2012 Literary Awards

LITERARY AWARDS

2012 Awards Announcements

The Literary Awards Committee of the Wisconsin Library Association annually selects outstanding books by Wisconsin-connected authors and awards the WLA Literary Award, Outstanding Books of the Year, and Notable Wisconsin Authors/Illustrators.

WLA Literary Award

This award is for the highest literary achievement by an author with a Wisconsin connection, for a work written in the previous year.

The Art of Fielding

Chad Harbach 

“The Art of Fielding” was selected for the WLA Literary Award for best adult literature. Author Chad Harbach, in his debut novel, examines the lives of 5 people and the ways in which their paths intersect at the fictional Westish College in Wisconsin. Henry Skrimshander is recruited to play baseball there, and when he commits an unlikely error during a game, it seems the lives of several characters begin to spin out of control. Not really about baseball, this story is more about perfection and failure, heartbreak and doubt, and how we find meaning in our lives. These characters will stay with the reader long after the last page.

 

 


Notable Authors/Illustrators

Ellen Hunnicutt, author of “Suite for Calliope” and the short stories “In the Music Library,” “Carrot Man” and “The Clearing.”

Anne Powers, writer of historical fiction, including the novels “The Delaware River Man”, “Eleanor: The Passionate Queen", “No King But Caesar", “Ride East, Ride West”, and “The Thousand Fires".


Outstanding Achievement Award

These are Wisconsin authors & illustrators recognized for outstanding achievement for books published in the previous year.

Honored Authors:

My American Unhappiness by Dean Bakopoulos
One Hundred and One Nights by Benjamin Buchholz
The Home for Wayward Clocks by Kathy Giorgio
Separate Kingdoms by Valerie Laken
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
Glass: a novel by Sam Savage
Other People We Married by Emma Straub

Honored Poets:

Journey to Wisconsin: African American Life in Haiku by Fabu
The Uncertainty Principle by Mark Kraushaar
This Small Breathing Coincidence by Paul Terranova
Tricks of Light by Jeanie Tomasko