Book Awards

Pacific Northwest Book Awards

2026 Nominations List

Celebrating Great Books of the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association has conducted an annual awards program to recognize literary excellence in the Pacific Northwest region--Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and British Columbia--since 1964.

PNBA's judging body is comprised of independent booksellers from PNBA member stores, spanning the region. The committee does not consider titles by specific category but simply looks to honor the most impressive original works—up to six annually. We do require that the nominated author and/or illustrator currently reside full-time within the regional bounds specified above and that the book be published within the current eligibility period, noted below.

Eligibility Criteria:

Location:
Primary nominee or nominees must currently reside full-time within the PNBA region, which includes:
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Publication Date:
Titles must be originally published between: October 1st, 2024-September 30th, 2025
* Please note, that if a hardback version of the book is published is 2023, then a paperback in 2025, the title was originally published in 2023 and does not qualify for the Award.

Wholesale & ISBN Requirement:
The book must be available to our Member Bookstores:

Display and be identifiable by a valid 13-digit ISBN.
Via a viable direct or wholesale book distribution outlet
At industry standard wholesale terms and returns policies.
- Short discounts, common in print-on-demand arrangements, will not be accepted. Please review your wholesale terms prior to submission. * Titles only available at the standard wholesale discount or only returnable when ordered directly from the publisher/author will not be considered.

Deadlines:
*Please Note: Deadlines have been moved up to allow for a LIVE Shortlist Announcement at the Fall Tradeshow!

Nominations will close on: September 4, 2025
Physical reading copies must be received by all 9 committee members before: September 11, 2025

*Please note: the Committee members reside in different states at 9 separate locations within the PNW region. While we have noted the official nomination and mail in deadlines here, we strongly encourage early nominations and early physical delivery to allow the Committee ample time to read and reflect upon your nomination.

Timeline:

March, 2025—Nominations open
September 29th, 2025–Live Announcement of the 2025 PNBA Shortlist at the Fall Tradeshow!
Early January, 2026—Announcement of the 2026 PNBA Awards Winners

Nomination Fee:
There is a non-refundable fee of $75 for each nominated title.

If the book’s publisher is a PNBA member AND is located in one of the above states, they are eligible for a reduced fee of $50 per title.

All fees must be paid at the time of nomination and are non-refundable. Nominating parties are responsible for shipping samples to all nine committee recipients.

Each nominated title will be allowed one hyper-link from the nomination list to bookshop.org. Links to Amazon or the publisher's or author's direct sales site are not allowed.

Once we receive your form and nomination fee, a list of the committee addresses will be automatically generated and emailed. Please be sure your title meets all guidelines outlined here before you nominate and mail your title.

Questions about the Awards should be directed to Tiffany in Program Support.

2026 Nominations List

Nominate Title

Would you like to serve on the Book Awards Committee?

2025 Winners

2025 Shortlist

2025 Nominations

Pacific Northwest Book Awards​

Pacific Northwest Book Awards