Finalists
2024 Finalists
Art & Photography
Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms, and the Expanded Frame, 1960-2000 by Michele Hardy, Timothy Long, and Julia Krueger
On the Way to Somewhere Else by Tim Keane (Todd Forsgren ed.)
Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado by Dave Showalter
Fiction
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
Man, Underground by Mark Hummel
Go As a River by Shelley Read
First Book
The Definition of Beautiful by Charlotte Bellows
Through the Wilderness by Brad Orsted
West of Town by Shirley Steele
Indigenous Writer
Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
Memoir/Creative Nonfiction
Holding Fire by Bryce Andrews
The Definition of Beautiful by Charlotte Bellows
The Cost of Free Land by Rebecca Clarren
Nonfiction
Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good
The Girl Prince: Virginia Woolf, Race and the Dreadnought Hoax by Danell Jones
Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals by Christopher J. Preston
Poetry
The Currency of His Light by Roy J. Beckemeyer
Mumblecusser by Allen Morris Jones
West of Town by Shirley Steele
Short Stories
Shoot the Horses First by Leah Angstman
Men Behaving Badly by Tim O'Leary
This Is Salvaged by Vauhini Vara
Woman Writer
Shoot the Horses First by Leah Angstman
A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
Children's Picture Book
Let Me Tell You About My Mom by Casey Rislov, photos by Ron Hayes
Lily and Maia: A Dinosaur Adventure by Jack Horner, illustrated by Grace Hattrup
Border Crossings by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Howard Gray
Young Reader/Middle Grade
A Sky Full of Song Susan Lynn Meyer
Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis
The Umbrella House by Colleen Nelson
Young Adult
A Twist in Time by Janet Muirhead Hill
Bat Cave: A Fable of Epidemic Proportions (Critter Chronicles #2) by Scott Bischke
Spirit of Denendeh Vol. 2: As I Enfold You in Petals by Richard Van Camp
Big Sky Award
Holding Fire by Bryce Andrews
Man, Underground by Mark Hummel
Mumblecusser by Allen Morris Jones
The Girl Prince: Virginia Woolf, Race and the Dreadnought Hoax by Danell Jones
Latest Finalists
2024 finalists will be announced mid-year!
Past Finalists
2023
Art & Photography
Montana Modernists: Shifting Perspectives of Western Art Michele Corriel
Montana Panoramic: Transparent in the Backlight Photographs by Craig W. Hergert; Text by Shann Ray
Conserving America’s Wildlands: The Vision of Ted Turner Photographs by Rhett Turner; Text by Todd Wilkinson
Big Sky Award
Montana Modernists: Shifting Perspectives of Western Art Michele Corriel
Montana: A Paper Trail Thomas E. Minckler
On a Benediction of Wind Charles Finn (poetry) & Barbara Michelman (photography)
Children’s Middle Grade Book
Thunderous M. L. Smoker & Natalie Peeterse; Illustrations by Dale Ray DeForest
Tenmile Sandra Dallas
If You Can Dream It You Can Do It Colleen Nelson & Kathie MacIsaac; Illustrations by Scot Ritchie
Children’s Picture Book
I Do Not Like the Rotten Egg Scent in Yellowstone National Park Penelope Kaye
Buddy: A Farm in the Forest Story Jena Wagmann
What If You Could? Lynne Harley
Creative Nonfiction
Otters Dance Bob Budd
Think Like a Horse: Lessons in Life, Leadership, and Empathy from an Unconventional Cowboy Grant Golliher
I Never Met a Rattlesnake I Didn’t Like: A Memoir David Carpenter
Fiction
Jameela Green Ruins Everything Zarqa Nawaz
The New Neighbor Carter Wilson
Hell and Back Craig Johnson
First Book
Crazy Mountain Elise Atchison
In Celebration Dorothy Bradley
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings: A Graphic Memoir Will Betke-Brunswick
Indigenous Writer
