Celebrate Nebraska’s rich literary tradition with the Nebraska Book Awards! The Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB), recognizes and honors books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or concerning Nebraska.
The Awards competition opens every year on March 1st and entries are due by June 30th. Books published in 2022, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination. They must be published, have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and be bound. Books may be entered in one or more of the following categories: Nonfiction, Fiction, Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, and Poetry.
Winners of the 2023 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored at the annual Celebration of Nebraska Books in the fall. The authors, designers and illustrators, and publishers are invited to give a short reading and speak about their winning books. Please visit the NCB website at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/celebration.html for more information and to submit your nomination. Submissions can be made on the NCB website or by mail.
The Celebration of Nebraska Books, free and open to the public, will also honor recipients of the 2023 Jane Geske and Mildred Bennett awards. The Mildred Bennett Award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to fostering the literary tradition in Nebraska, reminding us of the literary and intellectual heritage that enriches our lives and molds our world. The Jane Geske Award is presented to a Nebraska organization for exceptional contribution to literacy, books, reading, libraries, or literature in Nebraska. It commemorates Geske’s passion for books and was established in recognition of her contributions to the well-being of the libraries of Nebraska. Nominations for these awards are accepted year-round at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/nominationforms.html.
The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Humanities Nebraska, and History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum. The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Nebraska Library Commission.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”
Where Nebraska Center for the Book board members share their thoughts about the books they are reading. This month’s review is by Richard Miller.
Review of Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer.
This book, through original and secondary research, attempts to tackle a variety of historical issues in the U.S. that have dogged us for many years — by showing when current views of these issues are not in keeping with fact. The editors, who are both professors at Princeton University, have assembled a lineup of distinguished historians who discuss issues as diverse as American exceptionalism, immigration, American socialism, the New Deal, Confederate monuments, the Great Society, insurrection, the Reagan Revolution, and many others. While some may consider this collection to be left-of-center, the chapter writers provide solid facts to support their conclusions.
Here is one example of the findings on the topic of “voter fraud,” a topic much on the minds of many: “‘Nearly half of Americans believe voter fraud happens at least somewhat often, and 70 percent think it happens at least occasionally . . .'” [ABC News/Washington Post 2016 poll]. But a 2014 study by a Loyola law professor found that, “from 2000 to 2014, out of one billion votes cast in elections in the United States, there were only thirty-one cases of voter-impersonation fraud.”
This title is worth reading. After all, who can resist a book with the opening dedication: “To the archivists, librarians, teachers, and fellow historians who give us a better, and more accurate, understanding of our nation’s past”?
