2011
Kathleen O'Dell, veteran reporter and one of the original USA Today staff.
2010
Jack Stack, How to Play the Wonderful Game of Business
2009
Patricia and Fred McKissack
2008
Paul K. McMasters, leading authority on First Amendment and freedom-of-information issues
2007
Daniel Woodrell, Winter's Bone, Tomato Red
2006
Kate Klise, Deliver Us From Normal, Far From Normal, Regarding series of graphic novels
2005
Gary Blackwood, The Dying Son, Attack of the Mushroom People, Dark Horse, The Shakespeare Stealer
2004
John Steinbeck, Tortilla Flats,
Deborah Chester,
Dale Freeman, former Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader managing editor
Constance Levy,
Deborah Chester,
Dale Freeman, former Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader managing editor
Constance Levy,
2003
Barbara Taylor Bradford, Emma's Secret
Wayne Carson
Robert Glazier, publisher, Springfield! Magazine
William Least Heat-Moon
Vance Randolph, folklorist
Wayne Carson
Robert Glazier, publisher, Springfield! Magazine
William Least Heat-Moon
Vance Randolph, folklorist
2002
Margaret Weis, Amber and Ashes, Dark Disciples series
Debra Dier Goldacker
David Lipman
Ernest Hemingway, Farewell to Arms
Debra Dier Goldacker
David Lipman
Ernest Hemingway, Farewell to Arms
2001
Charlie Farmer
Katherine Lederer, African-American historian
Johnny Mullins, songwriter
Robert Frost, poet
Katherine Lederer, African-American historian
Johnny Mullins, songwriter
Robert Frost, poet
2000
Don Coldsmith, Raven Mocker, Spanish Bit Saga series, Pipestone Quest
Lori Copeland, A Case of Crooked Letters, Morning Shade series
C.W. Gusewelle
Theodor Seuss Geisel, The Cat in the Hat
Lori Copeland, A Case of Crooked Letters, Morning Shade series
C.W. Gusewelle
Theodor Seuss Geisel, The Cat in the Hat
1999
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Liberating Paris, screenwriter
Billie Davis
Michael Wallis
John Neihardt, Native American poet
Billie Davis
Michael Wallis
John Neihardt, Native American poet
1998
Vicki Grove, The Crystal Garden, Goodbye My Wishing Star, A Time to Belong, Junglerama, Rimwalker, Fastest Friends in the West, He Gave Her Roses
Robert Vaughan
Lanford Wilson, playwright
Langston Hughes, poet, The Weary Blues
Robert Vaughan
Lanford Wilson, playwright
Langston Hughes, poet, The Weary Blues
1997
Suzann Ledbetter, Ahead of the Game, Peculiar
James Giglio, Stan Musial
Janet Dailey, Calder Promise
Harold Bell Wright
James Giglio, Stan Musial
Janet Dailey, Calder Promise
Harold Bell Wright
1996
Sandy Asher, On Her Way: Stories and Poems About Growing Up Girl, A Woman Called Truth
Edith McCall, Conquering the Rivers: Henry Miller Shreve and the Navigation of America's Inland Waterways
Jory Sherman, The Funeral of Tanner Moody, Grass Kingdom, The Arkansas River, The Rio Grande, The Columbia River, The South Platte, The Brazos
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House books
Edith McCall, Conquering the Rivers: Henry Miller Shreve and the Navigation of America's Inland Waterways
Jory Sherman, The Funeral of Tanner Moody, Grass Kingdom, The Arkansas River, The Rio Grande, The Columbia River, The South Platte, The Brazos
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House books
1995
David Harrison, The Alligator in the Closet, Using the Power of Poetry to Teach Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and More
John K. Hulston, Ozarks historian
Ellen Gray Massey, Family Fun and Games: A Hundred-Year Tradition, co-written with Carolyn Gray Thornton
Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn
John K. Hulston, Ozarks historian
Ellen Gray Massey, Family Fun and Games: A Hundred-Year Tradition, co-written with Carolyn Gray Thornton
Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn
