CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle author Bob Wyss’s ‘Black Gold’ chosen as finalist for Washington Book Award
The finalists for the Washington State Book Awards have been announced, and “Black Gold” by Bob Wyss of West Seattle is on the list! Here’s the announcement:
“Black Gold, The Rise, Reign and Fall of American Coal” today was named a finalist for the Washington State Book Award, Nonfiction/Biography category. Author Bob Wyss, a West Seattle resident, appeared at Paper Boat Booksellers before a packed audience back on October 9.
A winner will be announced September 15.
Black Gold is a narrative nonfiction book that describes the 200-year impact coal had on American culture, society and environment. While coal was a magical elixir that sparked America’s industrial revolution, its legacy and continued life threatens not only the world’s environment but life as we know it. As the summer of 2026 has clearly demonstrated with its deadly heat spells, fires and floods, understanding that heritage is crucial in coping with our changing world.
Critics have called Black Gold “simply the vest environmental history every written about the coal industry and the fascinating people who ignited America’s industrial revolution” (William Kovarik). The Nation, which praised Black Gold’s arrival last year, said Wyss “provides readers an often-dramatic episodic overview of coal in American history, the great paradox between power and destruction.”
The annual Washington State Book Awards honor works of outstanding literary merit by Washington authors. An award is given based on the strength of the publication’s literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality.
The awards are a project of The Washington Center for the Book, an affiliate of The Library of Congress Center for the Book administered by Washington State Library.
Wyss is a longtime reporter and editor who has written for several publications including the New York Times and the Providence (R.I) Journal-Bulletin. He is an emeritus professor of journalism from the University of Connecticut and the author of four books. He currently writes a Substack column, news 101, about journalism and the plight of local news in America.
Black Gold was published by the University of California Press.
