Born in Japan, Masa made his way to the Southern Appalachians in the early 1900s, where his photographs of the region’s wild places became instrumental in building the case to designate the Great Smoky Mountains as a national park. In the book Martin, a poet, essayist and outdoorsman based in Cowee, pairs creative nonfiction inspired by visits to Masa’s old haunts with Masa’s crisp black-and-white landscape photography from the 1920s and 1930s. It’s an experiential ode, not a biography. 

Martin was one of five finalists for this year’s award. Originated by the Louis Lipinsky family, the Award has been presented annually by the Western North Carolina Historical Association since 1955 for printed works that focus special attention on Western North Carolina. The award comes with a cash prize of $2,500. Martin received it during a Dec. 13 ceremony at UNC-Asheville’s Reuter Center. 

This year’s finalists were chosen from an original group of over 50 nominations. Other finalists were Anne Chesky Smith, for “Murder at Asheville’s Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger’s Killer;” Lance Greene, for “Their Determination to Remain; A Cherokee Community’s Resistance to the Trail of Tears;” Heather Newton, for “McMullen Circle;” and John Ross, for “Through the Mountains: The French Broad River and Time.”