2024 Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award
The Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award is given to the best nonfiction book published by a Wisconsin writer in the contest year. See full contest guidelines.
- First Place: $1000 award and five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, WI ($895 value)
- Honorable Mention: $100 and a five-day stay at Ernest Hüpeden's Painted Forest in Valton, WI ($800 value)
Entry fee: $30 ($20 for members of Arts + Literature Laboratory)
Judge: Megan Stielstra
Megan Stielstra is the author of three collections: Everyone Remain Calm, Once I Was Cool, and The Wrong Way to Save Your Life. Her work appears in the Best American Essays, New York Times, The Believer, Poets & Writers, Tin House, and elsewhere. A longtime company member with 2nd Story, she has told stories for National Public Radio, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and theatres, festivals, and classrooms across the country. She teaches creative nonfiction at Northwestern University and is the senior editor for regional titles at Northwestern University Press where she acquires fiction, nonfiction, and genre-bending narrative work that centers the Midwest in all its complexities.
About the award's namesakes:
Norbert Blei [pronounced BLY] (1935-2013) grew up in Chicago and moved to Door County in 1968. The author of 18 books—fiction, nonfiction, essays, and poetry—Blei was described as a literary descendant of Carl Sandburg, Ernest Hemingway, Mike Royko, Studs Terkel, and Nelson Algren. His main literary themes were the sense of community and threats to community, whether in ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago or in his beloved Door County. Known for nurturing aspiring writers, he taught writing workshops for over 30 years at The Clearing in Door County. In 1994, he established Cross+Roads Press, which published the first chapbooks of poets, novelists, short story writers, and artists. Among his notable works were the nonfiction books Chi Town, Neighborhood, Door Way, Door Steps, and Meditations on a Small Lake.
August Derleth [pronounced DER leth] (1909-1971), a leading regional writer of his day, lived most of his life in Sauk City. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he was a prolific author (more than 100 books), including horror, historical fiction, detective fiction, science fiction, biography, short stories, and poetry. His most ambitious work, the nonfiction Sac Prairie Saga series, combines fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction naturalist works, and poetry to memorialize life in Wisconsin at that time. He also founded Arkham House publishers, which brought to the United States supernatural fiction that had previously been available only in the UK; Arkham was the first publisher of horror fiction author H.P. Lovecraft.
Previous winners
2023
First Place: Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments (Grove/Atlantic), David Shih (Eau Claire)
David Shih is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His writing on race has appeared in the New York Times, NPR’s Code Switch, Electric Literature, and Inside Higher Ed.
Honorable Mention: Owner of a Lonely Heart (Simon & Schuster), Beth Nguyen (Madison)
Beth Nguyen is the author of the recently published memoir Owner of a Lonely Heart, the memoir Stealing Buddha’s Dinner, and two novels. Her work has appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Best American Essays. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for Nonfiction in 2024 and teaches creative writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
2022
First Place: Fine: A Comic About Gender (Liveright) by Rhea Ewing, El Cerrito, CA (formerly Madison, WI)
Rhea Ewing (they/them) is a comic illustrator and fine artist who graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison with a BFA in drawing and printmaking. Ewing calls upon personal and political themes of queer identity, finding connections to the natural world, and building safe spaces for all people. The value of art, by their reasoning, is the ability to create connections, question assumptions, and inspire others to do the same. To that end they work in a variety of mediums, including graphic novels, fine art, and illustrated books.
Honorable Mention: The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home (University of Wisconsin Press) by Alison Townsend, Stoughton, WI
Alison Townsend is the author of a memoir-in-essays, The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home (a PEN America Finalist 2023); two books of poetry, The Blue Dress and Persephone in America; a collection of short prose, The Persistence of Rivers; and two chapbooks, And Still the Music and What the Body Knows. Her poetry and nonfiction appear in numerous journals, including The Southern Review, The Kenyon Review, Parabola, and Under the Sun, and have been recognized in Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, and Best American Essays 2020. Her many awards include the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor’s Regional Literary Award (for contributions to Upper Midwest literature), the Crab Orchard Poetry Prize, and the 2020 Rattle Poetry Prize. She is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and lives with her husband on four acres of prairie and oak savanna in the farm country outside Madison.
