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Best Books of Indiana 2011

This 2011 Best Books of Indiana are as follows:

Children/Young Adult Category:

Winner: Sources of Light by Margaret McMullan (Evansville). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston.

  • Finalist: Nature's Storyteller: The Life of Gene Stratton-Porter by Barbara Olenyik Morrow (Auburn, IN). Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis.
  • Finalist: Summer Sanctuary by Laurie Gray (Fort Wayne). Luminis Books, Carmel, IN.

View judges comments for the Children/YA category...

Fiction Category:

Winner: The Scorpion Trail by Larry Sweazy (Noblesville). Berkley Publishing Group, New York.

  • Finalist: Bedlam at the Brickyard. Edited by Brenda R. Stewart (Mooresville) and Wanda Lou Willis. Cardinal Publishing, Indianapolis.
  • Finalist: The Boy from the O by Sandy Kendall (Indianapolis). Author House, Bloomington.

View judges comments for the Fiction category...

Nonfiction Category:

Winner: The Art of Writing Nonfiction by James Alexander Thom (Bloomington, IN). Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati.

  • Finalist: Blood Shed in this War: Civil War Illustrations by Captain Adolph Metzner, 32nd Indiana by Michael A. Peake (Corydon). Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis.
  • Finalist: Growing Up With Bakers Corner by Ellen Swain (Champaign, IL). Hawthorne Publishing, Carmel, IN.
  • Finalist: Maria's Journey by Ramon & Trisha Arredondo (Crown Point). Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis.

View judges comments for the Nonfiction category...

Poetry Category:

Winner: Shadows Set in Concrete by J.L. Kato (Beech Grove). Restoration Press, Indianapolis.

  • Finalist: Seeded Light by Edward Byrne (Valparaiso). Turning Point Books, Cincinnati.
  • Finalist: Poetry from Paradise Valley by Edward Byrne. Pecan Grove Press, San Antonio.

View judges comments for the Poetry category...

Each category's winning title and author will be engraved on a plaque in the Indiana Authors Room. One copy of each finalist entry will remain housed in the Authors Room indefinitely. Two copies of all 2011 Best Books entries have been added to the State Library's collection and are now listed in its online catalog. At least one copy of each entry will circulate. Indiana citizens can borrow any Best Books of Indiana title at the State Library or request to borrow a copy free of charge via interlibrary loan at their local public library.