Thunderous M. L. Smoker & Natalie Peeterse; Illustrations by Dale Ray DeForest
With Great Discretion J. Hoolihan Clayton
Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson
Nonfiction
This America of Ours: Bernard and Avid DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild Nate Schweber
Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West Anne F. Hyde
Boys and Oil: Growing up Gay in a Fractured Land Taylor Brorby
Poetry
The Big Melt Emily Riddle
Puzzled Ruth Maus
Goodbye Yellowstone Road Tom Vandel
Short Stories
The Term Between Brady Harrison
Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping Leslie Greentree
Woman Writer
White Horse Erika T. Wurth
The Apothecary’s Garden Jeanette Lynes
Black Umbrella Katherine Lawrence
Young Adult
Behind the Label: Gloria & Willa Lorna Schultz Nicholson
The Emir’s Falcon Matt Hughes
Ann of Sunflower Lane Julie A. Sellers
2022
Art & Photography
Jon Lodge: Fracture Jon Lodge (artist), Brandon Reintjes, & Gordon McConnell
Bison: Portrait of an Icon Audrey Hall and Chase Reynolds Ewald
George Carlson: The American West Todd Wilkinson
Children's Book
The Undercover Book List Colleen Nelson
The Mystery of the Giant Kohlrabi Sharon Plumb
Dear Peter, Dear Ulla Barbara Nickel
Creative Nonfiction
We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine, and Healing Jillian Horton
Helmi's Shadow: A Journey of Survival from Russia to East Asia to the American West David Horgan
The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood Julian Rubinstein
Fiction
Daughter of the Morning Star Craig Johnson
Let the Wild Grasses Grow Kase Johnstun
And It Will Be a Beautiful Life Craig Lancaster
First Book
Commendable Discretion: A Detective Novel of the Old West J. Hoolihan Clayton
Miraculous Sickness ky perraun
Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice Katherine Wiltenburg Todrys
Indigenous Writer
Kitotam John Brady McDonald
20.12m: A Short Story Collection of a Live Lived as a Road Allowance Metis Arnolda Dufour Bowes
Standoff: Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Sacred Lands Jacqueline Keeler
Medicine and Science
We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine, and Healing Jillian Horton
Wild Rescues: A Paramedic’s Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton Kevin Grange
The Scenic Geology of Alberta: A Roadside Touring and Hiking Guide Dale Leckie
Nonfiction
No One Dare Call Her a Liar Larry Lee Kruckenberg
We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing Jillian Horton
A History of Montana in 101 Objects Kirby Lambert, Tom Ferris, and the Montana Historical Society
Poetry
awasis - kinky and disheveled Louise B. Halfe-Sky Dancer
The Track the Whales Make Marjorie Saiser
No Way: An American Tao Te Ching David Romtvedt
Short Stories
Site Fidelity Claire Boyles
The Broken World Tom Vandel
What If We Were Somewhere Else Wendy J. Fox
Woman Writer
The Stone Sister Caroline Patterson
The Call of the Last Frontier: The True Story of a Woman's Twenty-Year Alaska Adventure Melissa Cook
Ancestors: Indigenous Peoples of Western Canada in Historic Photographs Sarah Carter & Inez Lightning
Young Adult
When You Least Expect It Lorna Schultz Nicholson
Alone Megan E. Freeman
The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. Colleen Nelson
2021
Art & Photography
A Corner of Space and Time: Lee Nye's Eddie's Club Portraits Jean Belangie-Nye, Aaron Teasdale, & Benjamin Ferencz
Borderlands Mark Vitaris
The Indian’s Pony: From Bones to Bronze Gerald Anthony Shippen
Big Sky Award
Shakespeare in Montana: Big Sky Country's Love Affair with the World's Most Famous Author Gretchen E. Minton
Children's Book
Harvey Holds His Own Colleen Nelson, Tara Anderson (illus.)
