FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Nebraska’s 2025 Book Award Winners Announced
Celebrate Nebraska’s 2025 Book Award winners with author readings and an awards presentation ceremony at the Nebraska Celebration of Book’s (NCOB) literary festival. Held at the UNL City Campus Union on November 15th, winners of the 2025 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored at the celebration which will include author roundtables during the festival and an awards ceremony. The ceremony will feature readings by some of the winning authors, designers, and illustrators of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2024. And the winners are:
Teen Novel: Quagmire Tiarello Couldn’t Be Better by Mylisa Larsen. Publisher: Clarion Books.
Cover/Illustration: Animal Climate Heroesby Alison Pearce Stevens, illustrated by Jason Ford. Publisher: Godwin Books.
Cover/Illustration Honor: Do You Know the Value of You? by Isabelle Hall, illustrated by Megan Earley. Publisher: Joyful Page Press.
Design: Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol by Susanne Shore, Kevin Moser, and Drew Davies. Publisher: Bison Books.
Fiction: Isamu’s American Dream by D. D. Davenport. Publisher: Donald D Davenport.
Fiction Honor: Sacrificial Animals: A Novel by Kailee Pedersen. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press.
Nonfiction Biography:Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II by Gregg Jones. Publisher: Citadel Press.
Nonfiction Conservation:Into Whooperland: A Photographer’s Journey with Whooping Cranes by Michael Forsberg. Publisher: Michael Forsberg Photography.
Nonfiction History: Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters’ Escape from Nebraska Territory by Gail Shaffer. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.
Nonfiction Memoir:Running Naked: Surviving the Legacy of Family in Rural Nebraska by Colby Coash. Publisher: Cahoy & Crook.
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place: The Nebraska Sandhills edited by Monica M. Norby, Judy Diamond, Aaron Sutherlen, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Kim Hachiya, Douglas A. Norby, and Michael Forsberg. Publisher: Bison Books.
Poetry: The Watching Sky by Judy Brackett Crowe. Publisher: Cornerstone Press.
Poetry Honor: Those We Can No Longer See: New and Selected Poems by Bob Ross. Publisher: Stephen F. Austin University Press.
This year’s Book Awards winners will be honored at the Nebraska Celebration of Books, which aims to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors. Held, Saturday, November 15th, from 10:00am-4:30pm, on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union and Jackie Gaughn Multicultural Center. The event will feature 2025 One Book One Nebraska author Tosca Lee, past and present State Poets Matt Mason and Jewel Rodgers, book vendors, publishers, and presentation of the Nebraska Book Awards, Mildred Bennett Award and Jane Geske Award, and the 2026 One Book One Nebraska announcement.
The 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee (Revell, 2023) will be featured with an author talk by Nebraska Author Tosca Lee.
The Nebraska Book Awards are sponsored and facilitated by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission.
The Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) host sponsors include Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln City Libraries, and Francie and Finch Bookshop. Humanities Nebraska provides support for One Book One Nebraska program.
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.”
Fill your end of summer needs by checking out these literary events! If you’re looking for something to do in August, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
August 1, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Charlie Peck Zoom, 12:00 pm Charlie Peck grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and received his MFA from Purdue University. His poetry has appeared previously in Cincinnati Review, Ninth Letter, Massachusetts Review, and Best New Poets 2019, among others. His first collection, World’s Largest Ball of Paint, is the winner of the 2022 St. Lawrence Book Award from Black Lawrence Press.
August 1, 2025 Native Omaha Days Poetry Groove Let It Fly Sports Bar, 1080 Capitol Ave. Omaha, 7:00 – 9:00 pm An open mic experience featuring Dani Cleveland and Friends taking it back to the poetry/open mic night days of the early aughts. Dust off those notebooks and share what you’ve been working on or share what’s on your heart in the moment. There is a cash prize for best spoken word piece.
August 2, 2025 Jewel Rodgers and Matt Mason at Joslyn’s Art-Tastic Saturday Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Douglas St. Omaha, 12:30 – 1:00 pm & 1:30 – 2:00 pm Nebraska State Poet Jewel Rodgers and former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason lead events at the Joslyn Art Museum as part of the Joslyn’s Art-Tastic Saturday, which runs from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. Matt Mason leads a writing workshop at 12:30 pm in the Founders Room and both poets perform poems at 1:30 pm.
August 3, 2025 60th Annual Neihardt Day John G. Neihardt State Historic Site, 306 W Elm St. Bancroft, 12:00 – 3:00 pm Join the 60th Annual Neihardt Day celebration! Free and open to the public! Bring your lawn chairs and/or blankets; picnic tables will be available.
August 5, 2025 Janice N. Harrington Poetry Reading & Discussion Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Harrington writes descriptive, lyrical, and experimental poems that speak to the Black American Imagination in all its multiplicity, advocating for a future that celebrates pleasure and self-fulfillment within Black communities.
August 7, 2025 Acoustic Performance and Book Signing with Brad Colerick & Scott Feldmann: “Zintka!: Lost Bird of Wounded Knee – Zintkála Nuni” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm Musician and author Brad Colerick will be visiting to sign books and perform an acoustic set of songs that he’s written! His new book Zintka! began as a song about a Lakota infant who survived the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee and the ensuing three-day blizzard. She was miraculously found alive — saved by the warmth of her mother’s dying body. The song was turned into an award-winning short film with his creative partner Scott Feldmann.
August 7, 2025 Nights at The Joslyn: Storytelling & Poetry Workshop with Matt Mason Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Douglas St. Omaha, 6:00 – 6:45 pm The workshop begins with Matt Mason sharing his poetry, inspired by works in the European collection, followed by writing in the galleries and time to share.
August 7, 2025 Verse & Vibes Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr. Papillion, 6:30 pm An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC.
August 8, 2025 Visiting Writers: Abby E. Murray in Conversation with Ava Winter Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm Join us as poet Ava Winter talks with Abby E. Murray about their second poetry collection Recovery Commands. Selected out of 300 entries as the 2024 winner of the Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Prize, this book explores the intersection of military and civilian life.
August 8, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Chad Christensen & JV Brummels St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 8:00 pm Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Chad Christensen & JV Brummels will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will follow until closing.
August 9, 2025 Fractured Narratives: Memory & Forgetting Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd. Lincoln, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm The stories we share in poems are often incomplete, fractured pieces that follow an emotional logic. How do we decide where to start and where to end? What parts of the story do we tell and what do we omit? We will discuss how imagery “triggers” memory, and how those pieces combine to create narrative poems. In this workshop, we will read sample poems, discuss narrative techniques, and have time to generate our own first drafts. Instructed by Charlie Peck, $50 registration fee.
August 9, 2025 Omaha Poetry Slam The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave, Suite 110, Omaha, 6:30 – 9:00 pm The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)
August 11, 2025 Resonance Beat Poetry Jam Razor Wire Productions Art Gallery & Tattoo, 1808 Vinton St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Wanna try your hand at pairing your writing with music? Or maybe you’ve just never had the sublime experience of hearing the fusion? Either way, we would like to invite you! Named The Resonance for the beautiful ways these artforms play off one another. Sponsored by the Nebraska Poetry Society.
