The 58th Washington State Book Award finalists are in, and Seattle’s already a winner. Out of 39 finalists recognized for outstanding books published last year, 22 are from Seattle and nearby areas, with local authors represented in all seven categories.

Among the Seattle-based finalists, several stand out. In Creative Nonfiction/Memoir, Jane Wong’s Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City explores her Chinese-American upbringing and the impact of her father’s gambling addiction. In Fiction, E.J. Koh’sThe Liberators follows Insuk as she escapes South Korea’s turmoil for California, facing upheaval that spans generations. Last year Koh was named one of Seattle magazine’s most influential people.

In General Nonfiction/Biography, Tom Fucoloro’s Biking Uphill in the Rain looks at how Seattle became a top biking city and how bike culture intersects with politics and public health, creating social change. And Peter Blecha’s Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll traces the roots of the Pacific Northwest’s R&B scene and its influence on the rise of rock and roll.

And guess what? My sister Sadie Hartmann is on the list too, with her book 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered in the Creative Nonfiction/Memoir category.

Winners will be announced on Sept. 24.

Books for Adults Categories

Creative Nonfiction/Memoir

101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann of Tacoma
(Page Street Publishing)

The Fine Art of Camouflage by Lauren Kay Johnson of Olympia
(MilSpeak Books)

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong of Seattle
(Tin House Books)

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer of Bainbridge Island
(Alfred A. Knopf)

Touching the Art by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore of Seattle
(Soft Skull Press)

We Are Not Strangers by Josh Tuininga of North Bend
(Abrams)

Fiction

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree of Spokane
(Tor Publishing)

I Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer by Robert Lashley of Bellingham
(Demersal Publishing)

Jewel Box: Stories by E. Lily Yu of Western Washington
(Erewhon Books, an imprint of Kensington Books)

The Laughter by Sonora Jha of Seattle
(Harper Via)

The Liberators by E.J. Koh of Seattle
(Tin House)

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith of Seattle
(Farrar, Status and Giroux)

General Nonfiction/Biography

Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from Behind the Handlebars by Tom Fucoloro of Seattle
(University of Washington Press)

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan of Seattle
(Viking)

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur of Tulalip
(Ten Speed Press)

Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Washington’s Olympic Peninsula by Tim McNulty of Sequim
(Braided River)

Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll by Peter Blecha of Seattle
(University of Washington Press)

Unmaking the Bomb: Environmental Cleanup and the Politics of Impossibility< by Shannon Cram of Duvall
(University of California Press)

Poetry

Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry by Derek Sheffield of Leavenworth, Elizabeth Bradfield, Cmarie Fuhrman et. al
(Mountaineers Books)

Childcare by Rob Schlegel of Walla Walla
(Four Way Books)

Flare, Corona by Jeannine Hall Gailey of Woodinville
(BOA Editions)

I Sing the Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State edited by Rena Priest of Lummi Nation, Bellingham
(Empty Bowl Press)

Judas Goat: Poems by Gabrielle Bates of Seattle
(Tin House)

They Never Asked: Senryu Poetry from the WWII Portland Assembly Center translated by Michael Freiling of Vancouver, Satsuki Takikawa of Vancouver, Shelley Barker-Gard, and Duane Watari
(Oregon State University Press)

Books for Youth Categories

Picture Books

And Then Comes School by Tom Brenner of Vashon Island, illustrated by Jenn Hill
(Candewick Press)

Drake the Super-Excited, Overeager, In-Your-Face Snake by Michaele Razi of North Bend
(Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books)

In the Dark by Kate Hoefler, Illustrated by Corinna Luyken of Olympia
(Random House Children’s Books)

Maurice by Jessixa Bagley of Seattle
(Chronicle Books)

Ploof by Ben Clanton and Andy Chou Musser of Seattle
(Tundra Books)

The Story of a Book by Joy McCullough of Shoreline, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

Books for Young Readers

Alebrijes: Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera of Poulsbo
(Levine Querido)

The Beautiful Something Else by Ash Van Otterloo of Bremerton
(Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.)

Code Red by Joy McCullough of Shoreline
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

Duel by Jessixa Bagley, illustrated by Aaron Bagley of Seattle
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

The Nighthouse Keeper by Lora Senf of Spokane
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow of Seattle
(Dial Books For Young Readers/Penguin)

Books for Young Adult Readers

Enter the Body by Joy McCullough of Shoreline
(Dutton Young Readers/Penguin Random House)

The Golden Needle by T.J. Carroll of Snohomish County
(Cumberstone Press)

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen of Seattle
(Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

Originally known as the Governor’s Writers Awards, the Washington State Book Awards is managed by the Washington State Library (an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book). This year, the judges — a mix of librarians, authors, and independent booksellers — evaluated 292 books to select the finalists.

Submissions for the 2025 awards are now open. For more details, visit The Washington Center for the Book.