The Nighthawk's Harmonica: A Montana Roundup Story Marcia Melton
On A Good Horse Darby Karchut
Creative Nonfiction
The 10 Greatest Gifts We Give Each Other: A Memoir on the Magic of Marriage Vows Barbara Lynn-Vannoy
Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory David A. Robertson
Cheatgrass Dreams Theodore Waddell
Fiction
August Callan Wink
Ruthie Fear Maxim Loskutoff
In the Shadow of Dora: A Novel of the Holocaust and the Apollo Program Patrick Hicks
First Book
The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home Lisa D. Stewart
The Response of Weeds Bertrand Bickersteth
Winter Counts David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Indigenous Writer
Winter Counts David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Field Notes for the Self Randy Lundy
Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory David A. Robertson
Medicine and Science
Roadside Geology of Montana: Second Edition Donald W. Hyndman, Robert C. Thomas
Nonfiction
Shakespeare in Montana: Big Sky Country's Love Affair with the World's Most Famous Writer Gretchen E. Minton
Taken by the Muse Anne Wheeler
The Grizzly in the Driveway Rob Chaney
Poetry
The Response of Weeds Bertrand Bickersteth
The Bestiary Dennis Cooley
Ghosts Still Linger Kat Cameron
Short Stories
Vermin: Stories Lori Hahnel
If Sylvie Had Nine Lives Leona Theis
Dear Hearts Barbara Miller Biles
Woman Writer
Second Wind Patricia Frolander
Revery: A Year of Bees Jenna Butler
The Historians Cecilia Ekbäck
Young Adult
Dilly Matthew P. Mayo
Opulence, Kansas Julie Stielstra
Journeyman: The Story of NHL Right Winger Jamie Leach Anna Rosner
2020
Art & Photography
The Arapaho Way: Continuity and Change on the Wind River Reservation Sara Wiles
Truth and Beauty in the Canadian Rockies Lisa Christensen
Victo Cicansky: The Gardener's Universe / L'univers d'un jardinier Timothy Long & Julia Kreuger (eds)
Big Sky Award
Forever Neverland Susan Adrian
Voices of Yellowstone's Capstone Traute Parrie & Jesse Logan (eds)
The Cheyenne Story: An Interpretation of Courage Gerry Robinson
Children's Book
Forever Neverland Susan Adrian
Howl: A New Look at the Big Bad Wolf Ted Rechlin
Major: A Soldier Dog Trevor Jones
Creative Nonfiction
Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country Pam Houston
Essential Yellowstone: A Landscape of Memory and Wonder Michael J. Yochim
Encounters in Yellowstone: The Nez Perce Summer of 1877 M. Mark Miller
Fiction
The Healer's Daugher Charlotte Hinger
Fall Back Down When I Die Joe Wilkins
The Line Between Tosca Lee
First Book
Reckless Steps Toward Sanity Judith Sara Gelt
The Cheyenne Story: An Interpretation of Courage Gerry Robinson
Earth to Charlie Justin Olson
Indigenous Writer
Perception: A Photo Series KC Adams
From the Ashes: My Story of Being Metis, Homeless, and Finding My Way Jesse Thistle
The Red Chesterfield Wayne Arthurson
Medicine and Science
Six Hundred Generations: An Archaeological History of Montana Carl Davis
The Science of Why, Vol 4 Jay Ingram
Birds, Bones, and Beetles: The Improbable Career and Remarkable Legacy of University of Kansas Naturalist Charles D. Bunker Charles H. Warner
Nonfiction
Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power Pekka Hamalainen
Voices of Yellowston'e Capstone Traute Parrie & Jesse Logan
One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl's Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture Stephanie Anderson
Poetry
St. Boniface Elegies Catherine Hunter
Mercy Shirley Camia
Wildernss//Kingdom Jory Mickelsen
Short Stories
Not a Thing to Comfort You Emily Wortman-Wunder
This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. Jennifer Wortman
Winning Chance Katherine Koller
Woman Writer
Nighthawk Rising: A Biography of Accused Cattle Rustler Queen Ann Bassett of Brown's Peak Diana Allen Kouris
Cold Metal Stairs Su Croll
River People Margaret Lukas
Young Adult
Qaqavii Miriam Korner
Cold White Sun Sue Farrell Holler
Spin Colleen Nelson
2019
Art & Photography
Bert Riggall's Greater Waterton Beth Towe
An Honest, Genial and Kindly People Adrian K. Paton
Plains Indian Buffalo Cultures: Art from the Paul Dyck Collection Emma I. Hansen
Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West Dr. Peter H. Hassrick et. al.