August 12, 2025 Writers’ Workshop with Sarah McKinstry-Brown Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 12:00 – 2:00 pm Join us for this writing workshop led by Nebraska Poet, Sarah McKinstry-Brown. She will inspire you to experience, love, and write poetry. The workshop will start at noon and registration is required. The workshop fee is $15 and will include lunch. Please bring along something to write with and write on.
August 12, 2025 Poetry Reading with Sarah McKinstry-Brown Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 7:00 – 8:00 pm Enjoy an evening of poetry with Nebraska Poet Sarah McKinstry-Brown. She is the author of Cradling Monsoons and This Bright Darkness, and is the recipient of three Nebraska Book Awards, an Academy of American Poets Prize, as well as a Sewanee Writers’ Conference Tennessee Williams Scholarship in poetry and a Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Award.
August 21, 2025 The Poetry Pause Carriage House at Joslyn Castle & Gardens, 3902 Davenport St. Omaha, 5:00 – 8:00 pm Hear two local poets, one seasoned and one just starting to make waves, read their work and chat about why they write. It’s a great place to sit down, cool off, and enjoy something a little different. The poetry is thoughtful, fun, and totally family-friendly, and you’ll even have the chance to ask the poets questions. Stop by and see what poetry sounds like when it’s shared out loud. This month’s poets are Trey Moody and Sarah Larsen. Trey, author of Thought That Nature, brings nationally recognized poetry to Omaha with pieces featured in The Atlantic and The Believer. Sarah is a graduate teaching assistant at UNO and a rising voice in Nebraska’s writing community.
August 21, 2025 Writers in Conversation – Third Thursday with Tyler Jacobs & Presley Shellhase Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd. Lincoln, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Each month Writers in Conversation invites two writers at differing stages of their writing career to share their work and engage one another in conversation about the craft of creative writing. The conversation is then opened to the entire audience for a lively discussion of all things literary. This month features Tyler Jacobs and Presley Shellhase.
August 21, 2025 Book Launch Party: Dr. Addison Killeen’s “The Shift: A Leadership Fable of the Transition from Overwhelm to Focus” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Come celebrate the release of Dr. Addison Killeen’s newest book, The Shift: A Leadership Fable of the Transition from Overwhelm to Focus—a transformational story for leaders in business and beyond. In a world full of distractions, burnout, and reactive decision-making, this book offers a refreshing blueprint for regaining control and building systems that restore clarity, focus, and joy in leadership.
August 21, 2025 Vocal Fry Shirley Tyree Theater, 2401 N 24th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Prepare to be moved, inspired, and electrified at the only spoken word event in Nebraska dedicated solely to the art of expression. This isn’t just another open mic night—it’s a celebration of storytelling and raw emotion, where voices from all walks of life take center stage. Nathan Lachner and State Poet Jewel Rodgers, MCs.
August 22, 2025 Visiting Author: Brandon Scranton “Secrets in the Shadows of House Nassau” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Author Brandon Scranton will be visiting to celebrate his new book Secrets in the Shadows of House Nassau! He will be doing a reading and signing copies of his book.
August 23, 2025 Randomness in Art, Poetry, & Your Life with Brad Modlin Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am What if the out-of-place belonged? In this playful, generative workshop, we’ll explore poems and art that welcome the unexpected—and write our way into surprising connections that just might make perfect sense.
August 23, 2025 Book Launch Celebration: Jaye Viner “The Island of Dreams” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 4:30 – 5:30 pm Nebraska author Jaye Viner will be visiting to celebrate her new fantasy novel The Island of Dreams, an epic fantasy with death gods, disability, and utopia gone wrong, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Alix E Harrow, Peter Pan, George MacDonald, and Penny Dreadful.
August 24, 2025 3rd Annual “The Dog Days of Summer” Poetry Event Parish Center behind St Cecilia’s Cathedral, 39th and Burt Sts. Omaha, 2:00 4:00 pm Bring poems, all poets welcome, listeners welcome. Suggested themes: pet therapy or favorite star systems (Sirus is the dog star rising before the sun). Open mic, Refreshments, Some music.
August 29, 2025 Book Launch Celebration: Jeff Hill “Dark Tendencies and Dirty Secrets “ Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:00 pm From the author of Dead Socials comes a new debut short story collection from Jeff Hill titled Dark Tendencies and Dirty Secrets! Come celebrate with Jeff and get your signed copy.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change. Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.
Is your book club looking for a new read? One Book One Nebraska has you covered with 21 different Nebraska related books to cover! We have 30+ copies of each One Book One Nebraska title for your reading group to borrow in the Nebraska Library Commission Book Club Kit collection. You can learn more about each year’s selection on the One Book One Nebraska NCB page.
Book Club Kits Rules for Use
These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Books Chosen to Represent Nebraska at National Book Festival
“Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder” and “The Long March Home” chosen for the National Book Festival’s Great Reads from Great Places program.
The Nebraska Center for the Book has selected one children’s book and one adult book by Nebraska authors to represent the state at the 2025 National Book Festival: Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder by Carla Ketner, illustrated by Paula Wallace and The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.
Both titles will be part of the National Center for the Book’s Great Reads from GreatPlaces program. Great Reads from Great Places features books and authors representing the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas. For over 20 years this program has included a highlighted youth title from each affiliate center. In 2022, Great Reads from Great Places began including titles for adults for the first time.
This year’s National Book Festival on September 6th will be held in-person in Washington, D.C., but will include many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs celebrating books and authors.
The Festival Near You
This year Nebraskans will have the opportunity to join in the fun with programming during the month of August. The Festival Near You, is a statewide initiative celebrating the 2025 National Book Festival by bringing Nebraska’s Great Reads from Great Places children’s book to communities, and offers Nebraskans a chance to engage with literature close to home.
As part of the programming, four Nebraska libraries, Grand Island, Papillion, Beatrice, and Cozad, will host Carla Ketner for an author visit and presentation. During the month of July, Wahoo Public Library will feature Carla Ketner’s award-winning picture book, Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder, as their July bookwalk and in partnership with TBBS they will have a braille addition to the bookwalk for visually impaired community members to join in on the story. In August, the Braille addition will move to Papillion’s Community Bookwalk. This family-friendly activity encourages readers of all ages to enjoy the story outdoors. During the month of August twenty additional Nebraska Libraries will feature Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder as their community bookwalks. On August 6th, the Nebraska Library Commission will host Carla Ketner on their NCompass Live webinar series to talk about her book, the National Book Festival, and the Great Reads from Great Places program. Find a full list of the communities participating in The Festival Near You bookwalks, details on author visits, and more at https://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/nationalbookfestival.html.
About the Books
“Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder” by Carla Ketner, illustrated by Paula Wallace (University of Nebraska Press, 2023)
“Long before Ted Kooser won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, served as the U.S. Poet Laureate, and wrote award-winning books for children, he was an unathletic child growing up in Iowa, yearning to fit in. Young Teddy found solace in stories, and one specific book, Robert McCloskey’s Lentil, inspired him to become a writer. As a child and later, while working in the insurance industry, Ted honed his craft and unique style as he wrote about the people and places of the rural Midwest. Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder celebrates the power of stories and of finding oneself through words.”
