Missoula Public Library Announces ‘Indian Country’ as 2025 Montana Book Award Winner
Posted on March 12, 2026
The Missoula Public Library is pleased to announce "Indian Country" as the 2025 Montana Book Award winner. This annual award recognizes literary and/or artistic excellence in a book published in the last year written or illustrated by someone who lives in Montana, is set in Montana, or deals with Montana themes or issues.
In "Indian Country," award-winning author Shobha Rao tells the story of a couple from India, Janavi and Sagar. Janavi is a wonderfully independent, young, modern Indian woman; he is the least favorite son, his parents never able to forgive him for an unspeakable act from his past. Yet the two are forced together into an arranged marriage neither of them wants. Even worse, Sagar has already accepted a job in America, in a strange place called Montana. The couple moves to the state, so different from generations of white colonialists who came before them, only to discover the secrets the land holds.
This stunning literary novel, published by Crown, also weaves in short historical stories of settlers who conquered both the west and India, and who form the foundation upon which Sagar and Janavi stand. “Indian Country” is a bold, ambitious, stunningly beautiful yet brutal novel about colonialism, westward expansion and how the ramifications of both still ripple out today.
The 2025 Montana Book Award Committee also chose four honor books for 2025:
- "A History of Montana in 101 Places" by Ellen Baumer, Christine Brown, Martha Kohl and Kirby Lambert, photographs by Tom Ferris, published by Montana Historical Society Press. This unique and beautifully illustrated book details the history of Montana through its sites and vernacular architecture. Written by current and former Montana Historical Society historians and featuring photography by Tom Ferris and historic images, this book invited readers to experience Montana’s history through place. With a range of sites from those used by the earliest Indigenous peoples to battlefields to mines, schools, outhouses and bars, this book grounds Montana’s rich history in the places it happened.
- "Grit to Grind: Shaping Montana Communities One Skatepark at a Time" by Andy Kemmis and Chris Bacon, published by Chronicle Prism. This is the inspirational story of the inception, growth and continued work of the Montana Skatepark Association and their ongoing efforts to build skateparks for communities across Montana. This is a remarkable true story of how long-time Missoula residents Chris Bacon, Andy Kemmis, Ross Peterson, and a small army of other volunteers overcame, with perseverance and determination, obstacles like lack of funding, bureaucratic red tape, geographic limitations and more to create a nonprofit organization that has assisted in the funding and creation of nearly 50 skateparks in the state to date. This book highlights a little-known aspect of Montana that has nothing to do with cowboys or national parks,yet still showcases the grit and determination that are hallmarks of Montana and its people.
- "The Boxcar Librarian" by Brianna Labuskes, published by William Morrow. Inspired by true events, this book is a thrilling Depression-era novel about a woman’s quest to uncover a mystery surrounding a local librarian and the Boxcar Library – a converted mining train that brought books to isolated rural towns in Montana. This novel blends the story of strong, courageous women (Millie Lang, Works Progress Administration editor; Alice Monroe librarian; and Colette Durand, a miner’s daughter with a shotgun and secrets) who survived and thrived in the rough and rowdy West by harnessing the power of standing together to fight for workers’ lives. Inspired by the fascinating true history of Missoula’s Boxcar Library, which can be visited today at the Fort Missoula Museum.
- "Beartooth" by Callan Wink, published by Spiegel & Grau. Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival in this taut, propulsive novel. This is a fast-paced tale with moments of surprising poignancy set in the grandeur of the American West. Evoking the timeless voices of American pastoral storytelling, this is a bracing, masterful novel about survival, revenge and the bond between brothers Thad and Hazen.
Presentations and a reception for the winning authors will take place on Wednesday, April 15, during the Montana Library Association Conference in Great Falls.
The Friends of the Missoula Public Library founded the Montana Book Award in 2001 to recognize and honor achievements in Montana literature. Winners are selected by a committee of individuals representing areas throughout Montana. Members of the 2025 Montana Book Award committee include Beth Antonopulos, Bozeman; Samantha Azure, Poplar; Nicole Bernard, Billings; Trudy Dundas, Manhattan; Bayley Gibson, Ennis; Joleen Jin, Missoula; Kayla Whitaker, Potomac (chair); and Sarah Widger, Bozeman.
2025 marks the 23rd anniversary of the Montana Book Award recognizing and honoring achievements in Montana literature. Friends of the Missoula Public Library is accepting nominations for the 2026 Montana Book Award through Dec. 31. For more information, visit http://montanabookaward.org.
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