BI Reads

2026 Finalists

Here are the finalists for the 2026 BI Reads:

1. Rights Remembered: A Salish Grandmother Speaks on American Indian History and the Future by Lummi elder Pauline R. Hillaire  
   

   Rights Remembered is a remarkable historical narrative and autobiography written by esteemed Lummi elder and culture bearer Pauline R. Hillaire, Scälla–Of the Killer Whale. A direct descendant of the immediate post contact generation of Coast Salish in Washington State, Hillaire combines in her narrative her own life experiences, Lummi oral traditions preserved and passed on to her, and the written record of relationships between the United States and the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. She tells of government officials, treaties, reservations, and the colonial relationship between the Coast Salish people and white settlers. although written out of frustration with the status of Native peoples in the United States, is not an expression of anger. Rather it represents, in her own words, her hope “for greater justice for Indian people in America, and for reconciliation between Indian and non-Indian Americans, based on recognition of the truths of history.” Addressed to Indigenous and non-Native peoples alike, Rights Remembered is a thoughtful call for understanding and mutual respect between cultures.

2. Heart Berries  by Terese Marie Mailhot 

   A poetic memoir about coming-of-age as an Indigenous woman on Seabird Island Indian Reservation, exploring trauma, mental illness (PTS and bipolar II), abuse and identify through a unique, fragment narrative style. Praised for is raw voice, the book has been praised for looking at grief, family, and the complexities of the Native experience. Mailhot trusts the reader to understand that memory isn't exact, but melded to imagination, pain, and what we can bring ourselves to accept.

3. Storybook Ending by Moira McDonald

   A charming story about romance, friendship, and a love of books, in which two women—a lonely remote worker and a widowed single mom—and a handsome local bookstore clerk find themselves in an unusual love triangle when an anonymous note left in a book finds the wrong recipient.
    
   April, a smart and lonely tech worker, worries work from home has gotten out of hand: She’s left an anonymous note in a book for Westley, the clerk at her Seattle neighborhood bookstore who has a gentle smile and looks great in flannel. But thanks to fate, Laura—a busy single mom who had given up on love—buys the book, finds the note, and thinks Westley has left it for her. A handsome man who loves books seems like just the plot twist she has been looking for.
    
    Meanwhile, Westley—not the most perceptive—is too distracted by the movie filming at the store and the ambition it’s unlocked in him to notice either of the two women. But as April and Laura’s anonymous correspondence continues back and forth, their mundane routines are challenged, sparking a glimmer of hope. Is a happy ending in the cards for them?
    
    A hilarious and intricate web of mistaken identities and serendipitous encounters, Storybook Ending is a playful tribute to romance, friendship, and bookstores, and to the objects—from a forgotten slip of paper to someone’s heart—left between the pages of books we loved.

Voting will open on April 1 and close April 30.