A who's who of Hawai'i publishers, writers, designers and illustrators gathered at McCoy Pavilion in Ala Moana Beach Park on Friday for the Hawaii Book Publishers Association's annual Ka Palapala Po'okela book awards.

The Samuel M. Kamakau Award for the Hawai'i book of the year went to "Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust" by federal judge Samuel P. King and University of Hawai'i law professor Randall W. Roth. The University of Hawai'i Press book about the Bishop Estate also won the certificate award in the category of nonfiction and an honorable mention in Hawaiian Culture.

Designer Barbara Pope took home the John Dominis Holt Award for her contribution to Hawai'i book publishing.

"Varua Tupu: New Writing and Art From French Polynesia," an edition of UH's Manoa Journal, won in the excellence in literature category, while "Lua: Art of the Hawaiian Warrior," a 23-year project, took the award for excellence in Hawaiian culture.

"The quantity and quality of this year's nominees, together with our new partnership with the Hawai'i Book & Music Festival, are indicative that Hawai'i has one of the most vibrant, supported regional publishing communities in the world," said Ron Cox, president of the Hawaii Book Publishers Association and director of Bishop Museum Press.

The reader's choice award, which saw a record number of voters through The Advertiser's Web site, about 800, went to Mutual Publishing's "Tattoo Traditions of Hawai'i," by Tricia Allen. For a complete list of winners, go to www.hawaiibooks.org.

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.