Big Sky Award
Cloudbursts: Collected and New Stories Thomas McGuane
Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption Susan Devan Harness
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life David Quammen
Children's Book
Prison Paws: Max's Story Donna Cochran
Double! Not Half Rodney Gottula
My Buddy, Dido Marion Mutala
Creative Nonfiction
West to Montana Christine Wortman-Engren
Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption Susan Devan Harness
Warblers and Woodpeckers: A Father-Son Big Year of Birding Sneed B. Collard, III
Petting Tigers: My Life as a Witness of Jehovah Shelley Smith Jones
Fiction
A Death in Eden Keith McCafferty
The Flicker of Old Dreams Susan Henderson
Go Ask Fannie Elisabeth Hyde
The River by Starlight Ellen Notbohm
First Book
Women Who Dig: Farming, Feminism and the Fight to Feed the World Trina Moyles
Double! Not Half Rodney Gottula
One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large Chris La Tray
Indigenous Writer
One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large Chris La Tray
Awasis and the World-Famous Bannock Dallas Hunt
Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption Susan Devan Harness
Medicine and Science
Ghostwalker: Tracking a Mountain Lion's Soul through Science and Story Leslie Patten
Psychedelic Revolutionaries: LSD and the Birth of Hallucinogenic Research Patrick W. Barber
The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life David Quammen
Nonfiction
Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming's Ungulates Matthew J. Kauffman
Buffalo Heartbeats Across the Plains: The Last Great Hunts and Saving the Buffalo Francie M. Berg
An African in Imperial London: The Indomitable Life of A. B. C. Merriman-Labor Danell Jones
Poetry
All That Held Us Henrietta Goodman
Heavy Joy Brown
View From True North Sara Henning
Blackbird Song Randy Lundy
Short Stories
Come West and See Maxim Loskutoff
Cloudbursts: Collected and New Stories Thomas McGuane
Thorn-Field James Trettwer
Woman Writer
Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption Susan Devan Harness
Buried Ruth Chorney
The Flicker of Old Dreams Susan Henderson
Young Adult
Sadia Colleen Nelson
Bronte's Thunder Lucinda Stein
Wolfe in Shepherd's Clothing: A Shepherd & Wolfe Mystery Angela Counios & David Gane
2018
Art & Photography
The Writing on the Wall: The Work of Joane Cardinal-Schubert Lindsey V. Sharman
Islands of Grass Trevor Herriot
Theodore Waddell: My Montana Rick Newby
Children's Book
What I Saw in Grand Teton Julie Gillum Lue
What I Saw in Glacier Ellen Horowitz
Blue Corn Soup Caroline Stutson
Creative Nonfiction
Homestead Soldiers Bill Jones
Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home Robert Rebein
A Darkness Lit by Heroes: The Granite Mountain- Speculator Mine Disaster of 1917 Doug Ammons
Fiction
Love and Other Consolation Prizes Jamie Ford
The Widow Nash Jamie Harrison
Days Without End Sebastian Barry
First Book
Encountering Riel David Orr
Bad Kansas Becky L Mandelbaum
The Widow's Guide to Edible Mushrooms Chauna Craig
Indigenous Writer
Strangers, Book 1, The Reckoner trilogy David A Robertson
Metis Christmas Mittens Leah Marie Dorion
Invisible Reality: Storytellers, Storytakers, and the Supernatural World of the Blackfeet Rosalyn R. LaPier
Medicine and Science
Rocks, Ridges, and Rivers: Geological Wonders of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks Dale Leckie
A Surgeon with Custer at the Little Big Horn: James DeWolf's Diary and Letters, 1876 Todd E. Harburn (editor)
The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands Chris Turner
Nonfiction
Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon John Clayton
Frank Little and the IWW: The Blood That Stained an American Family Jane Little Botkin
The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands Chris Turner
Poetry
Throwing the Diamond Hitch Emily Ursuliak
