GOLD MEDAL - FICTION
The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer

Set against the historical backdrop of San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century, Greer tells the story of Max, a child whose physical age appears to go backward as he grows older: on the outside he's a very old man, but inside still a fearful child. Max's life and confessions challenge the very nature of time, of appearance and reality, and of love itself. Andrew Sean Greer is also the author of the story collection How It Was for Me and the novel The Path of Minor Planets.

GOLD MEDAL – NONFICTION
The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson

Chalmers Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute and professor emeritus at University of California San Diego, thoroughly examines the new militarism that he sees as transforming America. He offers a vivid look at the new caste of professional militarists who have infiltrated multiple branches of government. Among his provocative conclusions is that American militarism is already putting an end to the age of globalization and bankrupting the United States.

GOLD MEDAL - POETRY
The School Among the Ruins: Poems 2000-2004 by Adrienne Rich

One of our country's most distinguished poets, Adrienne Rich has published more than 16 books of poetry and five books of nonfiction prose. In her new collection, Rich confronts dislocations and upheavals at the beginning of the 21st century. She traces the imprint of public crisis upon individual experience, almost a necessity in the post 9/11 world.

SILVER MEDAL – FICTION
GraceLand by Chris Abani

A dazzling tale by one of the most talented voices to emerge from Africa, Graceland tells the story of a teenage Elvis impersonator, which unfolds against a background of reggae and highlife music, American movies, and a harsh urban existence. Set in Lagos, Nigeria, the novel deals not only the father-son relationship, but also explores post-colonial Africa, where American culture reigns supreme. Abani teaches at university of California, Riverside.

SILVER MEDAL - FIRST WORK OF FICTION
Every Night is Ladies' Night by Michael Jaime-Becerra

A collection of interrelated stories that present a portrait of a community whose members seek their own place beyond their immediate physical characters. From a teenage boy who lives in the shadow of his wild Goth sister to a race car driver hot after the Mexican beauty queen of his dreams, Michael Jaime-Becerra creates a vibrant literary universe. Jaime-Becerra teaches at the University of California, Riverside.

SILVER MEDAL – YOUNG ADULT
Worth by A. LaFaye

A dynamic portrayal of two boys longing for something they no longer have: Nathan, after his leg is crushed in an accident, can no longer help his father on their Nebraska farm; John Worth, who comes west from new York on the orphan Train, leaves his dream of an education behind. LaFaye movingly describes the way the boys find the resources to face the future.

SILVER MEDAL – FICTION
Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott

Don't let the title throw you: Elliott's Happy Baby is anything but. The Stanford University lecturer and former Wallace Stegner Fellow peels back the layers of his painful past in this searing examination of the consequences of sexual abuse. A ward of the state of Illinois from the age of 13 to 18, Elliott recounts his own experiences through the eyes of 36-year-old Theo, a man emotionally eviscerated by years of mental and physical torture. Beginning in the present and unraveling back to years of sexual molestation in Chicago's juvenile-detention centers, the street-smart narrator fearlessly dissects a series of dysfunctional relationships in which abuse is equated with affection. Blending the edginess of Augusten Burroughs with the raw emotion of Marguerite Duras, this compelling confessional reveals a ravaged soul seeking solace and resolution in the wake of unspeakable crimes.

SILVER MEDAL – JUVENILE
Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley

This exuberant picture book-biography focuses on poet Walt Whitman's selfless work as a Civil War nurse. Kerley likens the poet's restless energy to the nation itself, saying he wrote poems "as free-ranging as his big, robust country." After the war, Whitman turned back to poetry to resolve his grief and turn toward peace and rebuilding.

SILVER MEDAL – CALIFORNIANA
Beasts of the Field: A Narrative History of California Farmworkers, 1769-1913 by Richard Steven Street