2018 Connecticut Book Award Winners

2018 Book Awards Ceremony

October 14, 2018 at Staples High School in Westport

The Connecticut Center for the Book named the winners of the 2018 Connecticut Book Awards at a ceremony October 14, 2018 at Staples High School in Westport. Five winners were named among the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Young Readers – Young Adult, and Young Readers – Juvenile.

The awards honor the best books written in the past year that have specific ties to the state. To be eligible, the author or illustrator must be native-born or have been a legal resident of Connecticut for at least three years, or the book must have a Connecticut setting. A total of 140 books were submitted to the popular competition this year.

“These awards are a wonderful way to pay tribute to Connecticut’s talented literary community – past, present and future,” said Lisa Comstock, director of the Connecticut Center for the Book. “We congratulate all of this year’s participants and especially our winners, who join the ranks of our state’s rich list of literary greats.”

The awards ceremony featured a keynote speech by 2017 Connecticut Book Awards Nonfiction winner Okey Ndibe. A reception and book signing celebration followed, at which all finalists’ and winners’ books were available for purchase and authors were on hand to meet and greet attendees.

The 2018 Connecticut Book Awards Winners

Georgia Hunter, Rowayton

Fiction
We Were the Lucky Ones, Penguin Books

Virginia DeJohn Anderson, Boulder, CO

Nonfiction
The Martyr and the Traitor – Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution, Oxford University Press

Gina Athena Ulysse, Middletown, CT

Poetry
Because When God is Too Busy, Wesleyan University Press

Jake Burt, Hamden, CT

Young Readers – Young Adult
Greetings from Witness Protection!, Macmillan

Susan Hood, Southport, CT

Young Readers – Juvenile (includes authors and illustrators)
Double Take! A New Look at Opposites, Candlewick Press

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