Hose and Iron: Selected Poems Greg Kuzma
The Bunch Grass Motel: The Collected Poems of Randall Gloege Randall Gloege
Short Stories
The Widow's Guide to Edible Mushrooms Chauna Craig
What We Build Upon the Ruins Giano L Cromley
Maple & Lead Aaron Parrett
Woman Writer
Follow Me Down Sherri Smith
Pemmican Wars, Vol 1, A Girl Called Echo Katherena Vermette
The Last Chance Ladies' Book Club Marlis Wesseler
Young Adult
Strangers, Book 1, The Reckoner trilogy David A Robertson
Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival Matthew P. Mayo
Blood Brothers Colleen Nelson
2017
Art & Photography
Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonne II Peter Hassrick
Wild Harmony of Glacier National Park Sumio Harada
Yellowstone Forever: A Decade in Yellowstone National Park Stephen C. Hinch
Children's Book
Bears Ted Rechlin
The Most Important Thing: Stories About Sons, Fathers, and Grandfathers Avi
Runs With Courage Joan Wolf
Creative Nonfiction
Temperance Creek Pamela Royes
Happiness is a Rare Bird Gene Walz
North of Crazy: A Memoir Neltje
Fiction
As Good As Gone Larry Watson
The Bones of Paradise Jonis Agee
An Obvious Fact Craig Johnson
First Book
Hurt People Cote Smith
The Waiting Place Sharron Arksey
Riversong Alice Colton
Improbable Fortunes Jeffrey Price
Indigenous Writer
Will I See? David A. Robertson
Traitors of Camp 133, The Wayne Arthurson
Burning in This Midnight Dream Louise Halfe
Medicine and Science
Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival Sneed B. Collard III
Vulnerability and Adaptation to Drout: The Canadian Prairies and South America Henry Diaz, Margot Hurlbert & Jim Warren
Unearthing Paradise: Montana Writers in Defense of Greater Yellowstone Marc Beaudin, Max Hjortsberg and Seabring Davis, eds
Nonfiction
The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero Timothy Egan
A Week in Yellowstone's Thorofare: A Journey Through the Remotest Place Michael Yochim
Blood on the Marias: The Baker Massacre Paul Wylie
Poetry
It's As Good Here As It Gets Anywhere Greg Kosmicki
Poems Across the Big Sky II Lowell Jaeger
On Not Losing My Father's Ashes in the Flood Richard Harrison
Short Stories
All I Want Is What You've Got Glen Chamberlain
Madagascar: New and Selected Stories Steven Schwartz
For a Little While Rick Bass
Woman Writer
Mortal Fall Christine Carbo
The Waiting Place Sharron Arksey
Convictions Judith Silverthorne
Young Adult
Along Comes a Wolfe: A Shepherd & Wolfe Mystery Angela Counios
The Pain Eater Beth Goobie
And Then the Sky Exploded David A. Poulsen
2016
Art & Photography
Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek Thomas D. Mangelsen/ Todd Wilkinson
Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend Judith Silverthorne
Wyoming Grasslands Frank H. Goodyear, Charles R. Preston
Children's Book
Cub's Journey Home Georgia Graham
Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend Judith Silverthorne
Fire Birds: Valuing Natural Wildfires and Burned Forests Sneed B. Collard III
Creative Nonfiction
Canoeing the Great Plains Patrick Dobson
Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story David Alexander Robertson
Profession of Hope: Farming on the Edge of the Grizzly Trail, A Jenna Butler
Fiction
Crazy Mountain Kiss Keith McCafferty
This Is What I Want Craig Lancaster
Madder Carmine Tyler Enfield
American Copper Shann Ray
First Book
The Wild Inside Christine Carbo
The Bookseller Cynthia Swanson
The Actor Beth Hunter McHugh
Medicine and Science
Glacier National Park After Dark John Ashley
Health of the Seventh Cavalry: A Medical History P. Willey, Douglas D. Scott
Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek Thomas D. Mangelsen/ Todd Wilkinson
Nonfiction
Fire Birds: Valuing Natural Wildfires and Burned Forests Sneed B. Collard III
Warrior in the Ring Brian D'Ambrosio
Colorado: A Historical Atlas Thomas J. Noel
Cowboy Legend, The John Jennings
Poetry
