The Reading the West Book Awards honor the best fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated books for adults and children set in one of the Mountain and Plains Independent Booksellers Association member states, or created by an author or artist living in the region. The awards celebrate the spirit of the west and the rich variety of writing in and about our region and reflect the extraordinary diversity of our reading public. Denver Public Library is excited to feature all the adult titles on the 2024 Reading the West shortlist, with links to our catalog!
Voting for the finalists is open to the public through May 31, so vote now for your favorites on the list!
FICTION
Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian
Chenneville by Paulette Giles
Stealing by Margaret Verble
Family Meal by Bryan Washington
Holler Child by Latoya Watkins
DEBUT FICTION
Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
The Spite House by Johnny Compton
The Missing Morning Star and Other Stories by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie (currently not available from DPL)
Night Wherever We Go by Tracey Rose Peyton
Go As a River by Shelley Read
POETRY
The Book Eaters by Carolina Hotchandani (currently not available from DPL)
West: A Translation by Paisley Rekdal
New Mexico Poetry Anthology 2023
Hydra Medusa by Brandon Shimoda
Leaving a Tip at the Blue Moon Motel by Richard Vargas
NONFICTION
Holding Fire: Reckoning with the American West by Bryce Andrews
Blurred Boundaries: Perspectives on Rock Art of the Greater Southwest by William Frej
Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America by Betsy Gaines Quammen
Living River: The Promise of the Mighty Colorado by Dave Showalter
MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy
Class: a Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land
Brave the Wild River: the Untold Story of the Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Milssa L. Sevigny
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Twenty Miles of Fence: Blueprint of a Cowboy by Bob West and Janet Fogg
Remember. the public only has until May 31 to submit their votes, so vote now to have your vote count!