April 6, 2026 — The Society of Midland Authors’ judges have now decided on their lists of finalists for this year’s awards competition, which will honor the best books by Midwestern authors published in 2025. Congratulations to the authors listed below!
Later this month we will announce the winning books and the honorable mention books in each category. Stay tuned. [UPDATE: See the list of winners and honorees here.] The awards will be presented during our banquet on May 12 at the Cliff Dwellers in Chicago. Watch for details soon about making reservations.
Adult Fiction Award Finalists
Colleen Alles, Close to a Flame (Cornerstone Press)
Joan Corwin, Hindsight (Serving House)
J.R. Dawson, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World (Tor)
Peter Geye, A Lesser Light (University of Minnesota Press)
Bob Johnson, The Continental Divide (Cornerstone Press)
Hilary Plum, State Champ (Bloomsbury)
Joseph O’Malley, Starlight and Moonshine (Delphinium)
Richard Frisbie Award for Adult Nonfiction Finalists
Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland (Pegasus Crime)
Bill Kurtis, Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News (Plainspoken/University of Kansas Press)
Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker, The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics (Little, Brown Spark)
Dylan Taylor-Lehman, Going Rackless: Chicago’s Amateur Pool Players and the Quest for Glory in the Biggest Tournament in the World (3 Fields/University of Illinois Press)
Rob Miller, The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low: A Curious Life in Independent Music (3 Fields/University of Illinois Press)
Jane Smith, Blacklist Education: American History, a Family Mystery, and a Teacher Under Fire (Rutgers University Press)
History Award Finalists
Sean Rost, Catching Hell From All Quarters: Anti-Klan Activists in Interwar Missouri (University of Missouri Press)
Willa Hammitt Brown, Gentlemen of the Woods: Manhood, Myth, and the American Lumberjack (University of Minnesota Press)
Mary Annette Pember, Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools (Pantheon Books)
Poetry Award Finalists
Fleda Brown, The End of the Clockwork Universe (Carnegie Mellon University Press)
Greg Rappleye, Barley Child (University of Arkansas Press)
David W. Berner, Garden Tools (Finishing Line Press)
Chad Heltzel, Recordings of Dead Languages (Match Factory Editions)
Paul Martinez Pompa, Domestic Corpse (Match Factory Editions)
Bernard Brommel Award for Biography and Memoir Finalists
B.J. Hollars, Dinosaur Dreams: A Father and Daughter in Search of America’s Prehistoric Past (University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books)
David Hakensen, Her Place in the Woods: The Life of Helen Hoover (University of Minnesota Press)
Beth Macy, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America (Penguin Press)
Maggie Andersen, No Stars in Jefferson Park (Northwestern University Press)
Children’s Fiction Award Finalists
Carol Saller, The Time-Jinx Twins (Duckweed)
Janna Matthies, Baby, Let’s Go to the Orchestra! (Creative Company)
John Sullivan, Can I Keep It, Please? (Beach Lane)
Sue Harrison, Rescuing Crash, the Good Dog (Modern History Press)
Darcy Day Zoells, Smithy & Me (Clavis Publishing)
Children’s Reading Round Table Award for Children’s Nonfiction Finalists
Katie Venit, Cassini’s Mission: A Spacecraft, a Tiny Moon, and the Search for Life Beyond Earth (MIT Kids Press)
Ruth Spiro, How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up (Charlesbridge)
Laurie Lawlor, Many Voices: Building Erie, the Canal That Changed America (Holiday House)
Margi Preus, Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies (Harry N. Abrams)
Joyce Uglow, Stuck! The Story of LaBrea Tar Pits (Bushel & Peck)