Why I Returne to Makoce Lois Red Elk
Days Run Away, The Robert Currie
Red Canyon Falling on Churches Juliana Aragon Fatula
Report to the Department of the Interior Diane Glancy
Short Stories
Collector of Names, The Patrick Hicks
Deer Walking Upside Down, The Jerry McGahan
Far Enough: A Western in Fragments Joe Wilkins
Woman Writer
The Actor Beth Hunter McHugh
Wolf Winter Cecilia Ekback
Liberty Street Dianne Warren
After Light Catherine Hunter
Young Adult
Three Feathers Richard Van Camp
Blanket of Butterflies, A Richard Van Camp
Am I the Only One? Struggling Being a Teen Treena Wynes
2015
Art & Photography
In the Alley/Dans la ruelle Dave Margoshes (editor), Donald Kerr & Timothy Long (contributors)
Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend Larry Len Peterson
Crown of the Continent: The Wildest Rockies Steven Gnam
Jennifer Bottomly O'looney and Kirby Lambert Montana's Charlie Russell: Art in the Collection of the Montana Historical Society
Children's Book
Do Trees Sneeze? Jean Freeman
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky Sandra Dallas
Back to Batoche Cheryl Chad
Culinary
A Taste of Montana: Favorite Recipes from Big Sky Country Seabring Davis
Gatherings: Friends and Recipes from Montana's Mustang Kitchen Carole Sullivan
Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens Amy Jo Ehman
Fiction
The Home Place Carrie La Seur
Stars Go Blue Laura Pritchett
Any Other Name Craig Johnson
First Book
Altitude Adjustment: A Quest for Love, Home, and Meaning in the Tetons Mary Beth Baptiste
Badluck Way Bryce Andrews
Montana State Parks: Complete Guide and Travel Companion Kristen Inbody and Erin Madison
Nonfiction
Montana 1864: Indians, Emigrants, and Gold in the Territorial Year Ken Egan Jr.
American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890 Jerome A. Greene
The Horse Lover: A Cowboy's Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs H. Alan Day and Lynn Wiese Sneyd
Badluck Way Bryce Andrews
Poetry
Splitting an Order Ted Kooser
Slant Six Erin Belieu
Balefire Shann Ray
Short Stories
God Telling a Joke and other stories Dave Margoshes
The Widow Smalls and Other Stories Jamie Lisa Forbes
I am Currently Working on a Novel Rolli (Charles Anderson)
Woman Writer
The Ogallala Road: A Memoir of Love and Reckoning Julene Bair
The Home Place Carrie La Seur
Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia Vicki Tapia
Young Adult
Harry Potter and the Art of Spying Lynn Boughey & Peter Earnest
Queen of Fire Regine Haensel
Camp Outlook Brenda Baker
2014
Art & Photography
Karl Bodmer's America Revisited W. R. Wood & R. M. Lindholm
North Dakota Unforgettable Chuck Haney
A President in Yellowstone Frank H. Goodyear III
This Place, These People David Stark and Nancy Warner
Children's Book
Leaving Mr. Humphries Alison Lohans
Baba's Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding Marion Mutala
Who Pooped in the Cascades? Gary D. Robson
Fiction
High and Inside Russell Rowland
Songs of Willow Frost Jamie Ford
Let Him Go Larry Watson
First Book
Wounded Barbara Joyce-Hawryluk
Montana Gwen Florio
The Last Good Halloween Giano Cromley
Medicine and Science
Manitoba Butterflies: A Field Guide Simone Hebert Allard
In the Shadow of the Sabertooth: A Renegade Naturalist Considers Global Warming, the First Americans and the Terrible Beasts of the Pleistocene Doug Peacock
Nonfiction
Shooting Arrows and Slinging Mud James E. Mueller
Traveling the Power Line: From the Mojave Desert to the Bay of Fundy Julianne Couch
Rough Breaks: A Wyoming High Country Memoir Laurie Wagner Buyer
Poetry
Grey Dog Big Sky Sheryl Noethe
Saving Singletrees Leo Dangel
To Love That Well: New & Selected Poems 1954 - 2013 Robert Pack
Short Stories
You Haven't Changed a Bit Astrid Blodgett
Cowboys and East Indians Nina McConigley
Little Raw Souls Steven Schwartz
Woman Writer
Clearwater Kim McCullough
Meadowlark: A Novel Dawn Wink
