October 10, 2016
Twelve books by Chicagoland authors have been named as finalists in the Chicago Writers Association’s 2016 Book of the Year Awards. Submissions were open to books published between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016, and authored by CWA members and non-members residing in the Chicagoland area. The awards are meant to spotlight books by Chicago area authors. The finalists will compete for four awards to be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 at The Book Cellar, 4736-38 Lincoln Ave., in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. The awards are divided into four categories: Traditional Fiction Non-Traditional Fiction Traditional Nonfiction Non-Traditional Nonfiction (Non-traditional is defined as self-published, print-on-demand or hybrid.)
CWA received a record number of entries in this, its sixth year of the book contest. The finalists are:
Traditional Fiction
- The Fugue by Gint Aras
- The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay
- Swarm Theory by Christine Maul Rice
Non-traditional Fiction
- A Bitter Pill to Swallow by Tiffany Gholar
- The Color of Character by Glen Shuld
Traditional Non-Fiction
- The Defender by Ethan Michaeli
- Exoneree Diaries by Alison Flowers
- The Last Voyageurs by Lorraine Boissoneault
- My Sister’s Mother by Donna Solecka Urbikas
- The Telling by Zoe Zolbrod
Non-traditional Non-Fiction
- Citizen Surgeon by Paul Roach
- Hugh Hefner's First Funeral by Pat Colander
The winners, to be announced on or before Dec. 1, will be selected by last year’s winning authors: Peter Ferry, Dean Jobb and James Finn Garner, and indie publisher George Rawlinson. Each of the winners will be invited to present the award at the awards ceremony on January 14, 2017 at 7:00 pm at The Book Cellar. This event is free, and open to all.
This year’s ceremony will also feature a Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring an individual who has made significant contributions to Chicagoland’s literary community.