Nebraska’s Great Reads from Great Places book is chosen from the previous year’s Nebraska Book Award winners and this book was awarded the 2024 Nebraska Book Award in the Children’s Book category.
“The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific” by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee (Revell, 2023)
The Long March Home is a historical fiction novel inspired by true stories of friendship, sacrifice, and hope on the Bataan Death March. It is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope. “In this tour de force from Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) and Lee (A Single Light), four friends’ lives change irrevocably when America becomes embroiled in WWII. Brotherton and Lee masterfully capture what it was like for soldiers to face war’s atrocities, as well as the heartbreak of those waiting for them back home. This is a winner.” ― Publishers Weekly
Chosen as the 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection, libraries across Nebraska and other literary and cultural organizations have participated in book discussions, activities, and events that encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book.
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 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 Laurie Yocum, Wilson Public Library Director.
Review of Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.
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As a public librarian, I try to read outside my normal adult picks so that I can recommend books to youth, young adults, and parents. This weekend I picked up Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.
On my social media, I called it lovely, and it truly is. It is a quick ready, as it is targeted at those who are 9-12. Told from the viewpoint of Red, an oak tree who has seen many-a-thing in his neighborhood, the book is ultimately about immigration, discrimination, friendship, and community, all told in a way that is easily understandable. I also found the ending, on wishing day, satisfying. This would be an excellent read-aloud.
Make a splash by participating in these summer literary events! If you’re looking for something to do in July, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
July 1, 2025 Hadara Bar-Nadav Poetry Reading & Discussion Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Hadara Bar-Nadav’s latest book casts spells and confronts illusions, ignites grief and awe, and challenges our assumptions about what it means to heal our bodies, our families, and our shared histories.
July 2, 2025 Book Discussion: “Long March Home” with Author Tosca Lee John A. Stahl Library, 330 North Colfax St. West Point, 12:00 pm Join me at the library for a talk about 2025 One Book One Nebraska The Long March Home and more about the writing of this novel with friend and co-author Marcus Brotherton. Books will be available for purchase.
July 3, 2025 Verse & Vibes Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr. Papillion, 6:30 pm An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC.
July 4, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Cliff Taylor Zoom, 12:00 pm Cliff Taylor (enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska) is an award-winning writer, poet, speaker, and storyteller. He is the author of several books, including Notes of an Indigenous Futurist (Hema Press) and the recent essay collection The Shining Hands of My Ponca Ancestors (NDSU Press). A Nebraskan through and through, he currently lives on the Oregon Coast with his sweetheart of many years.
July 7, 2025 Illustrator Visit with Chloe Burgett W. Clarke Swanson Branch, 9101 W. Dodge Rd. Omaha, 10:00 – 11:00 am Join children’s book illustrator, Chloe Burgett, as she shares what it’s like drawing pictures for children’s books. Chloe will present about her job, read her book, answer questions, and lead a draw-along activity. This is a free event for children of all ages. Parents/caregivers must remain with their child(ren) for the duration of the program. Registration is required.
July 10, 2025 Stories and Rhymes for Difficult Times: Cultivating our Emotional Heritage with Jerry Bockoven Norfolk Public Library, 308 W. Prospect Ave, Norfolk, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Marrying art with psychology, the presentation will use the language of poetry and storytelling to address ways to manage such emotional challenges as depression, anxiety, anger and grief. This presentation is part of Humanities Nebraska’s Speakers Bureau.
July 11, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Jewel Rodgers St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 8:00 pm Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Katie Marya and Jessica Poli will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will follow until closing.
July 12, 2025 Adapting Classical Mythology with Maria Zoccola Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am Discover how mythology shapes how we see ourselves and the world. In this workshop, you’ll explore how ancient stories shape modern identity, power, and beauty — and create your own myth-inspired poems that speak to today’s truths and transformations.
July 12, 2025 Omaha Poetry Slam The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave, Suite 110, Omaha, 6:30 – 9:00 pm The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)
July 14, 2025 Resonance Beat Poetry Jam Razor Wire Productions Art Gallery & Tattoo, 1808 Vinton St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Wanna try your hand at pairing your writing with music? Or maybe you’ve just never had the sublime experience of hearing the fusion? Either way, we would like to invite you! Named The Resonance for the beautiful ways these artforms play off one another. Sponsored by the Nebraska Poetry Society.
July 17, 2025 The Poetry Pause Carriage House at Joslyn Castle & Gardens, 3902 Davenport St. Omaha, 5:00 – 8:00 pm Hear two local poets, one seasoned and one just starting to make waves, read their work and chat about why they write. It’s a great place to sit down, cool off, and enjoy something a little different. The poetry is thoughtful, fun, and totally family-friendly, and you’ll even have the chance to ask the poets questions. Stop by and see what poetry sounds like when it’s shared out loud. This month’s poets are Todd Robinson and Luke Koesters. Todd,aka “The Toddfather,” is a beloved Omaha poet and educator with books from Backwaters Press and Main Street Rag, and decades of teaching and community leadership. Luke is a queer, Asian-American poet and MFA candidate whose work explores identity and expression through a contemporary lens.
July 17, 2025 Vocal Fry Shirley Tyree Theater, 2401 N 24th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Prepare to be moved, inspired, and electrified at the only spoken word event in Nebraska dedicated solely to the art of expression. This isn’t just another open mic night—it’s a celebration of storytelling and raw emotion, where voices from all walks of life take center stage. Nathan Lachner and State Poet Jewel Rodgers, MCs.
July 29, 2025 Reflections in Verse: An Ekphrastic Writing Workshop Inspired by Seeing Double Assemblage Gallery, 1828 N St. Lincoln, 4:30 – 7:00 pm Inspired by the gallery’s latest exhibition, Seeing Double, this ekphrastic writing workshop invites participants to explore artwork that plays with duality, mirrored forms, and layered meaning in both image and concept. We’ll begin with a guided walk through the gallery led by art curator, Anne Pagel, taking time to find the pieces that speak to us most. Then, poet and teaching artist Zedeka Poindexter will lead participants through generative writing prompts designed to spark poetic and narrative responses to the visual work. This is more than just a gallery visit—it’s an opportunity to engage deeply with art and build new creative work that begins with the visual and transforms through words. All levels of writing experience are welcome. Come curious and leave with fresh reflections of your own. Limit 12 participants.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change. Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.
The sun is shining and fun summer events are waiting! If you’re looking for something to do in June, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
June 2, 2025 Adult Summer Reading Program Kickoff: Tosca Lee Author Visit Grand Island Public Library, 1124 W 2nd St. Grand Island, 5:30 pm Join Nebraska author and New York Times best-seller Tosca Lee as we kick off our Adult Summer Reading Program! Enjoy a talk about the history behind the 2025 One Book One Nebraska pick, The Long March Home: A WWII Novel of the Pacific and more about the writing of this novel with friend and co-author Marcus Brotherton.
June 3, 2025 John Brehm Poetry Reading & Discussion Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Brehm’s poems explore the darkest and brightest moments of our lives. Some show a path forward and others simply acknowledge and empathize with where we are, but all touch deep inside our hearts and into a greater connection with the world around us.
