High Plains International Book Awards

2026 Finalists

Out of over 200 nominations, the community readers narrowed the field to the top three or four in each category, and the judges chose the finalists!

Click here to explore the finalists!

2025 Finalists

Cover of Your Mother's Bear Gun

Cover of Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress

Cover of When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886-1900

Cover of We Are the Scrappy Ones

Cover of Touching Grass

Cover of The Science of Coincidence

Cover of The Price of Gold: Stories from the Homestake Gold Mine

Cover of The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People

Cover of The Elsewhere Oracle

Cover of The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West

Cover of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Cover of Sitting Bull's War: The Battle of Little Big Horn and the Fight for Buffalo and Freedom on the Plains

Cover of Sea of Grass

Cover of Saving the Big Sky: A Chronicle of Land Conservation in Montana

Cover of Save Me, Stranger

Cover of Rag Pickers

Cover of Pastoral, 1994

Cover of No Purchase Necessary

Cover of No Man's Land: Unpacking One Woman's Worth on the Colorado Trail

Cover of Missing U

Cover of Maggie Lou Meets Her Match

Cover of Kohkum's Royal Bannock

Cover of K-Jane

Cover of If I Had Said Beauty

Cover of How I Bend Into More

Cover of Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand

Cover of Fireboy

Cover of Dolittlism: Art for Animals

Cover of Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer's Life

Cover of Covington Hang

Cover of Brian Maguire: Outrage: Missing and Murdered People in Montana

Cover of Blake the Bear

Cover of Bison: Community Builders and Grassland Caretakers

Cover of Bear Feels Sad

Cover of Be a Man: Raised in the Shadow of Cowboys

Cover of Battle Mountain

Cover of American Mythology

Cover of All Wrong Horses That Go Away in the Rain

Cover of A Home for Steamboat: The Story of a Famous Rodeo Horse

Cover of Your Mother's Bear Gun

Cover of Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress

Cover of When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886-1900

Cover of We Are the Scrappy Ones

Cover of Touching Grass

Cover of The Science of Coincidence

Cover of The Price of Gold: Stories from the Homestake Gold Mine

Cover of The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People

Cover of The Elsewhere Oracle

Cover of The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West

Cover of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Cover of Sitting Bull's War: The Battle of Little Big Horn and the Fight for Buffalo and Freedom on the Plains

Cover of Sea of Grass

Cover of Saving the Big Sky: A Chronicle of Land Conservation in Montana

Cover of Save Me, Stranger

Cover of Rag Pickers

Cover of Pastoral, 1994

Cover of No Purchase Necessary

Cover of No Man's Land: Unpacking One Woman's Worth on the Colorado Trail

Cover of Missing U

Cover of Maggie Lou Meets Her Match

Cover of Kohkum's Royal Bannock

Cover of K-Jane

Cover of If I Had Said Beauty

Cover of How I Bend Into More

Cover of Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand

Cover of Fireboy

Cover of Dolittlism: Art for Animals

Cover of Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer's Life

Cover of Covington Hang

Cover of Brian Maguire: Outrage: Missing and Murdered People in Montana

Cover of Blake the Bear

Cover of Bison: Community Builders and Grassland Caretakers

Cover of Bear Feels Sad

Cover of Be a Man: Raised in the Shadow of Cowboys

Cover of Battle Mountain

Cover of American Mythology

Cover of All Wrong Horses That Go Away in the Rain

Cover of A Home for Steamboat: The Story of a Famous Rodeo Horse

250+

Nominations
Annually

10

U.S. States & Canadian
Provinces Represented

150+

Readers from our local
and regional community

13

Award
Categories

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Building community.

Every year we spend a day celebrating our finalists and winners and the great region of the High Plains.

The High Plains International Book Award was a true delight and an enriching experience for mind and soul. Thank you. I’m so honored to be a finalist, and a winner.

Nate Schweber2023 High Plains Nonfiction Winner

Sponsors

We couldn't exist without the contributions of our generous sponsors.

Billings Public LibraryBest Children’s Book Award
Billings Public Library FoundationBest Nonfiction Award
Friends of Billings Public LibraryBest Fiction Award
Mary Alice Fortin Foundation for Youth EnrichmentBest Young Adult Book Award
Montana State University BillingsBest First Book Award
Montana State University Billings LibraryBest Indigenous Award
Rocky Mountain CollegeBig Sky Montana Book

Stockman Bank Best Children’s Middle Grade
Ucross FoundationBest Poetry Award
Westpark Village Assisted LivingBest Creative Nonfiction
Writer’s VoiceBest Short Stories Award
Yellowstone Art Museum Board of DirectorsBest Art & Photography Award
Zonta Club of BillingsBest Woman Writer Award