Recipients of the 2010 Ka Palapala Po'okela book awards were announced Friday evening at a ceremony at the Bishop Museum.

This is the 17th year of the awards, presented by the Hawai'i Book Publishers Association to recognize the finest books published during the previous year and to honor individuals involved in their creation.

Two trophy awards were also bestowed. The Samuel M. Kamakau Award for the Hawai'i Book of the Year went to Watermark Publishing for "Ben: A Memoir, From Street Kid to Governor," by former Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano. The work also won the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Books.

The John Dominis Holt Award, given in recognition of a lifetime contribution to Hawai'i book publishing, was conferred upon Maile Meyer, owner of Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai'i, an independent bookseller, distributor and community resource in the local community for the past 20 years.

"Under Maui Skies and Other Stories" by Wayne Moniz (published by Koa Books) was the winner of the HawaiiReaders.com Readers' Choice Award.

More information about HBPA can be found on the organization's website: www.hawaiibooks.org.

2010 KA PALAPALA PO'OKELA AWARDS:

Excellence in Children's Hawaiian Culture: "No ka Wai o ka Puna Hou / The Water of ka Puna Hou" by Kawehi Avelino, illustrated by Eve Furchgott, Kamehameha Publishing and Hale Kuamo'o

Honorable mention, " 'O Kaina ke Kumu Koa / Kaina the Koa Tree" by Kulamanu Kawai'ae'a, Emilia Ka'awa, Kawehi Keolanui and Malia Kruger, illustrated by Eve Furchgott, Kamehameha Publishing and Hale Kuamo'o

Excellence in Children's Illustrative or Photographic Books: "When the Cassowary Pooped: A Tale of New Guinea" by Tamara Montgomery and Jodi Parry Belknap, illustrated by Joseph D. Dodd, Calabash Books

Honorable mention, "Too Many Mangos" by Tammy Paikai, illustrated by Don Robinson, Island Heritage Publishing

Excellence in Children's Literature: "Pulelehua and Māmaki" by Janice Crowl, illustrated by Harinani Orme, Bishop Museum Press and Kamahoi Press

Honorable mention, "Too Many Mangos" by Tammy Paikai, illustrated by Don Robinson, Island Heritage Publishing

Excellence in Hawaiian Culture: "Wayfinding through the Storm: Speaking Truth to Power at Kamehameha Schools" by Gavin Daws and Nā Leo o Kamehameha, Watermark Publishing

Honorable mention, "Ho'okupu: An Offering of Literature by Native Hawaiian Women" edited by Miyoko Sugano and Jackie Pualani Johnson, Mutual Publishing

Excellence in Literature: "The Bone Hook" by Ian MacMillan, Mutual Publishing

Honorable mention, "Ho'okupu: An Offering of Literature by Native Hawaiian Women" edited by Miyoko Sugano and Jackie Pualani Johnson, Mutual Publishing

Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books: "Big Island Journey: An Illustrated Narrative of the Island of Hawai'i" by Sophia Schweitzer and Bennett Hymer, Mutual Publishing

Honorable mention, "Pacific Images: Views from Captain Cook's Third Voyage" 2nd edition by Eleanor C. Nordyke, in collaboration with James A. Mattison Jr., M.D., Eleanor C. Nordyke, publisher

Excellence in Natural Science: "Amy Greenwell Garden Ethnobotanical Guide to Native Hawaiian Plants" by Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, et al, Bishop Museum Press

Honorable mention, "Plants of the Canoe People: An Ethnobotanical Voyage through Polynesia" by W. Arthur Whistler, National Tropical Botanical Garden

Excellence in Text or Reference Books: "Amy Greenwell Garden Ethnobotanical Guide to Native Hawaiian Plants" by Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, et al, Bishop Museum Press

Honorable mention, "Ethnobotany of Pohnpei: Plants, People, and Island Culture" edited by Michael J. Balick, University of Hawai'i Press

Excellence in Cookbooks: "Kau Kau: Cuisine & Culture in the Hawaiian Islands" by Arnold Hiura, Watermark Publishing

Honorable mention, "What Hawai'i Likes to Eat-Hana Hou" by Muriel Miura with Gay Wong, Mutual Publishing

Excellence in Special-Interest Books: "Crochet Lei Making in Hawai'i 3" by Judy Dela Cruz, Mutual Publishing

Honorable mention, "Daniel's Ocean Views" by Joyce Cassen, Norman Levey, and Sara Levey, Mutual Publishing

Excellence in Nonfiction Books: "Ben: A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor" by Benjamin J. Cayetano, Watermark Publishing

Honorable mention, "Talking Hawai'i's Story: Oral Histories of an Island People" edited by Michi Kodama-Nishimoto, Warren S. Nishimoto and Cynthia A. Oshiro, University of Hawai'i Press

Excellence in Design: Barbara Pope, Barbara Pope Book Design for "Kailua: In the Wisps of the Malanai Breeze," Kailua Historical Society

Honorable mention, Tiffany DeEtte Shafto for "Contemporary Hawai'i Woodworkers" by Tiffany DeEtte Shafto and Lynda McDaniel, Contemporary Publications

Excellence in "Aloha from Beyond Hawai'i": "The Last Aloha" by Gaellen Quinn, Lost Coast Press

Honorable mention, "Ben Norris: American Modernist, 1910-2006" by Ben Norris, edited by Margaret Norris Castrey, Copley Square Press

Samuel M. Kamakau Award: "Ben: A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor" by Benjamin J. Cayetano, Watermark Publishing

John Dominis Holt Award: Maile Meyer, Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai'i