MONTPELIER — Vermont Humanities announced the winners of the Vermont Book Awards for outstanding literature in 2025 on Saturday at a cocktail and dessert celebration in Montpelier, attended by almost 200 readers, writers, and supporters of literature and the humanities.
The winners in each of their respective categories were Sasha Hom for “sidework” (Fiction), Helen Whybrow for “The Salt Stones” (Creative Nonfiction), Carlene Kucharczyk for “Strange Hymn” (Poetry), and Mima Tipper for “Kat’s Greek Summer” (Children’s Literature).
The celebration was held in the chapel in College Hall on the Greenway Institute campus. The room was full of writers, including previous winners of the Vermont Book Awards. The keynote speaker was Vermont Poel Laureate Bianca Stone, who is the author of multiple books of poetry, including “The Near and Distant World,” which came out in 2026, and “What is Otherwise Infinite,” which won the 2022 Vermont Book Award in poetry.
The winners of the Vermont Book Award each received a prize of $1,000 and a specially commissioned art object created by Vermont artist Bess French, a nationally and internationally exhibiting sculptural artist, whose work is inspired by the natural world and found objects.
Vermont Humanities Executive Director Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup also formally announced Vermont Reads 2026: “Charity and Sylvia,” by former Vermont Cartoonist Laureate Tillie Walden. Based on the true story of an early 19th century couple in Weybridge, Vermont, Kaufman Ilstrup said, “Here at Vermont Humanities, we can’t think of a better way to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, than to uplift this gentle story of two women who grew up and came of age with our Country.”
The Vermont Book Awards are annual prizes for outstanding literature in Vermont, presented by Vermont Humanities. The event was supported by Phoenix Books, the Vermont Arts Council, the Norwich Bookstore, Montpelier Performing Arts Hub, Greenway Institute, Susan Z. Ritz, and the Vermont Department of Libraries.
