Immediate Release
September 1, 2022
Contact: LISA COMSTOCK | lcomstock@cthumanities.org | 860-937-6582
#CTBookAwards22
Connecticut’s Literary Community Celebrates Notable Authors and Illustrators
MIDDLETOWN, CT – (September 1, 2022) — The 2022 Connecticut Book Awards, a program of the Connecticut Center for the Book, an affiliate program of the Library of Congress and a core program of Connecticut Humanities, will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, 2022, at the Hartford Public Library.
The Connecticut Book Awards recognize the best books of 2021 either about Connecticut or by authors and illustrators from Connecticut. Categories include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Books for Young Readers.
Awards will also include the Bruce Fraser “Spirit of Connecticut” Award. This special award is in memory of longtime Connecticut Humanities director Bruce Fraser and celebrates Connecticut’s sense of place. Winners of all award categories will be announced at the event.
“We are so excited to bring these authors to the attention of readers both in Connecticut and outside of Connecticut,” said Lisa Comstock, director of the Connecticut Center for the Book. “Connecticut is the home of so many talented writers and they have rich stories to tell. We are proud to announce the shortlist finalists.”
FINALISTS for 2022 (in alphabetical order by author’s last name)
Nonfiction
Seeing Ghosts | Kat Chow | Takoma Park, MD+ | Grand Central Publishing
Broke in America | Joanne Goldblum & Colleen Shaddox | Branford/ | BenBella Books
Squirrel Hill | Mark Oppenheimer | New Haven | Penguin Random House
Correctional | Ravi Shankar | Providence, RI* | University of Wisconsin Press
PIGLET, The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family | Melissa Shapiro | Westport | Simon & Schuster
Poetry
Taking Her Back | Cristina Baptista | Newington | Atmosphere Press
The Glass Globe | Margaret Gibson | Preston | LSU Press
A Cluster of Noisy Planets | Charles Rafferty | Sandy Hook | BOA Editions
Songs for a Solo Voice | James Whitley | Waterbury | Red Mountain Press
Fiction
The Family Plot | Megan Collins | Manchester | Simon & Schuster/Atria
Justine | Forsyth Harmon | Accord, NY+ | Tin House
Goliath | Tochi Onyebuchi | New Haven | Tor
9 Lupine Road | Eric Lehman | Hamden | Owl House Books/Homebound Publications
Book of Form and Emptiness | Ruth Ozeki | Northampton, MA+ | Viking
Young Readers
Picture Books – Fiction
Soul Food Sunday | Winsome Hudson-Bing | Ledyard | Abrams Books
Three Pockets Full | Cindy Rodriguez | Plainville | Cardinal Rule Press
Picture Books – Nonfiction
Bei Bei Goes Home: A Panda Story | Cheryl Bardoe | Wallingford | Candlewick Press
Walrus Song | Janet Lawler | Farmington | Candlewick Press
Middle Grade – Nonfiction
Fairy Tale Science | Sarah Albee | Watertown | Author | Odd Dot
Robo-Motion: Robots That Move Like Animals | Linda Zajac | Author | Vernon | Lerner Publishing Group
Middle Grade – Fiction
View From Pagoda Hill | Michaela MacColl | Westport | Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
The Flyers | Beth Turley | Waterford | Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
To Tell You the Truth | Beth Vrabel | Canton | Simon & Schuster
Fiction – Young Adult
The Secret Life of Kitty Granger | G. D. Falksen | Hamden | Lerner Publishing Group
Mercury Boys | Chandra Prasad | Woodbridge | Soho Teen
Bruce Fraser Spirit of Connecticut Finalist
All Girls | Emily Layden | Albany, NY* | St. Martin’s Press
* = Set in Connecticut
+ = author born in Connecticut
About Connecticut Humanities
Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through competitive grantmaking, its website, and social media channels, CTH highlights cultural and educational events and is an advocate for the humanities.
About Connecticut Center for the Book
Connecticut Center for the Book is a program of Connecticut Humanities and is Connecticut’s affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Its mission is to celebrate books, writers and readers who engender and sustain the life of the imagination and to highlight authors, illustrators, printers, publishers, and the literary heritage of the State of Connecticut.
About The Library of Congress Center for the Book
The Library of Congress Center for the Book promotes books and libraries, literacy and reading, as well as poetry and literature.
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