2012 High Plains Book Awards - Finalists Announced
The first-round readers for the High Plains Book Awards had the difficult task of selecting their favorites from among a record number of nominated books. Books nominated in more than one category were scored by separate readers in each category. The number of finalists per category may differ due to tied scores or clear breaks in scoring. The following books are the finalists for the 2012 Awards.

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2012 High Plains Book Award Finalists

Art & Photography

Arapaho Journeys: Photographs and Stories from the Wind River Reservation Sara Wiles University of Oklahoma Press	Fra Dana: American Impressionist in the Rockies Valerie Hedquist & Sue Hart Montana Museum of Art & Culture View Article	Hand Raised:  The Barns of Montana Chere Jiusto & Christine W. Brown Montana Historical Society Press View Article	Relatives With Roots: A Story About Metis Women's Connection to the Land Leah Marie Dorion Gabriel Dumont Institute

Fiction

Kings of Colorado David E. Hilton Simon & Schuster	Liberty Lanes Robin Troy University of Nevada Press	The Ringer Jenny Shank The Permanent Press

First Book

American Masculine Shann Ray Graywolf Press	The Big Sky, By and By Ed Kemmick Missouri Breaks Press	Kings of Colorado David E. Hilton Simon & Schuster	Rim Haven Lynne Montague

Nonfiction

The Boy Betty Jane Hegerat Oolichan Books	Hand Raised:  The Barns of Montana Chere Jiusto & Christine W. Brown Montana Historical Society Press	Honyocker Dreams: Montana Memories David Mogen University of Nebraska Press

Poetry

Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet Twyla M. Hansen & Linda M. Hasselstrom The Backwaters Press	Killing the Murnion Dogs Joe Wilkins Black Lawrence Press	Songs of Unreason Jim Harrison Copper Canyon Press

Short Stories

American Masculine Shann Ray Graywolf Press	Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure Craig Lancaster Missouri Breaks Press

Woman Writer

Married Into It Patricia Frolander High Plains Press	Racing Home Adele Dueck Coteau Books	Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana's Frontier Lael Morgan Chicago Review Press

Award Sponsors
Parmly Billings Library Board of Trustees, Friends of the Parmly Billings Library, MSU-Billings, Parmly Billings Library Foundation, The Ucross Foundation, The Writer's Voice of the Billings Family YMCA, Yellowstone Art Museum, and the Zonta Club of Billings.

About the High Plains Book Awards
The Parmly Billings Library Board has established the High Plains Book Awards. These Awards have been established to recognize regional authors and/or literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.