St. Paul Author Honored as Winner of Midwest Book Award

Lynne M. Kolze from St. Paul, MN won the award for Best Inspirational Non-fiction book for their book “Please Write: Finding Joy and Meaning in the Soulful Art of Handwritten Letters” at the Midwest Book Award gala on June 22, 2024.

In her book, Kolze argues that the letter can still serve an important role in our lives, complementing the useful and efficient technological tools we use every day. She shares the many benefits handwritten letters can provide to both the recipient and the writer, if we just make the effort.

“Letters” also includes a short history of the handwritten letter and the many innovations which enabled this art form to flourish, the types of letters that are most often written (and why they matter), and the many ways in which letters have inspired, and continue to inspire, the creation of art in many forms and contexts. 

Minnesota publisher Beaver’s Pond Press released the book in May 2023.

The Midwest Book Awards are presented by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MIPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting independent publishers in the Midwest. The awards are open to all books published in the Midwest in the previous year. MIPA founders organized the first Midwest Book Awards in 1989, and today the Midwest Book Awards is one of the longest running literary recognition programs in the country. Judges for the prestigious literary program are booksellers, university staff, and librarians who are subject matter experts and collectively hail from each of MiPA’s twelve states. 

View all finalists at mipa.org/midwest-book-awards/2024-finalists.