On Saturday I was in Portland to receive a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award for Bad Monkeys. This is my second PNBA award—Set This House in Order won in 2004—and I’m pleased to report that the experience does not get old.
This year’s award plaques were designed by an artist named Jerril Nilson. How cool is this:

The book spines are from the other award winners—Lauren Kessler’s Dancing with Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer’s,Jim Harrison’s Returning to Earth, Aryn Kyle’s The God of Animals, Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Denis Johnson’s Tree of Smoke.
My thanks to the PNBA, Jerril Nilson, and Chris Erickson and Kimberly Ogden of the Heathman Hotel, which hosted the event.