Winners have been named for the 2026 Heartland Booksellers Awards, presented annually by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. The winning authors, who will be celebrated on October 7 at a ceremony during the Heartland Fall Forum in Minneapolis, Minn., are:
Fiction: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (Atria Books)
Nonfiction: The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon (Liveright)
Poetry: A Suit or a Suitcase by Maggie Smith (Washington Square Press)
YA/Middle Grade: Angelica & the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen (Random House Graphic)
Picture Book: Loops, written & illustrated by Jashar Awan (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
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Three finalists have been chosen for the $10,000 2025 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Awards, honoring "excellence in long-form writing about the thoroughbred sport." The award is sponsored by Castleton Lyons farm, Lexington, Ky., which will host a reception for the three finalists on November 4, at the Ryan family’s farm in Lexington, Ky., when the winner will be announced.
The finalists:
Reinventing the American Thoroughbred: The Arabian Adventures of Alexander Keene Richards by Gary A. O'Dell, "a rare biography of a pre-Civil War thoroughbred breeder, researched and written by Gary O'Dell, a Morehead State University professor emeritus whose interest in Richards' Blue Grass Park farm was stirred after researching an earlier history of Georgetown, Ky."
The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century, "a comprehensive coffee table book with essays by 35 seasoned turf writers, edited by Brien Bouyea, and thousands of photos and memorabilia that will entertain readers and serve as a valuable reference for racing fans for years to come."
Death of a Racehorse: An American Story, "CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis' tough-love letter to the thoroughbred sport that she grew up in, riding with her family and working in the Virginia racing industry. Like her mother, Lillis has a reporter's nose for a good story and she went behind the scenes of recent racing scandals, following leads to barns, drug labs, law enforcement offices and racetrack boardrooms. In concise prose, she told the unflinching story, ending on a hopeful note."