Traditional Fiction

The Mirror Thief

Martin Seay

Traditional Nonfiction

The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America

Ethan Michaeli

Non-Traditional Fiction

A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Tiffany Gholar

Non-Traditional Nonfiction

Hugh Hefner’s First Funeral and Other True Tales of Love and Death in Chicago

Pat Colander

Spirit Award

Donald G. Evans, founder and executive director of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame