by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
The Minnesota Author Project announced award winners for Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, and Communities Create on Friday, October 28 at the Minnesota Library Association Conference in Duluth. This marked the contest's fifth year recognizing Minnesota-based self-published authors.
John Gaspard won the award for Adult Fiction for his collection, "The Self-Working Trick and Other Stories."
"It’s just one thing after another for magician Eli Marks: The bizarre death of a barista. Performing close-up magic at a funeral. A homicidal husband looking for ideas. An unexpected customer encounter. An impossible stabbing during a show. A Halloween murder. A life-changing magic lesson. A mystifying murder/suicide. A puzzling jewel heist and an even odder painting theft."
Emily Schneider took home the prize for Young Adult Fiction for her fantasy novel, "Scales of Ash and Smoke."
"She lived her whole life enslaved to the dragons, but now she’s one of them. Seventeen-year-old Kaida, a human, has spent her entire life enslaved to the dragons who slaughtered half the human population a thousand years ago. She is forced to serve her ruthless Master, Eklos, until one deadly summer day, when the Prince of Elysia saves her life."
Editors Rain Newcomb, Darci Schummer, and Susan VanHoever were awarded the prize in the Communities Create category for their anthology, "Bringing Joy: A Local Literary Welcome."
"The collection is an anthology of poetry and art celebrating the work of Muscogee poet, performer, and 23rd United States Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo."
For more information about the contest and this year's winners, see the announcement on the MN Writes MN Reads website.
