2017 Winners
Book Award for Fiction
Vexation Lullaby Justin Tussing
Book Award for Crime Fiction
Straw Man Gerry Boyle
Book Award for Speculative Fiction
The Time Train Eric M. Bosarge
Book Award for Nonfiction (*A tie!)
Modified Caitlin Shetterly
American Character Colin Woodard
Book Award for Memoir
Poor Your Soul Mira Ptacin
Book Award for Poetry
Booker’s Point Megan Grumbling
Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Wrecked Maria Padian
Book Award for Children’s
Baby Bear’s Not Hibernating Lynn Plourde (Illustrated by Teri Weidner)
Book Award for Anthology (Editor)
Take Heart: More Poems from Maine Wesley McNair
John N. Cole Award for Maine-themed Nonfiction
Caught Glen Libby (Photographs by Antonia Small)
Excellence in Publishing
Stop Here. This is the Place. Susan Conley & Winky Lewis (Down East Books)
Drama Award (for film, theater, and other scripts)
Jefferson Navicky
Short Works Competition, Fiction
Brandon Dudley
Short Works Competition, Nonfiction
Margaret Newlin Rice
Short Works Competition, Poetry
Rosa Lane
Youth Competition, Fiction
Maddie Curtis
Youth Competition, Nonfiction
Mohammed Albehadli
Youth Competition, Poetry
Alhassan Kareem
Special Awards
2017 Book Donation Recipients
Porter Memorial Library in Machias
2017 MWPA Distinguished Achievement Award
Ashley Bryan for exceptional and steadfast contributions to the Maine literary arts.
Presented by Daniel Minter
A Note on Ashley Bryan from MWPA board member Megan Frazer Blakemore
“In 1968, scholar Rudine Sims Bishop wrote, “Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror.” Mr. Bryan’s books functioned on all three levels. And, to extend the metaphor, Mr. Bryan has always been standing in the doorway, inviting us all in. His body of work, both in words and illustrations, invites readers of all ages and backgrounds to listen, to participate, and to share in the experience.
Mr. Bryan’s work includes illustrated versions of traditional African tales, African-American spirituals, and more modern poets like Langston Hughes. His distinctive artwork brings these words to life for new generations. He brought this same magic to tales he spins himself. Most recently, in Freedom Over Me, he imagined the stories and dreams of 11 slaves sold at auction. His work shines a light on traditions and people that do not often find their way into mainstream publishing for children.
Mr. Bryan first discovered Maine when he was a student at the Skowhegan School of Painting. Over the years he visited numerous times, making extensive visits to concentrate on his work. In 1988, he moved here full time, setting up his home and studio on the Cranberry Isles. Maine could not have been more fortunate than to have this world-renowned artist make his home in our state. The MWPA presents this award to him in honor of his work and his years of cultivating community, spreading wisdom through words, and inviting us all through his doorway.”