2019
The Painted Forest (West Virginia University Press) by Krista Eastman, Madison
Honorable Mention: American Advertising Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love Spam, Bananas, and Jell-O (Process) by Christina Ward, Cudahy
2018
The Motherhood Affidavits: A Memoir (The Experiment) by Laura Jean Baker, Oshkosh
Honorable Mention: Almost a Mother; Love, Loss and Finding Your People When Your Baby Dies (Orange Hat Publishing) by Christy Wopat, Holmen
2017
The Capital Times (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by Dave Zweifel and John Nichols, Madison
Honorable Mention: Where Honeybees Thrive (Pennsylvania State University Press) by Heather Swan, Madison
2016
Mother Nature’s Daughters: 21st Century Women Farmers (McFarland) by Paula Dáil, Spring Green
Honorable Mention: Braving It: A Father, A Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey Into the Alaskan Wild (Crown Penguin Random House) by James Campbell, Lodi
2014
The Heart of Things: A Midwestern Almanac (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by John Hildebrand, Eau Claire
Honorable Mention: Jagular Goes Everywhere: (mis) Adventures in a $300 Sailboat (Cedar Street Press) by Tom Pamperin, Chippewa Falls
2013
Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of the University of Alabama and the Fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa (University of Alabama Press) by B. J. Hollars, Eau Claire
Honorable Mention: Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by Nicholas Hoffman and Jesse Gant, Appleton
2012
A Door in the Ocean (Counterpoint Press) by David McGlynn, Appleton
Honorable Mention: Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars & Breweries (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by Jim Draeger, Monona, and Mark Speltz, Madison
2011
Women and Poverty in 21st Century America (McFarland) by Paula W. Dáil, Spring Green
Honorable Mention: Rescuing Regina: The Battle to Save a Friend from Deportation and Death (Lawrence Hill Books) by Josephe Marie Flynn, SSND, Milwaukee
2010
Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing (Amulet Books) by Ann Angel, Brookfield
Honorable Mention: Wisconsin’s Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) by M. Caren Connolly and Louis Wasserman, Milwaukee, with Zane Williams, photographer, Madison
2009
Mary Nohl: Inside & Outside—A Biography of the Artist (Greater Milwaukee Foundation) by Barbara Manger, Milwaukee
Honorable Mention: Sweet and Sour Pie: A Wisconsin Boyhood (University of Wisconsin Press) by Dave Crehore, Green Bay
2008
Things Once Seen (Borderland Books) by Richard Quinney, Madison
Honorable Mention: Anatomy of a Trial: Lessons Learned from the People vs. O.J. Simpson (University of Missouri Press) by Jerrianne Hayslett, South Milwaukee
2007
I Hear Voices: A Memoir of Love, Death, and the Radio (University of Wisconsin Press) by Jean Feraca, Madison
2006
The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey Through the Movement That Transformed American Spirituality (Tarcher/Penguin) by Geoff Gilpin, DeForest
Honorable Mention: Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America (Henry Holt) by Kerry A. Trask, Manitowoc
2005
Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War (McFarland) by Karen J. Coates, Brookfield
Honorable Mention: Miller Time: A History of Miller Brewing Company, 1855-2005 (Miller Brewing Company) by John Gurda, Milwaukee
Honorable Mention: Every Farm Tells a Story (Voyageur Press) by Jerry Apps, Madison
2004
Trains in the Distance (Kent State University Press) by Paul Zimmer, Soldiers Grove
Honorable Mention: Lord of the Rings: The Triumph and Tragedy of College Boxing’s Greatest Team (University of Wisconsin Press) by Doug Moe, Madison
2003
Riverwest: A Community History (Past Press) by Tom Tolan, Milwaukee
Honorable Mention: At the Creation: Myth, Reality and the Origin of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1901-1909 (University of Wisconsin Press) by Herbert Wagner, Monona
Honorable Mention: The Art of Labor: Building the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (Boldt Construction Corporation) by Ellen Kort, Appleton
2002
A Castle in the Backyard (University of Wisconsin Press) by Betsy Draine, Madison, and Michael Hinden, Madison
Honorable Mention: The Father’s Guide to Birth, Babies and Loud Children (Parents Guide Press) by Jim Hoehn, Milwaukee
Honorable Mention: Leaving the House of Ghosts: Cambodian Refugees in the American Midwest (McFarland) by Sarah Streed
2001
no award
2000
The Complete Pig (MBI Publishing Company) by Sara Rath, Spring Green
1999
The Making of Milwaukee by John Gurda
1998
Caring for Milwaukee: The Daughters of Charity at St. Mary’s by Brenda W. Quinn and Ellen D. Langill
1997
Great Wisconsin Walks by Chad McGrath
1996
Chicago In and Around the Loop: Walking Tours of Architecture and History by Gerard Wolfe
1995
The Fire Within: A Civil War Narrative from Wisconsin by Kerry Trask
1994
Farmhouse Fiddlers: Music and Dance Traditions in the Rural Midwest by Philip Martin
1993
Walleye Warriors: An Effective Alliance Against Racism and for the Earth by Rick Whaley and Walter Bresette
1992
Once Upon a Farm by Lois Stark
1991
How Dark the Heavens by Sidney Iwens
1990
The Women of Genesis by Glenn Jeansonne
1989
Is She Coming, Too? Memoirs of a Lady Hunter by Frances Hamerstrom
1988
Gerald L.K. Smith: Minister of Hate by Glenn Jeansonne
1987
About Cows by Sara Rath
1986
Reflections on Door County by Grace Samuelson
1985
W.D. Hoard: A Man for His Time by Loren Osman
1984
Birding with a Purpose by Frances Hamerstrom
1983
Mary, Wayfarer by Mary Mebane
1982
Wisconsin’s Famous & Historic Trees by Bruce Allison and Elizabeth Durbin
1981
Door Way by Norbert Blei
1980
Strictly for the Chickens by Frances Hamerstrom
1979
Hi-Ho Silver, Anyway by Bill Stokes
1978
Daylight in the Swamp by Robert Wells
1977
Barns of Wisconsin by Jerry Apps
1976
A Season of Birds by Dion Henderson
1975
Wild Goose Country by Robert Gard
1974
Ice Age Lost by Gwen Schultz
1973
Peg Leg Pete by Mel Ellis
1972
Orson Wells by Joseph McBride
1971
Vince Lombardi by Robert Wells
1970
Return to Walden West by August Derleth
1969
Gods and Heroes by Herbert Kubly
1968
Triple Ridge Farm by Ruth Fouts Pochmann
1967
Run, Rainey, Run by Mel Ellis
1966
John Barker
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