The High Plains Books Awards recognize regional authors and/or literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains. The High Plains region includes Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The Art & Photography Award recognizes the best book depicting art and/or photography by or about one artist or a collection of artists. The Children’s Book Award honors books written for readers under 12 years of age. The Fiction Award recognizes longer works of fiction in novel or novella form; The First Book Award honors a writer’s first published book in any category; The Indigenous Writer Award honors the best book by an indigenous writer in any category; The Nonfiction Award recognizes scholarly, research-based expository writing based on real events and real people; The Creative Nonfiction Award recognizes books that present factual information on people, places or events using experiential techniques often associated with fiction, such as personal observation, narrative forms, and dramatic renderings of events; The Poetry Award recognizes a collection of poetry by one author; The Medicine & Science Award recognizes works of nonfiction or fiction based on natural or physical sciences. The Short Stories Award recognizes a collection of short fiction by a single author; The Woman Writer Award honors the best book by a woman writer in any category; The Young Adult Award honors books written for readers between 12 and 18 years of age The Big Sky Award honors books written by authors that are permanent, full-time residents of Montana. Books nominated for the Big Sky award must also be nominated in at least one other category.

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