Literary Arts released the finalists for the 2015 Oregon Book Awards this morning, along with the list of the Oregon Literary Fellowship winners. A quick scan reveals that it was a ho-hum year for books in our fine state—the list lacks many of the bigger names of years past (with the exception of Willy Vlautin, who continued a great year), and few of these books made much of a national impact—which isn't to say there aren't some real literary gems, like Fourth of July Creek and Sea of Hooks. 

Most notably missing from the list are David Shafer's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, which caught fire over the summer, winning the New York Times nomination for the novel of the summer, and Rene Denfeld's The Enchanted, which kicked off a bidding war. (What other books do you feel deserved a nomination?)

Former Portlander Mitchell S. Jackson, whose Residue Years is the focus of Everybody Reads this spring, will host the ceremony on April 13 at Portland Center Stage's Gerding Theater. Tickets are here.

KEN KESEY AWARD FOR FICTION
Smith Henderson of Portland, Fourth of July Creek (Ecco)
Lindsay Hill of Portland, Sea of Hooks (McPherson and Co.)
Cari Luna of Portland, The Revolution of Every Day (Tin House Books)
Amy Schutzer of Portland, Spheres of Disturbance (Arktoi Books)
Willy Vlautin of Scappoose, The Free (Harper Perennial)
    
STAFFORD/HALL AWARD FOR POETRY
Wendy Chin-Tanner of Portland, Turn (Sibling Rivalry Press)
Emily Kendal Frey of Portland, Sorrow Arrow (Octopus Books)
Endi Bogue Hartigan of Portland, Pool [5 choruses] (Omnidawn)
Zachary Schomburg of Portland, The Book of Joshua (Black Ocean)
Dawn Diez Willis of Salem, Still Life with Judas & Lightning (Airlie Press)
 
FRANCES FULLER VICTOR AWARD FOR GENERAL NONFICTION
Kristin Ohlson of Portland, The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet (Rodale Press)
Robert Sitton of Portland, Lady In The Dark: Iris Barry and the Art of Film
(Columbia University Press)
Cameron Stauth of Portland, In The Name Of God: The True Story of the Fight to Save Children from Faith-Healing Homicide (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press)
Noah Strycker of Creswell, The Thing With Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human (Riverhead)
Alex Tizon of Eugene, Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
   
SARAH WINNEMUCCA AWARD FOR CREATIVE NONFICTION
Justin Hocking of Portland, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld (Graywolf Press0
Lisa Ohlen Harris of Newberg, The Fifth Season (Newberg)
Floyd Skloot of Portland, Revertigo (University of Wisconsin Press)
 
ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Kim T. Griswell of Ashland, Rufus Goes to School (Sterling Children's Books)
Susan Hill Long of Portland, Whistle in the Dark (Holiday House)
H. Joseph Hopkins of Portland, The Tree Lady (Beach Lane Books)
Deborah Hopinkson of West Linn, The Great Trouble:  A Mystery of London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel (Alfred A. Knopf)
Elizabeth Rusch of Portland, Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World  
(Candlewick Press)
 
LESLIE BRADSHAW AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
April Henry of Portland, The Body In the Woods (Henry Holt)
Robin Herrera of Portland, Hope is a Ferris Wheel (Amulet Books)
Lisa Schroeder of Beaverton, The Bridge From Me To You (Scholastic)
Christina Struyk-Brown of Portland, Whisper (Orca Book Publishers)
 
ANGUS L. BOWMER AWARD FOR DRAMA  
Rich Rubin of Portland, September Twelfth
Andrea Stolowitz of Portland, Ithaka
Sandra Stone of Portland, Absurdist Or, Is It?: 3 Inter-related Plays
George Taylor of Beaverton, Ghosts in the Canvas
Nick Zagone of Portland, Blood on the Books or the Powell's Play

 
2015 OREGON LITERARY FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS    
 
WRITERS
 
Poetry  
Laura Christina Dunn of Portland  
Trevino Brings Plenty of Milwaukie, The C.Hamilton Bailey Fellowship
A. Molotkov of Portland
Hajara Quinn of Portland
Ashley Toliver of Portland, The Oregon Poetry Community Fellowship
 
Fiction
Colleen Burner of Portland, The Women Writer's Fellowship
Airin Miller of Portland, The Friends of the Lake Oswego Library William Stafford Fellowship
Justin Hocking of Portland
 
Literary Nonfiction
Otis Haschemeyer of Eugene
Cheston Knapp of Portland
Elena Passarello of Corvallis, The Leslie Bradshaw Fellowship
 
Drama
Peter Malae of McMinnville
 
Young Readers Literature
Addie Boswell of Portland, The Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers Literature
Christine Fletcher of Portland, The Walt Morey Fellowship
 
PUBLISHERS
Big Big Wednesday of Portland
The Masters Review of Portland
Phantom Drift of La Grande