Northeastern Minnesota Book Award (NEMBA)
The Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA) recognize books that represent northeastern Minnesota in the areas of history, culture, heritage, or lifestyle. The award is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Duluth Public Library and by the UMD Library, in collaboration with Lake Superior Writers, with additional support from Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Northern Lights Books & Gifts, and UMD Stores. For purposes of the Awards, northeastern Minnesota includes the following counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St. Louis.
Reading teams select a winner and one honorable mention in each of six categories: 1) Fiction, 2) Poetry, 3) General Nonfiction, 4) Children's Literature, 5) Memoir and Creative Nonfiction. The winning author in each category receives a cash prize of $300. The winning author and the honorable mention in each category receive a beveled glass award.
This year's event was held on Thursday, May 17, 2012 in UMD's Kirby Ballroom.
For more information, visit the NEMBA website or call 218-726-7889.
Fiction
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Winner: Dead Ahead: A Jo Spence Mystery by Jen Wright (Fic M Wright) |
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Honorable Mention: The Winds of Change by Duane Schwartz (Fic Schwartz) |
| Poetry | |
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Winner: Tumbled Dry by Charmaine Donovan |
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Honorable Mention: Migrations: Poetry and Prose for Life's Transitions edited by Sheila Packa (811.54 M588) |
| General Nonfiction | |
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Winner: Ancient Earth and the First Ancestors: A Cultural and Geological Journey by Ron Morton and Carl Gawboy (970.4749 M846a) |
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Honorable Mention: Twelve Owls by Laura Erickson (598.97 Er44t and j598.97 Erickson) |
| Children's Literature | |
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Winner: Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth (YA Fic Ellsworth) |
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Honorable Mention: Utterly Otterly Night by Mary Casanova ( j Casanova) |
| Memoir & Creative Nonfiction | |
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Winner: Shelter by Sarah Stonich (977.634 St72s) |
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Honorable Mention: Hauling Water: Reflections on Making a Home in the North Woods by Becca Brin Manlove, illustrated by Sharon Brin Hathaway (640 M315h) |
| Art, Photography | |
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Winner: Voyageur Skies: Weather and the Wilderness in Minnesota's National Park photography by Don Brenemen, weather commentary by Mark Seeley (508.776 B75v) |
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Honorable Mention: Old Minnesota by Nace Hagemann (917.763 H121o) |
For more information, call Brenda Bonnema at 218-726-6843 or visit the NEMBA website.
Previous
NEMBA Winners:
2010 - Fiction: Safe
from the Sea by Peter Geye (Fic Geye)
- Poetry:
On
Speaking Terms by Connie Wanek (811.54 W184o)
- General Nonfiction:
Paddle
North: Canoeing the Boundary Waters-Quetico Wilderness by
Greg Breining, photography by Layne Kennedy (797.122 K384p)
- Children's
Literature: Minnesota's
Hidden Alphabet photography by Joe Rossi; text by David LaRochelle
(j917.76 Rossi)
- Memoir &
Creative Nonfiction: Brown
Sugar Syrup and Jack Pine Sand by Dennis Herschbach (921 H437AAb))
2009 - Fiction: Minnesota
Cold by Cynthia Kraack
(Fic Kraack)
- Poetry:
The
Dark Honey: New & Used Poems by Ellie Schoenfeld (811.54
Sch63da)
