!
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Poetry
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Gold |
Sleeping it Off in Rapid City: Poems, New & Collected |
By August Kleinzahler |
Silver |
Practice |
By Dan Bellm |
Finalists |
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Salvina Molesta |
By Victoria Chang |
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Prairie Style |
By CS Giscombe |
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Narcissus |
By Cecilia Woloch |
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Fiction
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Gold |
The End of the Jews |
By Adam Mansbach |
Finalists |
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The Post War Dream |
By Mitch Cullin |
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The Story of a Marriage |
By Andrew Sean Greer |
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Exiles |
By Ron Hansen |
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The Natural Selection |
By Ona Russell |
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First Fiction
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Gold |
Telex from Cuba |
By Rachel Kushner |
Silver |
The Legend of a Suicide |
By David Vann |
Finalists |
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The Little Book |
By Selden Edwards |
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Finding Nouf |
By Zoe Ferraris |
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My Name Is Will |
By Jess Winfield |
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Nonfiction
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Gold |
Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life |
By John Adams |
Silver |
Mustang The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West |
By Deanne Stillman |
Finalists |
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Wallace Stegner and the American West |
By Philip Fradkin |
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Last Days of Old Beijing |
By Michael Meyer |
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The Drunkard's Walk |
By Leonard Mlodinow |
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Californiana
Gold The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space By William David Estrada
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Young Adult
Gold White Sands, Red Menace By Ellen Klages Finalists
| The King's Arrow By Michael Cadnum
| The Trouble Begins at Eight By Sid Fleischman
| Antsy Does Time By Neal Shusterman
| Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet By Sherri L. Smith
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Juvenile
Gold We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball By Kadir Nelson Finalists
| A Taste of Colored Water By Matt Faulkner
| The Hinky-Pinky: An Old Tale By Megan McDonald
| Just in Case By Yuyi Morales
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Contribution to Publishing
Gold Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970 By Gordon H. Chang, Mark Dean Johnson & Paul J. Karlstrom |
The Commonwealth Club of California |
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