The Oregon Book Awards are given every year by Literary Arts, Inc., an organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. These awards recognize the best work by Oregon writers in genres such as poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and books for young readers.

The Oregon Book Award was started in 1987 by Brian Booth and the Oregon Institute for Literary Arts (OILA). In 1993, Literary Arts, Inc., a statewide nonprofit group focused on improving the lives of Oregonians through language and literature, joined with OILA. Together, they continued to support Oregon authors through the book awards and Oregon Literary Fellowships. Winners are chosen only based on the quality of their writing by judges from other states who change each year.

In 2005, the award ceremony moved from Portland’s Scottish Rite Center to the Wonder Ballroom to make the event more lively and enjoyable. Since 2009, the ceremony has taken place at the Gerding Theatre at the Armory, which is the home of Portland Center Stage.

Recipients

In 1987, during the first Oregon Book Award event, scholar Terrence O'Donnell spoke about Frances Fuller Victor's legacy. This event also began the annual Frances Fuller Victor Award for Creative Nonfiction. The award was sometimes called the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction.