Here are the 2025 Washington State Book Award finalists
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 27, 2025
The Washington Center for the Book announced the finalists for the 59th annual Washington State Book Awards on Tuesday. The awards honor outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2024.”
This year, there were 42 finalists in seven categories. A winner in each category will be announced Sept. 16.
Adult categories
Creative Nonfiction/Memoir
“A Fatal Inheritance: How a Family Misfortune Revealed a Deadly Medical Mystery” by Lawrence Ingrassia, of Gig Harbor (Henry Holt & Co.)
“Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir” by Tessa Hulls, of Seattle/Port Townsend (MCD)
“The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir” by Susan Lieu, of Seattle (Celadon Books)
“River Songs: Moments of Wild Wonder in Fly Fishing” by Steve Duda, of Seattle (Mountaineers Books)
“Thunder Song: Essays” by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe, of Tacoma (Counterpoint Press)
“The Wives” by Simone Gorrindo, of Tacoma (Gallery)
Fiction
“Ocean’s Godori” by Elaine U. Cho, of Seattle (Zando)
“Polite Calamities” by Jennifer Gold, of Port Townsend (Lake Union Publishing)
“Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet” by Samantha Allen, of Seattle (Zando)
“Rough Trade” by Katrina Carrasco, of Seattle (MCD)
“The West Passage” by Jared Pechaček, of Seattle (Tor Publishing Group)
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah, of Seattle (St. Martin’s Press)
General Nonfiction/Biography
“Be a Revolution” by Ijeoma Oluo, of Seattle (HarperOne)
“Big River: Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin” by David Moskowitz, of Winthop, Okanogan County (Braided River)
“Field Notes from a Fungi Forager” by Ashley Rodriguez, of Seattle (Sasquatch Books)
“A Forest of Your Own: The Pacific Northwest Handbook of Ecological Forestry” by Seth Zuckerman, of Vashon, and Kirk Hanson, of Olympia (Skipstone)
“The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms” by Lynne Peeples, of Seattle (Riverhead Books)
“When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency” by Anna Letitia Zivarts, of Seattle (Island Press)
Poetry
“Blue Atlas” by Susan Rich, of West Seattle (Red Hen Press)
“My Heart Is Not Asleep” by Thomas A. Thomas, of Olympia (MoonPath Press)
“The Scarecrow of My Former Self” by Sarah Stockton, of Port Townsend (MoonPath Press)
“Something About Living” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, of Redmond (The University of Akron Press)
“Tell This to the Universe” by Katie Prince, of Seattle (YesYes Books)
“This One We Call Ours” by Martha Silano, of Seattle (Lynx House Press)
Youth categories
Picture Books
“Daughter of the Light-Footed People” by Belen Medina, of Vancouver and Natalia Rojas Castro (Atheneum)
“Haiku, Ew!: Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature” by Lynn Brunelle, of Bainbridge Island and Julia Patton (Lerner Publishing Group)
“Fox, Fox, and More Fox: Three Stories” by Corey R. Tabor, of Tacoma (Greenwillow Books)
“Log Life” by Amy Hevron, of Seattle (Simon & Schuster)
“Love Is My Favorite Color” by Nina Laden, of Lummi Island, Whatcom County, and Melissa Castrillon (Paula Wiseman Books)
“What Did My Ancestors Eat?” by Quinn Miller Murphy, of King County, and Jillian Thalman (Wheat Penny Press)
Books for Young Readers
“Beware the Dragon and the Nozzlewock” by Vikram Madan, of Seattle (Wordsong)
“Hike It: An Introduction to Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking” by Iron Tazz of, Union, Mason County, and Martin Stanev (Magic Cat Publishing)
“The Loneliest Place” by Lora Senf, of Spokane, and Alfredo Cáceres (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
“Table Titans Club” by Scott Kurtz, of Bothell (Holiday House Publishing)
“Unhappy Camper” by Lily LaMotte, of Port Townsend and Ann Xu (Harper Collins)
“The World-Famous Nine” by Ben Guterson, of Seattle, and Kristina Kister (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Books for Young Adult Readers
“Coyote Lost and Found” by Dan Gemeinhart, of Cashmere, Chelan County (Henry Holt and Co.)
“Just Another Epic Love Poem” by Parisa Akhbari, of Seattle (Dial Books For Young Readers)
“Looking for Smoke” by K.A. Cobell, of Olympia (Heartdrum)
“A Magic Fierce and Bright” by Hemant Nayak, of Bellevue (Simon & Schuster)
“Sweetest Darkness” by Leslie Lutz, of Poulsbo (Holiday House)
“Take All of Us by Natalie Leif, of Seattle (Holiday House)
