Our warmest congratulations to Alison Prine. Her debut collection, “Steel” is a finalist for the Vermont Book Award.

“This is a really exciting year for women writers in Vermont. Seven of the eight finalists are women who come from all corners of the state,” said Kathryn Roberts, the Vermont Book Award fellow.

The Vermont Book Award is a $5,000 literary prize created by VCFA to celebrate the literature of Vermont. In order to be nominated, the book must be a work of outstanding literary merit by a Vermont writer and published in the prior year.

“If ever there was a year to read every book on the list, it’s this year. These books shine in their brilliance across all the genres. Our finalists are all from Vermont, but these books have a global reach,” said Miciah Bay Gault, coordinator of the Vermont Book Award and Director of the MFA in Writing & Publishing at VCFA.

Eight judges read through more than 40 Vermont Book Award nominees to choose the finalists. This year’s judges, each with expertise in one of the four genres, are Emily Bernard, Amanda Coplin, Chard deNiord, Grace Greene, Beth McCabe, Kerrin McCadden, Janice Obuchowski, and Tanya Lee Stone.

The winner of the 2017 prize will be revealed at the Vermont Book Award Gala, an awards ceremony to be held at VCFA on Sept. 23, 2017.

Purchase your copy of Steel in the CPR Bookstore.