Celebrating 25 Years of the Massachusetts Book Awards

This past week marked a literary milestone in the Commonwealth: the 25th anniversary of the Massachusetts Book Awards! On Tuesday, October 7, the State House welcomed authors, librarians, educators, and book lovers from across the state to honor a quarter-century of exceptional storytelling and scholarship by Massachusetts writers and highlight the richness and diversity of Massachusetts’ literary community.

Hosted by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, this year’s ceremony recognized 36 distinguished authors, selected from a competitive field of more than 400 nominated titles. The Massachusetts Book Awards honor outstanding works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and children’s and young adult literature, all created, illustrated, or translated by residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

This year’s ceremony introduced two notable additions to the awards program: a new category for Graphic Novel/Memoir, acknowledging excellence in visual storytelling and a Notable Contribution to Publishing award that recognizes the work of Massachusetts-based presses.

This year’s Massachusetts Book Award winners are:

• Fiction: The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry
• Nonfiction: We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter-Jackson
• Poetry: Auguries & Divinations by Heather Treseler
• Middle Grade: Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley
• Graphic Novel/Memoir: Sunshine by Jarrett Krosoczka
• Notable Contribution to Publishing: Beacon Press for An Indigenous People’s History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

As the official depository library for the Massachusetts Book Awards, the State Library is excited and privileged each year to receive all the winning and must-read titles from the Massachusetts Book Awards. Along with the Massachusetts Center for the Book, the State Library plays a vital role in preserving and promoting the literary contributions of authors across the Commonwealth. Come visit our display at our 4th floor entrance (Room 442 in the State House) to browse the titles and start your reading lists! If you’d like to enjoy one of these award-winning books at home, they are available to borrow via interlibrary loan—simply make a request through your local library.

For more information about the Massachusetts Book Awards, and to see current and past winners and nominees, please visit the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s website and explore the full collection of award-winning books in the State Library’s online catalog.

Here’s to 25 years of literary excellence—and to the many more stories yet to be told!

Judith Carlstrom

Head of Technical Services