The Ohioana Library recently announced the winners of the 2022 Ohioana Book Awards, and three of the seven winners are from Cincinnati.
Felicia Zamora won an award for her book “I Always Carry My Bones” and Jasmine Warga received honors for “The Shape of Thunder.” The library also recognized Manuel Iris for “The Farewell Present / What Will Go Away”.
Established in 1942, the Ohioana Book Awards are the second oldest and most prestigious state literary awards in the country. According to the library websitenearly every iconic Ohio writer has been honored, including James Thurber and Toni Morrison.
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Each year, Jury Prizes are awarded to books in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, About Ohio or a Native Ohioan, Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature, and Young Adult Literature. Fans can also select the Readers’ Choice Book Award from the pool of finalists in an online poll. And there’s the Walter Rumsey Marvin Scholarship, a special award for emerging writers.
This year, with three of the seven award winners hailing from Queen City, Cincinnati has more winners than any other city in the state.
The 81st annual Ohioana Awards ceremony will be held at the Ohio Capitol on October 26. For more information, visit the Ohioana Library Website.
Here’s a look at the winners from Cincinnati.
Felicia Zamora
Felicia Zamora, an assistant professor of poetry at the University of Cincinnati, won the poetry book award for “I Always Carry My Bones.”
In her recent work, Zamora addresses the complex issue of housing for marginalized people and migrants. She explores the concept of family history and lineage through her strange relationship with Mexican culture and the absence of her father while she was growing up. She also discusses the sociohistorical context of racism and poverty in the US and the effects of abuse.
Zamora is the author of six books of poetry, including: “Quotient”, “I always carry my bones”, “Render body”, “Instrument of gaps”, “And open, wonder” and “Of form and joint”. “
She is the author of two chapter books and was the 2017 Fort Collins, Colorado Poet Laureate.
Jasmine Warga
Jasmine Warga, a Cincinnati native and resident of Chicago, Illinois, won the Middle and Young Adult Literature award for her novel “The Shape of Thunder.”
In this novel, Cora, the main character, goes on an interdimensional quest with her best friend, Quinn, to save her siblings. “The Shape of Thunder” explores loss, healing, and the “magic” of friendship.
Warga is a New York Times bestselling author of two middle-grade novels, “Other Words for the Home” and “The Shape of Thunder.” She is the author of two young adult books, “My Heart and Other Black Holes” and “Here We Are Now.”
His next novel, “A Rover’s Story,” will be published on October 4.
Warga currently teaches in the MFA program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Manuel Iris
Manuel Iris won the Readers’ Choice Award for “The Parting Present / Lo Que Se irá”.
According to a review by Tara Skurtu, author of “The Amoeba Game,” “The Parting Present” explores the theme of parental love and tenderness.
Iris is a Mexican-born poet and former Cincinnati Poet Laureate.
Iris is the author of two books of bilingual poetry entitled, “The Parting Present / Lo Que Se Irá” and “Translating Science / Traduccion El Silencio”, and five books of poetry in Spanish entitled “Cuaderno De Los Sueños”, “Los Disfraces Del Fire”. ”, “Overnight Medley”, “The Naked Light” and “In Front of the Mystery”.
Iris graduated with a Ph.D. in Romance languages from the University of Cincinnati.
He teaches English and serves as the Spanish Outreach Coordinator at DePaul Cristo Rey High School.
The Complete List of 2022 Ohioana Book Prize Winners
Fiction: Anthony Doerr, “Cloud Cuckoo Land”
Nonfiction: Hanif Abdurraqib, “A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Acting”
On Ohio or an Ohioan: Brian Alexander, “The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town”
Poetry: Felicia Zamora, “I always carry my bones”
Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature: Jasmine Warga, “The Shape of Thunder”
Juvenile Literature: Andrea Wang, “Watercress”
Readers’ Choice: Manuel Iris, “The Farewell Gift / What Will Go Away”