June 5-7, 2025 70th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference The National Willa Cather Center, 413 N Webster St. Red Cloud, All Day Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley will give a talk on “Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer” to mark the conclusion of a year-long celebration of Cather’s 1918 novel as a title selected by the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2024-2025 Big Read program. Additional conference programs will celebrate the 100th publication anniversary of Cather’s 1925 novel The Professor’s House. This year’s theme invites Cather scholars and enthusiasts to explore not only the literal landscapes and rooms her characters inhabit, but also the cultural, historical, and environmental realities that do, or in some cases, do not, inform her work.
June 5, 2025 Local Author Celebration Series: Amy Forss Joslyn Castle Carriage House, 3902 Davenport St. Omaha, 5:30 pm Join for an evening with local author, Dr. Amy Forss! She is the author of the award-winning biography, Black Print with a White Carnation as well as the non-fiction children’s book, Newspapers & Butter Pecan Ice Cream, and Borrowing from Our Foremothers. Forss is currently creating a non-fiction children’s book on micro-preemie babies illustrated by gallery artist Alissa Hansen for national release.
June 5, 2025 Verse & Vibes Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr. Papillion, 6:30 pm An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC.
June 6, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Jewel Rodgers Zoom, 12:00 pm Jewel Rodgers is the 2025-2029 State Poet of Nebraska, a three-time OEAA nominee for Best Performance Poet in Omaha. An interdisciplinary poet, performer, and visual artist, Jewel is also an urban engagement specialist, youth coach, and spatial practitioner in the Midwest. As a spoken word poet, Jewel offers her skill to support social intervention, as with her contributions to The Women’s March and the Charlottesville Vigil in Lincoln, NE. Her work frequently supports mentorship endeavors like UNL’s Husker Dialogues Diversity Training for incoming college freshmen and various community engagement efforts that support the needs of the City of Omaha. She is also a contributing member of the Nebraska Writers Collective’s All Writes Reserved Festival as a slam coach and workshop facilitator.
June 9, 2025 Resonance Beat Poetry Jam Razor Wire Productions Art Gallery & Tattoo, 1808 Vinton St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Wanna try your hand at pairing your writing with music? Or maybe you’ve just never had the sublime experience of hearing the fusion? Either way, we would like to invite you! Named The Resonance for the beautiful ways these artforms play off one another. Sponsored by the Nebraska Poetry Society.
June 13, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Jewel Rodgers St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 8:00 pm Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Jewel Rodgers will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will follow until closing.
June 14, 21, & 28, 2025 Getting Real: Taking Your Writing to the Next Level Zoom, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm It’s an irony of the writing life: the better you get at writing, the harder it is to improve. After publishing a few stories or essays, you might wonder if you have stalled out. Whether you are looking to break into publishing in literary journals or have your sights set on more commercial markets, this class offers practical strategies and support for getting there. Through mini-lectures, reading, conversation, and writing exercises, we will make an honest assessment of where we are in our writing lives and what it is we really want from them. We will take inventory of what might be holding us back and what our next steps might look like. Instructed by Steve Edwards, author of the memoir Breaking into the Backcountry and essayist. Limit: 12 participants. Nonmember price: $150.
June 14, 2025 Omaha Poetry Slam The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave, Suite 110, Omaha, 6:30 – 9:00 pm The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)
June 14, 2025 Playlist: Turning Songs Into Poetry Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am Turn the songs that shaped you into poems. Some songs are a way of time travel where we listen to a song from our youth and hear it both right now and in those moments years ago. In this workshop, we’ll explore how those moments spark with memory and experience. Led by Matt Mason.
June 18, 2025 Vocal Fry Shirley Tyree Theater, 2401 N 24th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Prepare to be moved, inspired, and electrified at the only spoken word event in Nebraska dedicated solely to the art of expression. This isn’t just another open mic night—it’s a celebration of storytelling and raw emotion, where voices from all walks of life take center stage. Nathan Lachner and State Poet Jewel Rodgers, MCs.
June 19, 2025 The Poetry Pause Carriage House at Joslyn Castle & Gardens, 3902 Davenport St. Omaha, 5:00 – 8:00 pm Hear two local poets, one seasoned and one just starting to make waves, read their work and chat about why they write. It’s a great place to sit down, cool off, and enjoy something a little different. The poetry is thoughtful, fun, and totally family-friendly, and you’ll even have the chance to ask the poets questions. Stop by and see what poetry sounds like when it’s shared out loud. This month’s poets are Emily Anderson and Rayni Wekluk. Emily brings her love of language from the classroom to the stage with wit and warmth, while Rayni taps into everyday life and humor to make her poetry relatable and thought-provoking.
June 19, 2025 Book Launch Celebration with Kwame Gyamfi: “Prism of Perspectives: The Life and Names of Kwame Gyamfi” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Join for Juneteenth book launch celebration! Kwame Gyamfi has lived several lives, and very few people know all of them. With the help of four writers, he tells his story of being abandoned as a child and experiencing fosster care, adoption, gang violence, and prision. Along the way, he discovered sports, music, beauty, and love, which could shape him into the mentor and man he is today.
June 26, 2025 Nebraska Poet, Nebraska Poetry Broken Bow Public Library, 626 S. D St. Broken Bow, 4:00 – 5:00 pm Matt Mason will speak about the history of slam poetry and how it has evolved.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change. Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.
Nebraska literary events May just be the thing you need this month! If you’re looking for something to do in May, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
May 1, 2025 Author Visit: Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis – “Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 2:00 – 3:00 pm Join author, activist, preacher, and Senior Minister of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis for a special book talk and signing. Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World is a healing antidote to our divisive culture, full of evocative storytelling, spiritual wisdom, and nine essential daily practices—by the first female, Black senior minister at the historic Collegiate Churches of New York.
May 1, 2025 Verse & Vibes Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr. Papillion, 6:30 pm An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC.
May 2, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Sean Doolittle Zoom, 12:00 pm Sean Doolittle is the author of several crime and suspense novels. His books have received the Barry Award and the International Thriller Writers Award, among other honors. His latest is Device Free Weekend, where seven friends, one eccentric billionaire, are on an all-expenses paid reunion on a private island with one catch: no phones, tablets or laptops allowed. It’ll be a weekend to remember–for those who make it out alive.
May 2, 2025 Latin American Literature: Stories and Poems with Luis Othoniel Rosa, Sarah Banderas & Iliana Rosabal-Pérez Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Enjoy Latin American stories and poems with a book launch celebration! Join Luis Othoniel Rosa (Puerto Rico) with Triste la furia / Sadness, The Fury, Sarah Banderas (México) with Relatos caseros de una vida ordinaria & Iliana Rosabal-Pérez (Cuba) with Quinta necesidad / Fifth Necessity.
May 2, 2025 Toddfather and Friends Pageturners Lounge, 5004 Dodge St. Omaha, 6:00 pm Live poetry at the lounge! Acclaimed local poet Todd Robinson and a dozen other incredible writers will take the stage to share their work. Join for a lovely evening or forever be haunted by the reading that got away!
