Finalists for the Southern California Independent Booksellers Awards announced

B.J. Novak speaks during an April 12, 2014, panel discussion at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books that includes film critic Kenneth Turan.

July 9, 2015 1:30 PM PT

Independent bookstores in Southern California present the Southern California Independent Booksellers Awards every fall. This week, the organization announced the finalists in the running for its prizes in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, middle grade, young adult and the T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award.

To be eligible for those awards, authors must be residents of Southern California. An additional prize, the Glenn Goldman Award for Art, Architecture & Photography, is named for the owner of Book Soup who died in 2009. To honor Goldman’s passion for art books, the prize is open to any author and artist.

Two boldface Hollywood authors appear on the list: B.J. Novak (“The Office”) for his children’s book, “The Book With No Pictures,” and producer Brian Grazer for his memoir, “A Curious Mind.”

The awards are to be presented at a publishing event open to Southern California Independent Booksellers Assn. members on Oct. 24.

Fiction

“Shelter Us: A Novel” by Laura Nicole Diamond

“The Book of Life” by Deborah Harkness

“Life #6” by Diana Wagman

Nonfiction

“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by Caitlin Doughty

“A Curious Mind” by Brian Grazer

“To Live and Dine in L.A.: Menus and the Making of the Modern City” by Josh Kun

T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award

“Marry, Kiss, Kill” by Anne Flett-Giordano

“The Replacements” by David Putnam