2026 Golden Poppy Book Awards
California indie booksellers select the best books by California creators!
The California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) presents the 2026 Golden Poppy Awards in recognition of the most distinguished books written and illustrated by creators who have made California their home.
Committees for each category are made up of booksellers throughout the state tasked with developing a list of five finalists and one winner.
Our goal is to elevate California voices and recognize the unique and diverse talents within our state as selected by the booksellers who know them best.
2026 Golden Poppy Book Awards - Finalist Resources
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Fiction
Female Life on Planet Earth by Laleh Khadivi (Ecco)
A Tender Age by Chang-Rae Lee (Riverhead Books)
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf)
Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky (Ecco)
Lovers XXX by Allie Rowbottom (Soho Press)
Nonfiction
Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget by Reyna Grande (Atria/Primero Sueno Press)
Racist by Design: Two Centuries of U.S. Immigration Control by Kelly Lytle Hernández (W.W. Norton)
Good Woman: A Reckoning by Savala Nolan (Mariner Books)
California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California by Miriam Pawel (Bloomsbury Publishing)
I Would Die If I Were You: Notes on Art and Truth-Telling by Emily Rapp Black (Counterpoint)
Mystery
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper (Mulholland Books)
Get Lost by Justin Halpern (Cardinal)
The Cormorant Hunt by Michael Idov (Scribner)
The Tree of Light and Flowers by Thomas Perry (The Mysterious Press)
The Haul by Gary Phillips (Soho Crime)
Poetry
The Committee of Men by James Ciano (BOA Editions Ltd.)
The Hungering Years by Summer Farah (Host Publications )
Continental Drift by Mai-Linh Hong (Trio House Press)
The Cosmos and Me: New and Selected Poems by Lucille Lang Day (Trio House Press)
Splashed Things by Leigh Lucas (BOA Editions)
Octavia E. Butler Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror)
As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager)
Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
The Flayed Man by Chloe Lauter (Soft Skull Press)
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire)
The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White (Del Rey)
Romance
You Jump First by Myah Ariel (Simon Pulse)
Lost and Found by Tarah Dewitt (St. Martin's Griffin)
Better Than a Duke by Suzanne Enoch (Bramble)
The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren (Gallery Books)
Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West (Macmillan)
Martin Cruz Smith Award: Emerging Diverse Voices
Carrying by Samantha Josephs (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
There's Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson (Flatiron Books)
SPIT: A Life in Battles by Jonnie Park and Donnie Kwak (Third State Books)
The Simp by Roshan Sethi (Simon & Schuster)
Birth Language by Aimee Suzara (Tia Chucha Press)
Glenn Goldman: CA Lifestyle & Cooking
The New Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook: Recipes from the Iconic Mendocino Restaurant by Julian Lopez (The Collective Book Studio)
This Oak House by Annie Meyers-Shyer (Chronicle Books)
Full Belly: Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm by Jenna and Amon Muller (Hardie Grant North America)
Our Lady of the Angels: The Virgin of Guadalupe on the Walls of Los Angeles by Sam Quinones (Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library)
Cake Picnic by Elisa Sunga (Chronicle Books)
La Copine: New California Cooking from an Oasis in the Desert by Claire Wadsworth, Nikki Hill & Ben Mims
(Abrams Books)
Picture Book
Duel by Shawn Harris (Neal Porter Books)
A Room with a View by Joanna Ho (HarperCollins)
The Art of How Dogs Sleep by Alison Kim (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
The Quiet Ocean by Charlotte Offsay, Illustrated by Abi Cushman (Beach Lane Books)
Awe! by Chana Stiefel, Illustrated by Susan Gal (Scholastic Press)
Middle Grade
Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros (Quill Tree Books)
Auntie Q's Golden Claws Nail Salon by Van Hoang (Roaring Book Press)
Brittle Magic by Kate O'Shaughnessy (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
The Lions' Run by Sara Pennypacker, Illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray)
Deepa, M.D. by Priya Swaminathan (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Young Adult
Holloway by Elana K. Arnold (Clarion Books)
Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
Where No Shadow Stays by Sara Hashem (Holiday House)
Few Blue Skies by Carolina Ixta (Quill Tree Books)
Goldenborn by Ama Ofosua Lieb (Scholastic Press)
Children's Nonfiction
The Ocean's Heart: The Tiny Creatures Essential to Life by Jilanne Hoffmann and Khoa Le (Millbrook Press™)
Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game by Kadir Nelson (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Dinosaurs to Dragons: The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures by Elizabeth Shreeve, Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Bathtime for Snow Monkeys by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Illustrated by Yas Imamura (Candlewick)
Auntie Kristina's Guide to Asian American Activism by Kristina Wong, Chao, Theodore Chao, Anna Michelle Wang, Jenessa Joff, Illustrated by Shehzil Malik (Beaming Books)
Mirrors & Windows: Excellence in Children's Literature
Mixed Feelings by Sara Amini, Illustrated by Shadia Amin (Graphix)
Few Blue Skies by Carolina Ixta (Quill Tree Books)
The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause (Delacorte Press)
An Expanse of Blue by Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams (Heartdrum)
Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea (Quill Tree Books)