May 3, 2025 Nebraska Warrior Writers: Omaha Workshop with John Price Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s Baldwin Center, Conference Room, 9777 M St. Omaha, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Nebraska Warrior Writers is a program designed to help veterans and active duty military personnel express their thoughts and feelings in words. Participants need only be interested in writing in any form – they do not need to have any previous writing experience to benefit from the workshops. Facilitated by professional writing instructors Jen Stastny and Cindy Cronn, the workshops consist of 6-8 biweekly sessions focused on developing strategies and skills. Model texts are read and discussed by the group to help participants identify how good writing is built and to allow writing practice with immediate feedback. Writers develop a strong bond as they encourage each other. All Nebraska Warrior Writers, past and present, are welcome to attend and each week alternates a guest presenter. This week is John Price, University of Nebraska Omaha’s Director of the Department of English’s Creative Nonfiction Writing program.
May 3, 2025 Bethany in Bloom Larksong Writers Place, 1600 N Cotner Blvd. Lincoln, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm After a 10-year hiatus, the Bethany in Bloom neighborhood festival is blossoming back to life—and Larksong is proud to be a part of it. The shops and businesses all along N. Cotner Blvd from Holdrege to Aylesworth streets will be celebrating spring! Vendors, music, community service organizations, and neighbors will all be gathering for a day of building community and having fun. Enjoy a Write-a-Thon, book sale, story starter quest, slam poetry showcase, and more!
May 3, 2025 Opera Omaha Poetry & Music Project Concert Omaha Conservatory of Music, 7023 Cass St. Omaha, 1:00 – 2:30 pm Now in its 8th year, the Poetry & Music Project connects student poets and their words with composers to create original music and explore the connections between poetry and music. This program appears with support from the Nebraska Writers Collective, Humanities Nebraska and more.
May 3, 2025 Visiting Author: R.F. McEwen – “Old Rags and Iron: New and Selected Poems” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 4:30 – 5:30 pm Recently published by the University of Nebraska Press as part of the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry Series, Old Rags and Iron: New and Selected Poems is R.F. McEwen’s latest work. It’s a collection of narrative poems about the life experiences of working-class people with whom he is not only acquainted, but with whose lives he has shared.
May 4, 2025 Salon Reading Series: “Chiaroscuro” Turbine Flats, 2124 Y St. Lincoln, 2:00 - 3:30 pm Each Salon Reading Series event features a reading of a play followed by a moderated discussion of the play’s themes and how these themes apply to the community. The theme for 2024-25 is “Hold On.” This theme will explore concepts of holding on and letting go. Join for the final 2024-25 Salon Reading Series Event with Chiaroscuro by Brian Bornstein, directed by Mark Mesarch. Michelangelo Merisi, a leading artist of his time, was neglected for several centuries before gaining renewed appreciation. Known now as Caravaggio, he is regarded as one of the most talented and influential painters of the late Renaissance, whose chiaroscuro style continues to be taught and copied. Through an exploration of Caravaggio’s life and work, the play examines the nature of genius, the role of the media, and the relation of art to celebrity and madness.
May 4, 2025 Spilled Ink: A Poetry Workshop Talkington Apothecary, 135 N Main St. Rushville, 5:00 – 6:00 pm Lets spill our ink one final time, embracing the transformation we’ve sparked within ourselves. A space for EVERYONE to dive deep into their emotions through the art of poetry. Here, we explore vulnerability, raw feelings, and the power of words to heal connect, and transform. Join us to unlock your voice, spill your ink, and share your truth.
May 6, 2025 Book Launch: Ted Genoways – “Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Join Ted Genoways, author of the 2019 One Book One Nebraska selection This Blessed Earth, as he talks about his new book Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico. In this work of non-fiction, Genoways dives into the life of José Cuervo and how he impacted not only the business of tequila, but also how international relations between Mexico and the United States played out.
May 6, 2025 Wilson Public Library Visit with Tosca Lee Wilson Public Library, 910 Meridian Ave. Cozad, 6:00 pm Join Nebraska author and New York Times best-seller Tosca Lee at the library in Cozad, where she’ll be talking about the research behind 2025’s One Book One Nebraska pick, The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific and how co-author Marcus Brotherton and her teamed up to write this novel about one of the darkest chapters in WWII history inspired by real-life stories of brotherhood, hope, and sacrifice. Books will be available for purchase.
May 6, 2025 Jeff Alessandrelli Poetry Reading & Discussion Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Jeff’s poetry interrogates how deep senselessness runs in a post-truth and truthiness world. Jeff Alessandrelli is most recently the author of the book “And Yet”. The Kenyon Review called his 2019 poetry collection “Fur Not Light” an “example of radical humility…its poems enact a quiet but persistent empathy in the world of creative writing.”
May 7, 2025 Virtual Writing Workshop with Ramya Ramana | For YOUTH Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Join award-winning poet, author, and lyricist Ramya Ramana for a virtual writing workshop for YOUTH! This event is FREE to attend and will be held on Zoom. The workshop will focus on the intersection of healing and poetry. This event is supported by Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
May 7, 2025 Salon Reading Series: “Chiaroscuro” Eastmont Living Performing Arts Center, 6315 O St. Lincoln, 6:30 - 8:00 pm Each Salon Reading Series event features a reading of a play followed by a moderated discussion of the play’s themes and how these themes apply to the community. The theme for 2024-25 is “Hold On.” This theme will explore concepts of holding on and letting go. Join for the final 2024-25 Salon Reading Series Event with Chiaroscuro by Brian Bornstein, directed by Mark Mesarch. Michelangelo Merisi, a leading artist of his time, was neglected for several centuries before gaining renewed appreciation. Known now as Caravaggio, he is regarded as one of the most talented and influential painters of the late Renaissance, whose chiaroscuro style continues to be taught and copied. Through an exploration of Caravaggio’s life and work, the play examines the nature of genius, the role of the media, and the relation of art to celebrity and madness.
May 8, 2025 Lies and Evasions: How Subtext Increases Reader Engagement in Every Genre of Writing Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 12:00 – 2:30 pm Join poet Bruce E. Whitacre in a writing workshop about “subtext”, a key feature of dramatic writing. It is defined as the unstated or implied meaning of a passage of dialogue. Words that imply but do not directly express meaning leave room for actors to deepen their interpretations of the moment, and for readers to put themselves more vividly in the shoes of the speaker or character. Examples from film, poetry and prose, exploration and discussion of the technique, and a brief writing exercise will help bring new tools to writers in every genre.
May 8, 2025 Visiting Author: Liese Greensfelder with Roger Holmes — “Accidental Shepherd: How a California Girl Rescued an Ancient Mountain Farm in Norway” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 7:30 pm In May 1972, twenty-year-old Liese Greensfelder arrived in a small Norwegian town prepared for her first summer farmhand job, only to learn the startling news that she’d need to singlehandedly watch over the centuries-old farm while its owner recovered from a stroke. Confronted with dangers and obstacles for which she was utterly unprepared, she tells a story of remarkable resilience and records the fascinating but rapidly vanishing traditions of the community that took her in in her newly released book Accidental Shepherd: How a California Girl Rescued an Ancient Mountain Farm in Norway. Liese will be in conversation with Lincoln woodworker, writer, and editor Roger Holmes. Book signing to follow the conversation.
