Laurie Hertzel is senior editor for books at the Star Tribune, where she has worked since 1996. She is the author of “News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist,” winner of a Minnesota Book Award.
ght to them. Last week, the Minnesota Independent Publishers Association held its annual gala at Luther Seminary in St. Paul and handed out nearly 50 awards. MIPA (as the group is known) represents small, university, independent and self-publishers in the Midwest and has been holding the gala for 24 years. Here’s the list of this year’s winners:
Arts: Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District by Karen Melvin, published by Big Picture Press
Autobiography/Memoir: Here Comes the Sun by Brian Lucas, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Biography: Confronting Slavery by Suzanne Cooper Guasco, published by Northern Illinois University Press
Business: Hospitality from the Heart by Brandon W. Johnson & Katherine Foley Roden, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Children’s Fiction: The Colored Car by Jean Alicia Elster, published by Wayne State University Press
Children’s Non-Fiction: Great Ships on the Great Lakes by Catherine M. Green, Jefferson J. Gray, and Bobbie Malone, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Children’s Picture Books: Angels by Alexis York-Lumbad, illustrated by Flavia Weedn, published by Wisdom Tales
Coffee Table Books: Dances Through Glass by Polly Norman, designed by Dorie McClelland, published by Avant Circle Publishing
Cookbook: Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen by Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Crafts and Hobbies: First-Time Machine Applique by Janet Pittman, published by Landauer Publishing
Culture: Amalia’s Guatemalan Kitchen by Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Current Events/Political Science: A View from the Interior by Susan Riseling, published by MavenMark
Education/Learning: Catch the Sun by Anne Johnson, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Family/Parenting: Ready for Air by Kate Hopper, published by University of Minnesota Press
Fiction: Contemporary: Turtle Season by Miriam Ruth Black, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Fiction: Fantasy/SciFi/Horror/Paranormal: Orphans by Ben Tanzer, published by Switchgrass Books
Fiction: Historical: Seeking Signs by Staci Angelina Mercado, published by Four Feathers Press
Fiction: Literary: Bolt by Douglas W. Rose, published by Three Towers Press
Fiction: Mystery/Thriller: Wolves by Cary J. Griffith, published by Adventure Publications
Fiction: Romance: Turtle Season by Miriam Ruth Black, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Fiction: Short Story/Anthology: Something That Feels Like Truth by Donald Lystra, published by Switchgrass Books
Health: The Gray Zone by Deborah Day Laxson, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
History: Race and Rights by Dana Elizabeth Weiner, published by Northern Illinois University Press
Humor: From the Top by Michael Perry, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Inspiration/Gift Book: Growing Through the Narrow Spots by Ruth Bachman, published by Tristan Publishing
Midwest Regional Interest: Illustration: One Small Farm by text and photos by Craig Schreiner, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Midwest Regional Interest: Text: Something for Everyone by Michael Leannah, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Nature: From Where I See It by Karen Olson Johnson, published by Amber Skye Publishing LLC
Poetry: The Cancer Poetry Project 2 by Karin D. Miller, published by Tasora Books
Publisher’s Website: Beaver’s Pond Press
Recreation/Sports: Fore! Gone: Minnesota’s Lost Golf Courses by Joe Bissen, published by Five Star Publishing
Reference: Royal C. Moore: The Man Who Built the Streetcar Boats by Lori Cherland-McCune, published by Beaver’s Pond Press
Religion/Philosophy: Tillich by Daniel J. Peterson, published by Lutheran University Press
Self-Help: Nourishing the Grieving Heart by Jane Thompson with Holly Cashin, published by Empath Press, LLC
Social Sciences: Old Barns and Country Skills of Southeast Michigan by Derek P. Brereton, published by In-Depth Editions
Travel: St. Paul Almanac by multiple authors, published by Arcata Press
Young Adult Fiction: They’re Always With You by Mary Clare Lockman, published by Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Young Adult Non-Fiction: The Compassionate Warrior by Elsa Marston, published by Wisdom Tales
Cover: Dances Through Glass by Polly Norman, designed by Dorie McClelland, published by Avant Circle Publishing
Illustration: Graphic: The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman, illustrated by Ramon Shiloh, published by Wisdom Tales
Illustration: Photography: Great Houses of Summit Avenue and the Hill District by Karen Melvin, with photography by Karen Melvin, published by Big Picture Press
Interior Layout: Children of the Tipi by Michael Oren Fitzgerald, designed by Stephen Williams, published by Wisdom Tales
Total Book Design: Dances Through Glass by Polly Norman, designed by Dorie McClelland, published by Avant Circle Publishing