The Wittenbergs Sarah Klassen
Wounded Barbara Joyce-Hawryluk
Young Adult
Black Helicopters Blythe Woolston
The Throne Beth Goobie
The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate Marty Chan
2013
Art & Photography
North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied Marsha V. Gallagher, editor
Montana: Real Place, Real People Alan Kesselheim & Thomas Lee
The Diamond Willow Walking Stick: A Traditional Métis Story About Generosity Leah Marie Dorion
Culinary
Celebrating Home: A Handbook for Gracious Living Christy Rost (text) and Rock Souders (photo)
Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet Dee Hobsbawn-Smith
Food for the Gods Karen Dudley
Fiction
Canada Richard Ford
The Royal Wulff Murders Keith McCafferty
The Round House Louise Erdrich
First Book
The Boarding House Marcia Melton
The Anatomy of Edouard Beaupre Sarah Kathryn York
Fobbit David Abrams
The Boys of Company K Lee Cullimore
Nonfiction
Visions and Voices: Montana's One-Room Schoolhouses Charlotte Caldwell
Deliverance From the Little Big Horn Joan Nabseth Stevenson
Wagons East Victoria Taylor
Let Them Paddle Alan Kesselheim
Poetry
Nakoda Sky People Minerva Allen
Notes from the Journey Westward Joe Wilkins
I See My Love More Clearly From a Distance Nora Gould
Short Stories
What You Get at Home Dora Dueck
Dominant Traits Eric Freeze
Western Taxidermy Barb Howard
Woman Writer
The Miseducation of Cameron Post Emily Danforth
Blood and Salt Barbara Sapergia
Deliverance From the Little Big Horn Joan Nabseth Stevenson
Young Adult
The Miseducation of Cameron Post Emily Danforth
Dead Girl Moon Charlie Price
Outcasts of River Falls Jacqueline Guest
2012
Art & Photography
Arapaho Journeys: Photographs and Stories from the Wind River Reservation Sara Wiles
Relatives with Roots: A Story about Metis Women's Connection to the Land Leah Marie Dorion
Fra Dana: American Impressionest in the Rockies Valerie Hedquist & Sue Hart
Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana Chere Jiusto & Christine W. Brown
Emeritus
Thomas McGuane
Fiction
The Ringer Jenny Shank
Liberty Lanes Robin Troy
Kings of Colorado David E. Hilton
First Book
The Big Sky, By and By Ed Kemmick
American Masculine Shann Ray
Rim Haven Lynne Montague
Kings of Colorado David E. Hilton
Nonfiction
The Boy Betty Jane Hegerat
Honyocker Dreams: Montana Memories David Mogen
Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana Chere Jiusto & Chistine W. Brown
Poetry
Songs of Unreason Jim Harrison
Killing the Murnion Dogs Joe Wilkins
Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet Twyla M. Hansen & Linda M. Hasselstrom
Short Stories
Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure Craig Lancaster
American Masculine Shann Ray
Woman Writer
Racing Home Adele Dueck
Married Into It Patricia Frolander
Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana's Frontier Lael Morgan
2011
Art & Photography
Visions of the Big Sky Dan Flores
In Poetic Silence: The Floral Paintings of Joseph Henry Sharp Thomas Minckler
L Is for Land of Living Skies: A Saskatchewan Alphabet Linda Aksomitis
Emeritus
Larry Woiwode
Fiction
The Scent of Rain and Lightning Nancy Pickard
Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives Brad Watson
Ghosts of Wyoming Alison Hagy
First Book
Bound Like Grass: A Memoir of the Western High Plains Ruth McLaughlin
In Poetic Silence: The Floral Paintings of Joseph H. Sharp Thomas Minckler
Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner Amy Jo Ehman
Nonfiction
The World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale Sneed B. Collard III
Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary Steve Friesen
Bloodshed at Little Bighorn: Sitting Bull, Custer and the Destinies of Nations Tim Lehman
Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner Amy Jo Ehman
Poetry
Horse Tracks Henry Real Bird
New Poets of the American West Lowell Jaeger (ed.)
