The John N. Cole Award
John Cole (1923-2003), a contemporary of Rachel Carson, was a pioneer environmental journalist who opened a regional debate on industrial pollution. He was a prolific writer for New England newspapers and magazines, co-founder of the Maine Times and the World Paper, and editor at several Maine newspapers, including The Times Record. Author of 13 books, his book on the endangered Striped Bass strongly influenced Senator John Chaffee of Rhode Island to introduce legislation for restoration of the species. Among Cole’s awards were the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Outdoor Life Award for Environmental Writing, which was presented to him by President Jimmy Carter.
He mentored and encouraged young writers through both his writing course at Bowdoin College and participation in writing workshops across the state.
As a remembrance of John Cole’s lifelong dedication to young writers and their aspirations for the future, the John N. Cole Award for Maine-themed nonfiction was established in 2014 by the Cole Family and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.
The award goes to the nonfiction book (including memoir and nonfiction anthologies) that best exemplifies those values in a given year at the Maine Literary Awards. The award currently carries a $1,000 cash prize, or $500 if there is more than one winner. All books submitted for the Maine Literary Awards that qualify in a given year are considered for the John N. Cole Award.
Winners of the John N. Cole Award
Woodsqueer, by Gretchen Legler (co-winner) (2023)
Breaking Bread: Essays from New England on Food, Hunger, and Family, by Debra Spark & Deborah Joy Corey (editors) (co-winner) (2023)
Kuhkomossonuk Akonutomuwinokot: Stories Our Grandmothers Told Us, by Wayne A. Newell (editor) and Robert M. Leavitt (editor) (co-winner) (2022)
The Field House, by Robin Clifford Wood (co-winner) (2022)
Maine and American Art: The Farnsworth Art Museum, by Michael K. Komanecky, Jane Bianco, and Angela Waldron (co-winner) (2021)
From the Mountains to the Sea: The Historic Restoration of the Penobscot River, by Peter Taylor (editor) and Kara Douglas (co-winner) (2021)
Chasing Maine’s Second, by Michael Norton (2020)
Return to Moose River: In Search of the Spirit of the Great North Woods, by Earl Brechlin (2019)
One Man’s Maine, by Jim Krosschell (2018)
Caught, by Glen Libby, with Photographs by Antonia Small (2017)
Ghost Buck, by Dean Bennett (2016)
Island Naturalist, by Kathie Fiveash (2015)
The New England Gardener’s Year, by Reeser Manley & Marjorie Peronto (2014)