The Ohio Book Awards will take place at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday evening, October 15, 2025.   Mark your calendars & grab tickets here.

About the Ohio Book Awards:

In 2024, the Awards were officially renamed to the Ohio Book Awards, Presented by Ohioana Library. Each year, juried awards are given to books in seven categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, About Ohio/an Ohioan, Young Adult Literature, Middle Grade Literature, and Juvenile Literature. Fans have the opportunity to make their voices heard by selecting the Readers’ Choice Book Award from among all thirty finalists in an online poll. Finally, we present a special prize for emerging writers, the Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant.

First given in 1942, the Ohio Book Awards presented by the Ohioana Library Association are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 80 years has been honored, including James Thurber, Robert McCloskey, Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver, Rita Dove, Hanif Abdurraqib, Anthony Doerr, Celeste Ng, and many more.

Seven of the Ohio Book Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, are selected by juries. The Readers’ Choice Award is determined by voters in a public online poll. Over 3,500 votes were cast for this year’s Readers’ Choice Award.