May 8, 2025 Resonance Beat Poetry Jam Razor Wire Productions Art Gallery & Tattoo, 1808 Vinton St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Wanna try your hand at pairing your writing with music? Or maybe you’ve just never had the sublime experience of hearing the fusion? Either way, we would like to invite you! Named The Resonance for the beautiful ways these artforms play off one another. Sponsored by the Nebraska Poetry Society.
May 9, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Julie S. Paschold St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 8:00 pm Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Julie S. Paschold will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will follow until closing.
May 10, 2025 Nebraska Warrior Writers: Lincoln Workshop with Tina Le Pius X High School, Conference Room, 6000 A S. (West Entrance 11) Lincoln, 9:00 – 11:00 am Nebraska Warrior Writers is a program designed to help veterans and active duty military personnel express their thoughts and feelings in words. Participants need only be interested in writing in any form – they do not need to have any previous writing experience to benefit from the workshops. Facilitated by professional writing instructors Tom Seib and Terri Dimon, the workshops consist of 6-8 biweekly sessions focused on developing strategies and skills. Model texts are read and discussed by the group to help participants identify how good writing is built and to allow writing practice with immediate feedback. Writers develop a strong bond as they encourage each other. All Nebraska Warrior Writers, past and present, are welcome to attend and each week alternates a guest presenter. This week has Tina Le, Nebraska Writers Collective Core Teaching Artist and member of the Nebraska Writing Project advisory board.
May 10, 2025 Therapy Session Poetry and Live Music Night: “Down But Not Defeated” Sozo Coffeehouse, 1314 Jones St. Omaha, 6:30 – 10:00 pm Join us for a poetry experience like no other-where sobriety, healing, and artistry collide. This is more than a show-it’s a safe space for emotional release, creative expression, and connection with community. Expect a night filled with Spoken word performances, Vendor Lounge, Live music artists, Crafted mocktails, Sound bowl meditation and more. $15. Limited seats.
May 10, 2025 Omaha Poetry Slam The Local Art Plug, 1722 St. Marys Ave. Suite 110 Omaha, 6:30 – 9:00 pm The Nebraska Writers Collective proudly presents the Omaha Poetry Slam, a monthly open mic and poetry slam, held on the second Saturday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. We will start at 7 p.m. with an open mic and then the competitive individual slam! Sign up at the event. (If you plan to compete in the slam, bring three poems.)
May 13, 2025 Writers’ Workshop with Sarah McKinstry-Brown Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 12:00 – 2:00 pm Join us for this writing workshop led by award-winning Nebraska Poet, Sarah McKinstry-Brown. She will inspire you to experience, love, and write poetry. Registration is required. The workshop fee is $15 and will include lunch.
May 13, 2025 Poetry Reading with Sarah McKinstry-Brown Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 7:00 – 8:00 pm Enjoy an evening of poetry with award-winning Nebraska Poet Sarah McKinstry-Brown. She will inspire you to experience, love, and write poetry. Free and open to the public.
May 13, 2025 Common Senses Festival Presents: Voices Untethered Benson Theatre, 6054 Maple S. Omaha, 7:30 – 9:30 pm Common Senses welcomes writers of all disciplines to the Benson Theatre for a curated poetry showcase featuring activist, educator, and poet Lateef McLeod along with participants from the Common Senses writing workshop series led by Nebraska Writers Collective Teaching Artists Ben Wenzl and Bridigt Pollpeter. Readers will share their work with powerful themes like voice and identity, and audience members will have the opportunity to engage with writers living and creating at the intersection of ability and poetry. You won’t want to miss this evening of community, joy, and creativity!
May 14, 2025 Virtual Writing Workshop with Ramya Ramana | For ADULTS Zoom, 6:00 – 7:30 pm This workshop invites adult writers of all experience levels to explore poetry as a space for reflection and healing. Led by internationally acclaimed poet Ramya Ramana, participants will engage in generative writing and guided prompts that explore personal and collective transformation through the written word. The workshop will focus on the intersection of healing and poetry.
May 15, 2025 Vocal Fry Shirley Tyree Theater, 2401 N 24th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Prepare to be moved, inspired, and electrified at the only spoken word event in Nebraska dedicated solely to the art of expression. This isn’t just another open mic night—it’s a celebration of storytelling and raw emotion, where voices from all walks of life take center stage. Nathan Lachner and State Poet Jewel Rodgers, MCs.
May 17, 2025 The Others with Kiara Nicole Letcher Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am Discover the eerie in poetry! This workshop explores poems that deal with the supernatural. We’ll unveil hidden meanings in the seen and unseen, then craft your own paranormal verses. Join us for a journey beyond the ordinary and into the world of peculiar poetry. Led by Kiara Nicole Letcher.
May 17, 2025 Nebraska Warrior Writers: Omaha Workshop with Karla Hernandez Torrijos Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s Baldwin Center, Conference Room, 9777 M St. Omaha, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Nebraska Warrior Writers is a program designed to help veterans and active duty military personnel express their thoughts and feelings in words. Participants need only be interested in writing in any form – they do not need to have any previous writing experience to benefit from the workshops. Facilitated by professional writing instructors Jen Stastny and Cindy Cronn, the workshops consist of 6-8 biweekly sessions focused on developing strategies and skills. Model texts are read and discussed by the group to help participants identify how good writing is built and to allow writing practice with immediate feedback. Writers develop a strong bond as they encourage each other. All Nebraska Warrior Writers, past and present, are welcome to attend and each week alternates a guest presenter. This week is poet and workshop facilitator Karla Hernandez Torrijos.
May 17, 2025 Free Museum Day, Featuring Author Tosca Lee and BAT Academy Art Studio The John G. Neihardt State Historic Site, 306 W. Elm St. Bancroft, 12:00 – 4:00 pm Join Nebraska author and New York Times best-seller Tosca Lee in Bancroft at the John G. Neihardt Historical Site for Free Museum Day! Enjoy a celebration of community and books! She will be talking about the history and writing of The Long March Home: a WWII Novel of the Pacific, the 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection, followed by the Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools Artwork Opening Reception. Student artwork will be on display at the Neihardt Center through the summer. Light refreshments will be offered at the reception.
May 19, 2025 Battlefield Book Club with Author Tosca Lee Sump Memorial Library, 222 N Jefferson St. Papillion, 6:00 pm Join Nebraska author and New York Times best-seller Tosca Lee and members of the Battlefield Book Club at the Sump Memorial Library to talk about the 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection The Long March Home: A WWII Novel of the Pacific – including the stories and history behind the books and its aftermath.
May 21, 2025 Virtual Writing Workshop with Ramya Ramana | For ADULTS Zoom, 6:00 – 7:30 pm This workshop invites adult writers of all experience levels to explore poetry as a space for reflection and healing. Led by internationally acclaimed poet Ramya Ramana, participants will engage in generative writing and guided prompts that explore personal and collective transformation through the written word. The workshop will focus on the intersection of healing and poetry.
