'Owls' and 'Sharks' lead the list of Minnesota Book Award winners

The Minnesota Book Awards honored writers both established and emerging Thursday night in their second consecutive virtual awards ceremony.

Debut authors Jonathan C. Slaght and Kawai Strong Washburn — both recently honored by PEN America for their books — each won in their categories.

Here's the full list of winners:

Novel & short story: "Sharks in the Time of Saviors," by Washburn (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Seven-year-old Noa falls overboard and is carefully, tenderly returned to the boat by sharks. Washburn's story is about a working-class Hawaiian family touched by the gods.

General nonfiction: "Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl," by Slaght (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The author spent five winters in far eastern Russia, tracking, banding and studying the rare Blakiston's fish owl in order to understand its habitat and protect it from extinction.

Genre fiction: "The Deep, Deep Snow," by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing). Deputy Shelby Lake must rescue a missing child, but the trail is growing cold in this bestselling thriller by a past Minnesota Book Award winner.

Memoir & creative nonfiction: "Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify: Essays," by Carolyn Holbrook (University of Minnesota Press). In linked memoristic essays, Holbook writes of people she's known in her life, living and long gone.

Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction: "Minnesota's Geologist: The Life of Newton Horace Winchell," by Sue Leaf (University of Minnesota Press). This biography also traces the early days of scientific inquiry in Minnesota.

Poetry: "Homie," by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press). Smith's third collection is a soaring tribute to black and queer friendship.

Children's literature: "Big Papa and the Time Machine" by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Shane Evans (Harper­Collins). Big Papa's grandson enters a time machine and learns about significant moments in African American history.

Middle grade literature: "What If a Fish," by Anika Fajardo (Simon & Schuster). Eddie Aguado, who lives in Minnesota, spends the summer in Colombia with his half-brother, but he feels like a fish out of water.

Young adult literature: "My Eyes Are Up Here," by Laura Zimmermann (Dutton Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House). Greer navigates body image and first love while hiding a bust size that brings physical pain and unwelcome male attention.

Also honored: Poet and mentor Alexs Pate received the Kay Sexton Award.

The Minnesota Book Awards is a year-long program of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library

Laurie Hertzel @StribBooks