A Harvest of Words: Contemporary South Dakota Poetry Patrick Hicks
Woman Writer
Goodbye Wifes and Daughters Susan Kushner Resnick
Dakota, or What's a Heaven For Brenda K. Marshall
Cool Water Dianne Warren
2010
Emeritus
Margaret Coel
Fiction
Twisted Tree Kent Myers
Euphoria Connie Gault
Spoon Robert Greer
First Book
600 Hours of Edward Craig Lancaster
Seldom Seen: A Journey into the Great Plains Patrick Dobson
Heavy Burdens on Small Shoulders: The Labour of Pioneer Children on the Canadian Prairies Sandra Rollings-Magnusson
Nonfiction
Lights on a Ground of Darkness Ted Kooser
Lanterns on the Prairie: The Blackfeet Photographs of Walter McClintock Steven L. Grafe (ed)
Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman: A Montana Historical Society Guide Rich Aarstad, Allie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porslid, & Brian Shovers
Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924 Frank Goodyear
Poetry
Holding Everything Down William Notter
I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights Melissa Kwasny & M. L. Smoker (eds)
A Random Census of Souls: Prose Poems Samuel Western
Woman Writer
Riding the Edge of an Era: Growing Up Cowboy on the Outlaw Trail Diana Allen Kouris
No Place Like Home Linda Hasselstrom
Border to Border: Historic Quilts and Quiltmakers of Montana Annie Hanshew
2009
Emeritus
Louise Erdrich
Fiction
Another Man's Moccasins Craig Johnson
So Brave, Young and Handsome Leif Enger
Kyleah's Tree Janet Muirhead Hill
First Book
Sherlock Holmes: The Montana Chronicles John S. Fitzpatrick
Wind River Country: Hiddern Heart of Wyoming Bayard Fox
Horses that Buck: The Story of Champion Bronc Rider Bill Smith Margot Kahn
Nonfiction
The Wide Open: Prose, Poetry, and Photographs of the Prairie Annick Smith & Susan O'Connor (eds)
In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein Peter H. Hassrick & Elizabeth J. Cunningham
Legacy of Stone: Saskatchewan's Stone Buildings Margaret Hyrniuk, Frank Korvemaker, and Larry Easton
Poetry
The Baseball Field at Night Patricia Goedicke
Prairie Kaddish Isa Milman
Made Flesh Craig Arnold
Woman Writer
The Wide Open: Prose, Poetry, and Photographs of the Prairie Annick Smith & Susan O'Connor (eds)
Horses that Buck: The Story of Champion Bronc Rider Bill Smith Margot Kahn
Road Map to Holland Jennifer Graf Groneberg
2008
Emeritus
Gary Ferguson
Fiction
Shallow Grave Lori G. Armstrong
The Watershed Years Russell Rowland
A Feast of Longing Sarah Klassen
First Book
Migration Patterns: Stories Gary Schanbacher
Turpentine Spring Warren
Where the Rivers Run North Sam Morton
Nonfiction
Boxing for Cuba Guillermo Vincente Vidal
Gall: Lakota War Chief Robert W. Larson
One Woman's Montana Kathe LaSage
This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor Susan Wicklund & Alan Kesselheim
Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonne B. Byron Price (ed)
2007
Best Book
Indians and Emigrants: Encounters on the Overland Trails Michael L. Tate
Horses They Rode Sid Gustafson
Cowboy Girl: The Life of Carolyn Lockhart John Clayton
The Boy Who Invented Skiing: A Memoir Swain Wolfe
Emeritus
Larry Watson
First Book
One Night in a Bad Inn Christy Leskovar
Copper Chorus: Mining, Politics, and the Montana Press, 1889-1959 Dennis L. Swibold
Jay Cooke's Gamble: The Northern Pacific Railroad, the Sioux, and the Panic of 1873 M. John Lubetkin