May 25-31, 2025 2025 New Play Festival Metropolitan Community College, Fort Omaha Campus, Swanson Conference Center, 5730 N 30th St. Bldg 22 Omaha, 9:30 am – 8:30 pm (time varies by day) The New Play Festival was founded in 2006 by Metropolitan Community College and continues, now that the GPTC is its own nonprofit, as a vibrant community partnership between the two organizations. During the Festival, local and national playwrights, actors, directors, dramaturgs, designers and Omaha community members, share a week of stories, workshops, readings, meals, performances and celebrations. All public festival events are free to attend. Make sure to check out the schedule and the lineup of featured playwrights, artists, dramaturgs, and directors!
May 31, 2025 Poetry Meets Memoir with Anastacia Reneé Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am In this genre-bending workshop we will collectively and independently explore and interrogate stories, communal folklore and our archival of memories. We will lay our memories (from multiple points of view) out and jigsaw them to create first drafts of The Haibun, and The Nines poems. Facilitated by Anastacia Reneé: queer writer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, playwright, former radio host, TEDX speaker, and podcaster.
May 31, 2025 Nebraska Warrior Writers: Omaha Workshop with Jewel Rodgers Nebraska Wildlife Rehab’s Baldwin Center, Conference Room, 9777 M St. Omaha, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Nebraska Warrior Writers is a program designed to help veterans and active duty military personnel express their thoughts and feelings in words. Participants need only be interested in writing in any form – they do not need to have any previous writing experience to benefit from the workshops. Facilitated by professional writing instructors Jen Stastny and Cindy Cronn, the workshops consist of 6-8 biweekly sessions focused on developing strategies and skills. Model texts are read and discussed by the group to help participants identify how good writing is built and to allow writing practice with immediate feedback. Writers develop a strong bond as they encourage each other. All Nebraska Warrior Writers, past and present, are welcome to attend and each week alternates a guest presenter. This week’s guest is Nebraska State Poet Jewel Rodgers.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change. Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.
Looking for more ways to engage readers with #OneBookOneNebraska? We now have bookmarks for 2025’s selection, “The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific” by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.
April is here and literary events are in full bloom! If you’re looking for something to do in April, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
April 1, 2025 Visiting Author: Karen Russell in conversation with Judi M. Gaiashkibos “The Antidote” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 - 6:30 pm Pulitzer prize finalist Karen Russsell will be presenting her new novel The Antidote, “a gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.”
April 1, 2025 Steve Langan Poetry Reading & Discussion Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm Modern-day parables that take stock of our society at the turn of the century. Steve Langan lived in Omaha for many years and now he lives in Maine. He graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he received the James Michener Postgraduate Fellowship.
April 2, 2025 Lunch at the Library with Tosca Lee Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 S 14th St. Lincoln, 12:10 pm Tosca Lee will discuss her book The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific. This program is free, with coffee provided. People are encouraged to bring their own lunch if they’d like.
April 2, 2025 UNO Writer’s Workshop 2025 Reading Series: Poet Susan Aizenberg University of Nebraska Omaha, UNO Art Gallery, 6505 University Dr S. Omaha, 7:30 pm Susan Aizenberg’s newest collection is A Walk with Frank O’Hara: Poems (University of New Mexico Press/Mary Burritt Christiansen Poetry Series 2024.) She’s also the author of two earlier full-length collections, Quiet City (BkMk 2015) and Muse (Crab Orchard 2002) and co-editor with Erin Belieu of The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women (Columbia UP 2001). Aizenberg is professor emerita at Creighton University and now lives and writes in Iowa City, Iowa.
April 3, 2025 Verse & Vibes Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr. Papillion, 6:30 pm An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC.
April 4, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading with Jamie Wendt Zoom, 12:00 pm Jamie Wendt will read and discuss her poetry collection Laughing in Yiddish, which was a finalist for the 2022 Philip Levine Prize in Poetry. The poems span geography and time, from Wendt’s ancestral roots in Russia to her family’s more recent life in Chicago, passing through pogroms and flight to “poverty and perseverance.”
April 5, 2025 From Rage to Page: The Role of Anger in Poetry of Witness Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am A workshop to channel your fury into powerful poetry! We will explore the evolution of poetry of witness and the response poem. Together, we’ll embrace righteous indignation and write against the forces of oppression. This is not fine—let’s whine, resist, and create! Led by Raena Shirali.
April 5, 2025 Reading with Matt Mason Wymore Public Library, 116 W F St. Wymore, 1:00 pm Join former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason as he holds a reading at the Wymore Public Library.
April 5, 2025 Giving Voice to Art: An Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop Zoom, 2:00 – 3:30 pm Join Chicago poet and teacher, Jamie Wendt, as she discusses her approach to writing ekphrastic poems, which are poems inspired by works of art. Participants will read and discuss some ekphrastic poems written by diverse poets and will note a range of possibilities as well as how writing ekphrastic poems is a creative way to be in conversation with visual artists. Participants will have an opportunity to generate their own drafts of ekphrastic poems inspired by photographs and paintings. Participants are encouraged to bring an old photograph of a family member or of an important historical place, or bring a link to a painting online from an art museum that relates to a topic of interest.
April 5, 2025 Youth Poet Laureate Finals Ceremony Samuel Bak Museum, 2289 South 67th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm The 2025/26 Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate will be announced at UNO’s Samuel Bak Museum! Five finalists will take the stage alongside outgoing Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate and Midwest Youth Poet Laureate runner-up, Miranda Davis. Doors open at 6:30pm. This event put on by the Nebraska Writers Collective.
April 6, 2025 Salon Reading Series: “Wasabia” Turbine Flats, 2124 Y St. Lincoln, 2:00 - 3:30 pm Each Salon Reading Series event features a reading of a play followed by a moderated discussion of the play’s themes and how these themes apply to the community. The theme for 2024-25 is “Hold On.” This theme will explore concepts of holding on and letting go. This month is Wasabia by Wendy Herlich. Vivian, staring down the barrel of dementia, and Carla, desperate to shine as a young hospice volunteer, strike up an unlikely friendship, which is thrown into question when Vivian enlists Carla’s help in getting life-ending drugs from a hapless musician. The drugs themselves are characters in this dark comedy, which alternates between naturalism and the surreal as it explores one woman’s experience with medically assisted dying.
April 7, 2025 UNO Writer’s Workshop 2025 Reading Series: Poet & Essayist Camille T. Dungy University of Nebraska Omaha, MBSC Nebraska Room, 6203 S University Dr Rd N. Omaha, 7:30 pm Camille T. Dungy is the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (Simon & Schuster: May 2023). She has also written Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and four collections of poetry, including Trophic Cascade, winner of the Colorado Book Award. Dungy edited Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. Dungy is the poetry editor for Orion magazine. Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, 100 Best African American Poems, Best American Essays, The 1619 Project, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, and venues including The New Yorker, Poetry, Literary Hub, The Paris Review, and Poets.org.
