Nominations for the twelfth annual High Plains Book Awards will open on January 16, 2018. Nominations will be accepted through March 16, 2018.  Information and nomination forms can be found online at http://highplainsbookawards.org. The list of 2017 winners is also available on the High Plains website.

 
 
The Billings Public Library Board of Directors established the High Plains Book Awards in 2006 to recognize regional authors and/or literary works that examine and reflect life on the High Plains. In 2017 the High Plains Book Awards Board was granted a 501(C) 3 status and now functions as an independent entity while still collaborating with the Billing Public Library. The High Plains region includes: Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas.  In addition, the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also included in the High Plains region.

 
 
The 2018 awards include twelve book categories that include; Art & Photography, Children’s Book, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, First Book, Indigenous Writer (new category introduced in 2017), Medicine/Science, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Stories, Woman Writer and Young Adult.
 
Nominated books must be published for the first time in 2017. Winners will receive a $500 cash prize and will be announced at the awards banquet that is held in conjunction with the High Plains Book Fest. The 2018 High Plains Book Awards and High Plains Book Fest will take place October 19-20, 2018.
 
All nominated books are read and evaluated by four different community readers.  Finalist books in each category will be announced in late May 2018.  Winners in each category will be determined by a panel of published writers with connections to the High Plains region.
 
For more information about the High Plains Book Awards visit the website www.highplainsbookawards.org or contact Shari Nault, High Plains Book Awards President, 406-672-6223,  shari2redlodge@gmail.com