Adirondack Literary Award Winners Announced

 Streetlights were out and closed signs filled windows of downtown, but writers, readers, and friends prevailed at Heaven Hill Farm in Lake Placid on a brilliantly radiant Sunday afternoon. Laughter and conversation supplemented food and drink before and after the ceremony. Titles published in 2016 were available for purchase, and the lack of electricity was a worry swept away by good company.
Following a welcome and introduction by Adirondack Center for Writing Executive Director Nathalie Thill, judges in each genre provided kind words and descriptions of each title submitted before announcing the year’s winner.
  • Best Book of Children’s Literature: “The Great North Woods” by Brian Heinz and Michael Rothman (Creative Editions)
  • Best Book of Fiction: to “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” by W.B. Belcher (Other Press)
  • Best Memoir: “In Praise of Quiet Waters: Finding Solitude and Adventure in the Wild Adirondacks” by Lorraine Duvall (Bloated Toe Publishing)
  • Best Book of Non-Fiction: “Voyager: Travel Writings” by Russell Banks (HarperCollins Publishing)
  • Best Book of Poetry: “Bird Light” by Elizabeth Cohen (Saint Julian Press) and “Pastoral Habits: New and Selected Poems” by George Drew (Texas Review Press)
  • People’s Choice Award: “Strange Appetites” by Lale Davidson (Lale Davidson)

New friendships were forged, while long-time companions regaled in tales of their first time attending the awards ceremony. The benefit dinner has been postponed due to power outage, and all are welcome to join for an evening with the Adirondack Center for Writing in a celebration of community and the written word. More details to follow.  

Thanks and congratulations to all those who submitted to the Adirondack Literary Awards this year.

Children’s Literature
New Hope by LeeAnne Baker (Createspace)
Adirondack Lullaby by Brian J. Heinz, illustrated by Maggie Henry (North Country Books, Inc.)
The Great North Woods by Brian Heinz and Michael Rothman (Creative Editions)

Fiction
Lay Down Your Weary Tune by WB Belcher (Other Press)
Strange Appetites by Lale Davidson (Published by Lale Davidson)
Leaves Torn Asunder by Glenn L. Pearsall (Pyramid Publishing)
FREIGHT CAR and Other Stories by Jeff Kelly (Ra Press)
God Made Us Monsters by Bill Neary (Ari Publishing)
Rooster by Edward Pontacoloni (Published by Edward Pontacolono)
North of Here by Laurel Saville (Lake Union Publishing)
Bloodfire and the Legend of Paradox Pond by Rosemarie Sheperd (Published by Rosemarie Sheperd)
The Hippie Hacker, the Happy Hooker, and the Great Clone Orgy by Andrew Tisbert (Ra Press)

Memoir
In Praise of Quiet Waters: Finding Solitude and Adventure in the Wild Adirondacks by Lorraine M. Duvall (Bloated Toe Publishing)
Adirondack Epiphanies: Memoir and Reflection from Writers in the Park by Chuck Gibson, Cathy S. McDowell, Judith Dow Moore, Linda Morrow, Mary Randall, Charles Watts (Ra Press)
My Journey To Wholeness by Deborah Havas (Published by Deborah D. Havas)
Taking on Global Health Issues by Dr. Alfred Scherzer (Ra Press)

Non-Fiction
Voyager: Travel Writings by Russell Banks (HarperCollins Publishing)
Adirondack Archangels: Guardians of the High Peaks, edited by Christine Bourjade (Adirondack Mountain Club)
The Boat People of Champlain by Mark L. Barie and Christine A. Racine (Crossborder Publishing)
Murder in the Adirondacks, An American Tragedy Revisited by Craig Brandon (North Country Books, Inc.)
Adirondack Cabin Stories: Fifty Years in the Wilderness 1960-2009 by Henningson Siblings and Friends (Henningson Environmental Services)
Common Roots Cookbook by Cathy and Ernest Hohmeyer (Hungry Bear Publishing)
Our Lady of Birth Control: A Cartoonist’s Encounter with Margaret Sanger by Sabrina Jones (Counterpoint, LLC/Soft Skull Press)
The Start-Up J Curve by Howard Love (Greenleaf Book Group)
Fifty Acres of Beach and Wood by Tom Thacher (Birch Point Press, Inc)
We Were There: World War II Stories from the Adirondacks’ Greatest Generation by Daniel Way (Indian Lake Press)

Poetry
Bird Light by Elizabeth Cohen (Saint Julian Press)
Pastoral Habits: New and Selected Poems by George Drew (Texas Review Press)
MANTRA by Dave Donohue (Ra Press)
Love Bites by Barbara Garro (Cambridge Books)
Telephone by Sean Tierney (Ra Press)