- General Nonfiction:
Minong
- The Good Place: Ojibwe and Isle Royale by Timothy Cochrane
(977.4997 C643m)
- Children's
Literature: Wintering
by William Durbin (Juv Fic Durbin)
- Memoir &
Creative Nonfiction: Knife
Island: Circling a Year in a Herring Skiff by Stephen Dahl
(639.21 D137k)
2008 - Fiction: A
Finntown of the Soul by Patricia Eilola (Fic Eilola)
- Poetry:
Trail
Guide to the Northland Experience in Prints and Poetry by
Northern Printmakers Alliance and Lake Superior Writers (811.54
T681)
- General Nonfiction:
Hard
Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota
by Barbara W. Sommer (634.9 So55h)
- Children's
Literature: Someone
Walks By: The Wonders of Winter Wildlife by Polly Carlson-Voiles
( j Carlson-Voiles)
- Art, Photography:
Driftwood:
Stories Picked Up along the Shore by Howard Sivertson (977.49
Si94d)
- Memoir &
Creative Nonfiction: Overburden:
Modern Life on the Iron Range by Aaron Brown (921 B8122o)
2007 - Fiction: Thunder
Bay: A Cork O'Connor Mystery by William Kent Krueger
- Memoir &
Creative Nonfiction: Morgan
Park: U.S. Steel and the Forging of a Company Town by
Arnold R. Alanen
- Art, Photography:
Celebrating
Birch: The Lore, Art, and Craft of an Ancient Tree by North
House Folk School
- Children's
Literature: Agate:
What Good is a Moose? by Joy Morgan Dey
2006 - Fiction: The
North Shore by Gunnard Landers (Fic M Landers)
- Nonfiction,
Memoir: Waking:
A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford (921
Sa5783AAw)
- Children's
Literature: Fearless
John: The Legend of John Beargrease by Kelly Emerling Rauzi,
illustrated by Mila Horak ((j798.8 Rauzi)
2005 - Fiction, Poetry, Drama:
Zoe's
Good-bye by Mary Schlangen ( j Schlangen)
- Nonfiction,
Art, Scholarship: Salmela:
Architect by Thomas Fisher, with photographs by Peter Bastianelli-Kerze
(720.92 Sa35f)
2004 - Fiction, Poetry, Drama:
Ojibwe
Tales: Stories of the Ojibwe People by Art Przybilla (398.2
P958o)
- Nonfiction,
Art, Scholarship: Minnesota's
Iron Country: Rich Ore, Rich Lives by Marvin Lamppa (977.634
L198m)
2003 - Fiction, Poetry, Drama:
Uncommon
Light: A Collection of Poems by Jeanine Lamoureus Emmons,
Gladys Koski Holmes, Kathleen McQuillan, Stephanie Stevens, Sheila
Packa (811.54 Un112)
- Nonfiction,
Art, Scholarship: V
Is for Viking: A Minnesota Alphabet by Kathy-jo Wargin (j917.76
Wargin)
2002 - Fiction, Poetry, Drama:
Borealis:
Poems by Jeff Humphries, illustrated by Betsy Bowen (811.6
H889b)
- Nonfiction,
Art, Scholarship: The
Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga by Jerry Stelmok, illustrated
by Deborah Sussex (921 Se479a)
2001 - Schooners, Skiffs & Steamships:Stories along Lake Superior's Water Trails by Howard Sivertson (977.49 Si94s)
2000 - John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire by Josephine Nobisso ( j Nobisso)
1999 - 50 Circuit Hikes by Howard Fenton (917.763 F367f)
1998 - Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map by Barton Sutter (917.7635 Su86c)
1997 - Just Above Water: Prose Poems by Louis Jenkins (811.54 J417j)
1996 - Silent Words by Joan Drury (Fic M Drury)
1995 - The Duluth Portfolio by Craig and Nadine Blacklock (917.7635 B565d)
1994 - The Illustrated Voyageur by Howard Sivertson (971.3 Si94i)
1993 - Walking the Rez Road by Jim Northrup (818.54 N818w)
1992 - The Grand Portage Story by Carolyn Gilman (977.639 G42g)
1991 - North Writers: A Strong Woods Collection edited by John Henricksson (508 N811)
1990 - Gunflint: Reflections on the Trail by Justine Kerfoot (917.763 K454g)
1989 - The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen (YA Fic Paulsen)
1988 - Quiet Magic by Sam Cook (500.9 C771q)
Click for a complete list of winners and honorable mentions and of previous years' nominees, from the NEMBA website
