High Plains Book Awards nominations in

A total of 294 books have been nominated for the 16th annual High Plains Book Awards, which recognize writers and their work from seven Western states and three Canadian provinces. Forty-five works were from Montana.

The top three books in each category will become finalists and be forwarded to judges who will choose the winner in each category. The judges include past winners and published writers with a connection to the High Plains in the United States and Canada.

The High Plains Book Awards were established in 2006 to recognize regional authors and/or literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains, a region that includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

There are 13 categories — Art and Photography, Children’s Books, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, First Book, Indigenous Writer, Medicine and Science, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Stories, Woman Writer, Young Adult, and the Big Sky Award.

Finalist books in each category will be announced in June. Winners, who will receive a $500 cash prize, will be announced in October.

For more information, visit www.highplainsbookawards.org or contact Shari Nault, High Plains Book Awards president, at 406-672-6223 or via email at shari2redlodge@gmail.com.