young adult fiction

Finalists announced for 2022 Minnesota Author Project

The Minnesota Author Project celebrates indie-published authors and community writing collaborations. Congratulations to all the finalists!

ADULT FICTION

The Self-Working Trick (and other stories) by John Gaspard
The Mourning Bird by Mubanga Kalimamukwento

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

The Secret Gift by Bethany Atazadeh
Scales of Ash & Smoke by Emily Schneider

COMMUNITIES CREATE

Bringing Joy, submitted by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Hmong American Experiences During the Pandemic, submitted by Hmong Museum
Exploring Language and Identity, submitted by Laichia Vang with ELL/ESL Students

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference and will receive $2000 cash prize, sponsored by the Minnesota Library Foundation and BiblioLabs.

Stay tuned for features of these books and their authors, coming soon. Read the ebooks now on BiblioBoard Library.

Announcing the winners of the 2021 Minnesota Author Project!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Minnesota Author Project! This is the fourth year celebrating the contest, which recognizes the best indie-published authors in Minnesota.

I Know an Old Lady (Adult Fiction)

Secret Legacy (Young Adult Fiction)

The Communities Create category, in its second year, celebrates Minnesota organizations and communities that are producing written creative works, especially with the support of their local library.

This Was 2020 (Communities Create)

Winners each received $1,000 and an honorary plaque. Prizes are sponsored by the Minnesota Library Foundation and BiblioLabs.

Read the winners now on BiblioBoard Library.

Join MN Writes MN Reads in celebrating and supporting these winners!

Finalist Feature: Dim Stars

Category: Young Adult Fiction

Description: Kenzie Washington, fourteen-year-old girl genius, signs up for a two-week tour as a cadet on the spaceship of her idol, Captain Dash Drake. Too bad Dash, who once saved the galaxy from the evil Forgers, is a broke loser and much less than meets the eye.

But when an intergalactic evil appears and launches an attack, Dash, Kenzie, and the ship’s crew escape, making them the next target. On the run and low on gas, Dash and Kenzie encounter cannibal space-pirates, catastrophic equipment failure, and a cyborg who’s kind of a jerk.

Kenzie is determined to discover the bad guys’ secret plan. But for her to succeed, Dash needs to keep his brilliant, annoying cadet from getting killed…which is a lot harder than it sounds.

Author: Brian P. Rubin is a writer and editor living in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife, Teréz Iacovino, and their son, Henry. Dim Stars is his first novel. His favorite food is soup.

Brian’s Local Library: Hennepin County Library

Winners will be announced at the 2021 Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference.