The Vermont Book Awards: A Celebration of Vermont Writers

The Vermont Book Awards are annual prizes for outstanding literature by Vermont authors, presented by Vermont Humanities. Every year, prizes are awarded for books written by Vermont authors and published in the previous calendar year in four categories: Poetry, Fiction, Creative nonfiction, and Children’s literature.

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Join us for this community gathering of writers and readers, honoring books published by Vermont writers in 2025. A dessert reception with cash bar will be followed by a brief program revealing the four winning authors, and highlighting Vermont Humanities' next Vermont Reads pick.

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Bianca Stone, the Vermont Poet Laureate, will deliver this year's keynote speech!

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Join us in the beautiful, historic chapel in College Hall, at 36 College Street in Montpelier.

The finalists for Children’s Literature are:

· Angelica Del Campo for “The Ghost of Wreckers Cove”

· Aaron Starmer for “Night Swimming”

· Mima Tipper for “Kat's Greek Summer”

The finalists for Creative Nonfiction are:

· Jamaica Kincaid for “Putting Myself Together”

· Helen Whybrow for “The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life”

· Tyler Alexander for “If I Can Get Home This Fall: a Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War”

The finalists in Poetry are:

· Carlene Kucharczyk for “Strange Hymn”

· Jeff McRae for “The Kingdom Where No One Dies”

· Kristin Dykstra for “Dissonance”

· Chard deNiord for “Westminster West”

The finalists for Fiction are:

· Sasha Hom for “Sidework”

· Makenna Goodman for “Helen of Nowhere”

· Aria Aber for “Good Girl”

· Alison Bechdel for “Spent”

Disability Services

Vermont Humanities strives to provide accommodations whenever possible. All event locations are ADA accessible. To request a specific accommodation or a reduced price ticket contact Miciah Bay Gault at [email protected] by April 18.

Hosts and Sponsors

The Vermont Book Awards are presented by Vermont Humanities, with support from the following Vermont businesses, organization, and individuals:

Vermont Department of Libraries

Phoenix Books (lead sponsor)

Greenway Institute

The Vermont Arts Council

Norwich Bookstore

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Keynote speaker BIANCA STONE is a Vermont-based poet and scholar currently serving as Vermont’s poet laureate. Stone is the author of many books, including the poetry collections What is Otherwise Infinite which received the 2022 Vermont Book Award, and The Near and Distant World, (Tin House, 2026). Her poetry and writings have appeared widely in such magazines as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poets and Writers, and The Nation. In 2013 she co-founded the poetry-based nonprofit, Ruth Stone House, where she organizes events and retreats, teaches classes on poetry and poetic study, hosts the

Photo Credit: Daniel Schechner

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Host or Publisher Vermont Humanities