April 9, 2025 Salon Reading Series: “Wasabia” Eastmont Living Performing Arts Center, 6315 O St. Lincoln, 6:30 - 8:00 pm Each Salon Reading Series event features a reading of a play followed by a moderated discussion of the play’s themes and how these themes apply to the community. The theme for 2024-25 is “Hold On.” This theme will explore concepts of holding on and letting go. This month is Wasabia by Wendy Herlich. Vivian, staring down the barrel of dementia, and Carla, desperate to shine as a young hospice volunteer, strike up an unlikely friendship, which is thrown into question when Vivian enlists Carla’s help in getting life-ending drugs from a hapless musician. The drugs themselves are characters in this dark comedy, which alternates between naturalism and the surreal as it explores one woman’s experience with medically assisted dying.
April 10, 2025 Writers’ Workshop with Matt Mason Kearney Public Library, Both Platte Rooms, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 12:00 pm Celebrate National Poetry Month with this writing workshop led by Nebraska State Poet Emeritus, Matt Mason. Matt will inspire you to experience, love, and write poetry. There is a $15 fee for this workshop with lunch being included.
April 10, 2025 Poetry Reading with Matt Mason Kearney Public Library, Both Platte Rooms, 2020 1st Ave. Kearney, 7:00 – 8:00 pm Enjoy an evening of poetry with former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason. He will read favorites from his books and more!
April 10, 2025 Resonance Beat Poetry Jam Razor Wire Productions Art Gallery & Tattoo, 1808 Vinton St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Wanna try your hand at pairing your writing with music? Or maybe you’ve just never had the sublime experience of hearing the fusion? Either way, we would like to invite you! Named The Resonance for the beautiful ways these artforms play off one another. Sponsored by the Nebraska Poetry Society. Nathan Lachner, MC.
April 11, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Twyla Hansen St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St. Lincoln, 5:30 – 8:00 pm Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Twyla Hansen will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will follow until closing.
April 13, 2025 Reading, Discussion, & Workshop with Matt Mason York University Prayer Chapel, 900 Mayhew Ave. York, 2:00 – 5:00 pm Join former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason as he holds a reading, discussion and workshop.
April 15, 2025 All Writes Reserved Semi-Finals Bouts Benson Theatre, 6054 Maple St. Omaha, 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm All Writes Reserved is an annual youth spoken word festival and competition featuring schools from all over Nebraska and the Great Plains. The top youth poets from this year’s festival are one step closer to the championship! Across two nights of electrifying performances, they’ll bring their best work to the stage, competing for a spot in the All Writes Reserved Finals—and the coveted Pop-Tarts. Be part of the audience that listens, cheers, and celebrates the power of youth voices.
April 15, 2025 Poetry Showcase & Discussion Nebraska Prairie Museum, 2713 Burlington St. Holdrege, 6:00 – 7:30 pm Former Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason gives a talk as part of the Iron Horse Poetry Showcase at the Nebraska Prairie Museum. Local poets Alizabeth McDermott, Andrea Skiles, and Madison Gerken will read and Matt Mason will discuss how poetry took a turn for the difficult about 110 years ago and how it’s coming back as a relevant and important form of storytelling and connection.
April 16, 2025 Visiting Author: Ken Meter “Building Community Food Web” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 - 6:30 pm Join as we welcome Ken Meter, one of the most experienced food system analysts in the U.S., as he signs and discusses his book! In Building Community Food Webs, Ken Meter shows how grassroots leaders across the U.S. are constructing civic networks to create healthier and more equitable food systems. Overturning extractive economic structures, these inspired food leaders are engaging low-income residents, farmers, and local organizations in their quest to build stronger communities.
April 16, 2025 UNO Writer’s Workshop 2025 Reading Series: Screenwriter Christine Burright Benson Theater, 6054 Maple St. Omaha, 7:30 pm Christine Burright is a screenwriter currently based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Her television pilots and screenplays have been named finalists in NBC Writers on the Verge, Launch Pad Pilots, Atlanta Film Festival and the John Milius Screenwriting Award, and have competed in festivals from Los Angeles to Berlin. Her first produced feature screenplay The Headliner premiered 2024 and will be available on streaming in 2025. Christine directs and produces short films and is the half of animation and production studio, Crispy Pickle Films. She holds a BFA and MFA in Creative Writing from UNO.
April 17, 2025 Visiting Author: Deborah Jackson Taffa “Whiskey Tender: A Memoir” Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S 13th St. Lincoln, 5:30 - 6:30 pm Join as we welcome Deborah Jackson Taffa, author of the widely praised and anticipated memoir Whiskey Tender. This work has been regarded as an Oprah Daily “Best New Book”, a New York Times “New Book to Read, a Parade “Best New Work By Indigenous Writers”, and an NPR “Book We Love”!
April 17, 2025 All Writes Reserved Semi-Finals Bouts Benson Theatre, 6054 Maple St. Omaha, 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm All Writes Reserved is an annual youth spoken word festival and competition featuring schools from all over Nebraska and the Great Plains. The top youth poets from this year’s festival are one step closer to the championship! Across two nights of electrifying performances, they’ll bring their best work to the stage, competing for a spot in the All Writes Reserved Finals—and the coveted Pop-Tarts. Be part of the audience that listens, cheers, and celebrates the power of youth voices.
April 17, 2025 Vocal Fry Shirley Tyree Theater, 2401 N 24th St. Omaha, 7:00 pm Prepare to be moved, inspired, and electrified at the only spoken word event in Nebraska dedicated solely to the art of expression. This isn’t just another open mic night—it’s a celebration of storytelling and raw emotion, where voices from all walks of life take center stage. Nathan Lachner and State Poet Jewel Rodgers, MCs.
April 24, 2025 Tosca Lee at Falls City Library Falls City Library and Art Center, 1400 Stone St. Falls City, 6:00 pm Join Tosca Lee in Falls City at the library, where she will be discussing the writing, research, and impact of The Long March Home – 2025’s One Book One Nebraska!
April 27, 2025 Cathedral Parish Center Poetry Event St. Cecilia’s Parrish Center, Corner of 39th and Burt St. Omaha, 6:00 pm Open mic, live music, refreshments. Any theme, celebrate national Poetry month with your own original work or poetry by a favorite author. Listeners welcome.
April 29, 2025 All Writes Reserved Finals Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St. Omaha, 7:00 pm All Writes Reserved is an annual youth spoken word festival and competition featuring schools from all over Nebraska and the Great Plains. After weeks of powerful performances, it all comes down to this. Join us for Finals! The top youth poets of the season will step onto the stage, delivering their most compelling, fearless, and unforgettable performances—all for the title of All Writes Reserved Champion and the coveted Pop-Tarts. Come witness the power of youth voices and be part of an audience that celebrates, listens, and lifts them up.
April 30, 2025 ‘Prairie Home Companion’ Guest Jim Daniels to Read at Northeast NECC Campus, Union 73 Coffee Shop, 801 E Benjamin Ave. Norfolk, 4:00 – 5:00 pm The author of more than 30 collections of poetry will be reading and discussing his writing during the next Visiting Writers Series event of the spring semester at Northeast Community College. Along with his poetry collections, Daniels has written seven collections of fiction and has four produced screenplays. His collection of essays, An Ignorance of Trees, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press in 2025.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change. Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.
