If you are an author or publisher interested in submitting a book for the 2011 California Book Awards, visit our submission form.

Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers.

Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books in search of the very best in literary achievement.

Eligible books must be written while the author is a resident of California, and they must be published during the year under consideration.

Awards are presented in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, First Work of Fiction, Poetry, Californiana, Notable Contribution to Publishing, Juvenile Literature and Young Adult Literature.

The ceremony for books published in 2011 will take place on Thursday, June 7, 2012, in San Francisco.

Congratulations to the 80th annual California Book Award Winners!

These winners were recognized at the awards ceremony at The Commonwealth Club's main auditorium on June 2, 2011. Learn more about this great event and watch the video. 

This year's California Book Awards program is sponsored by Bank of the West.

Gold Medals

Poetry:
Alexandra Teague, Mortal Geography, Published by Persea

Nonfiction:
Yunte Huang, Charlie Chan, Published by W. W. Norton & Co

First Fiction:
Zachary Mason, The Lost Books of the Odyssey: A Novel, Published by Picador

Fiction:
Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel, Published by Coffee House Press

Juvenile:
Cecil Castellucci, Grandma’s Gloves, With illustrations by Julia Denos, Published by Candlewick

Young Adult:
Dana Reinhardt, The Things a Brother Knows, Published by Wendy Lamb Books

Contribution to Publishing:
University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, Autobiography of Mark Twain Volume 1; Edited by Harriet Elinor Smith and other editors of the Mark Twain Project

Californiana:
Laura Cunningham, A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California, Published by Heyday Books

Silver Medals

Nonfiction:
Don Lattin, The Harvard Psychedelic Club, Published by HarperOne

Fiction:
Eric Puchner, Model Home, Published by Scribner

Poetry:
Camille T. Dungy, Suck on the Marrow, Published by Red Hen Press