Two authors from Bainbridge Island were named as finalists in the 2012 Washington State Book Awards.

The Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library recently announced the winners for six outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2011. The program, now in its 45th year, was formerly called the Governor’s Writers Awards. A book award is given based on the strength of the publication’s literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality.

The 2012 Washington State Book Award winner in fiction was “A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism,” by Peter Mountford, of Ballard in Seattle (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publisher).

The fiction finalists from Bainbridge Island are “West of Here” by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin Books), and “Ed King” by David Guterson (Alfred A. Knopf).