Tag Archives: Celebration of Nebraska Books

Celebrate Nebraska’s 2023 Book Award Winners

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Kayla Henzel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 15, 2023

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Terry
402-471-3434
800-307-2665

Celebrate Nebraska’s 2023 Book Award Winners

Celebrate Nebraska’s 2023 Book Award winners with author readings and an awards presentation ceremony at the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Celebration of Nebraska Books. Held at the UNL City Campus Union on October 14th, winners of the 2023 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors, designers and illustrators of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2022. And the winners are:

Children’s Design: Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! By James Solheim. Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Children’s Nonfiction: Eat Your Woolly Mammoths! By James Solheim. Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Young Adult: Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell. Publisher: Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Design: Feeding the Fire by Twyla Hansen. Publisher: Wayne State College Press.

Illustration: The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show by Casey Day Rislov, illustrated by Zachary Pullen. Publisher: Mountain Stars Press.

Fiction: Private Way by Ladette Randolph. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.

Nonfiction Autobiography: Monkey on the Other Side of the Window: The True Story of the Northeast Nebraska Zoo in Royal, Nebraska by Dick Haskin. Publisher: Morris Publishing.

Nonfiction Biography: The Women Who Built Omaha: A Bold and Remarkable History by Eileen Wirth. Publisher: Bison Books.

Nonfiction Fellowship: From Your Friend, Carey Dean: Letters from Nebraska’s Death Row by Lisa Knopp. Publisher: Cascade Books.

Nonfiction History: Standing Bear’s Quest for Freedom: The First Civil Rights Victory for Native Americans by Lawrence A. Dwyer. Publisher: Bison Books.

Nonfiction Nebraska as Place: Nourishing Waters, Comforting Sky: Thirty-Five Years at a Sandhills Oasis by Stephen R. Jones. Publisher: Bison Books.

Nonfiction Solidarity: Dirt Persuasion: Civic Environmental Populism and the Heartland’s Pipeline Fight by Derek Moscato. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.

Poetry: A Crazy Little Thing by Lucy Adkins. Publisher: Wayne State College Press.

Poetry Honor: Cord Blood by Bonnie Johnson-Bartee. Publisher: Sandhills Press.

The Celebration of Nebraska Books, on October 14th, will also honor winners 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.

The 2023 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon Eberhart (Bison Books, 1998) will be featured in a keynote presentation. The introduction of the 2024 One Book One Nebraska book choice will conclude the festivities.

The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum. Humanities Nebraska provides support for One Book One Nebraska. 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.”

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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.    

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2023 Nebraska Book Award Submissions Sought

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Kayla Henzel

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.”

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Shortlist for 2023 One Book One Nebraska Announce

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Kayla Henzel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 14, 2022

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Terry
402-471-3434
800-307-2665

Shortlist for 2023 One Book One Nebraska Announced

What book will all Nebraskans be encouraged to read in 2023? We will all find out on October 22nd at the Celebration of Nebraska Books. Two generational family novels by a Nebraska authors, a nonfiction work on POW camps in Nebraska, a mystery set in the Sand Hills —all stories with ties to Nebraska and the Great Plains—are the finalists for the 2023 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:

  • Haven’s Wake by Ladette Randolph, Bison Books, 2013.
  • The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon Eberhart, Bison Books, 1998.
  • Nebraska POW Camps: A History of World War II Prisoners in the Heartland by Melissa Amateis Marsh, The History Press (Arcadia Publishing), 2014.
  • The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern, Bison Books, 2008.

The One Book One Nebraska reading program, now in its nineteenth year, is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and Nebraska Library Commission. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss the same book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. A Nebraska Center for the Book committee selected the three finalists from a list of twenty-eight titles nominated by Nebraskans. In the coming weeks, Nebraska Center for the Book board members will vote on the 2023 selection.

The Celebration of Nebraska Books, on October 22nd, will also honor winners of the 2022 Jane Geske and Mildred Bennett awards. The 2022 Mildred Bennett Award will be presented to Lois Todd-Meyer. The 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 2022 Jane Geske Award will be presented to the Nebraska Writers Collective, a Nebraska organization known for exceptional contributions to literacy, books, reading, libraries, and 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.

Nebraskans are invited to take part in the Celebration of Nebraska Books on October 22nd, at the Nebraska History Museum in downtown Lincoln, where the choice for the 2023 One Book One Nebraska will be announced. This year’s One Book One Nebraska selection will be featured in a key note presentation by author Jonis Agee on her novel The Bones of Paradise (William Morrow, 2018.) See http://onebook.nebraska.gov or https://www.facebook.com/OneBookOneNebraska for more information about ongoing 2022 One Book One Nebraska activities.

The Celebration of Nebraska Books will include readings by the winners of the 2022 Nebraska Book Awards,with book signings by the authors after the event. A list of Nebraska Book Award winners is posted at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards.html. The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and Nebraska Library Commission with support from History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum. Humanities Nebraska provides support for the One Book One Nebraska keynote presentation.

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.”

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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.    

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Celebrate Nebraska’s 2022 Book Award Winners

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Kayla Henzel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 19, 2022

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tessa Terry
402-471-3434
800-307-2665

Celebrate Nebraska’s 2022 Book Award Winners

Celebrate Nebraska’s 2022 Book Award winners with author readings and an awards presentation ceremony at the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Celebration of Nebraska Books. Held at the Nebraska History Museum on October 22nd, winners of the 2022 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors, designers and illustrators of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2021. And the winners are:

Children’s Best Continuing Series: George Meets His Match by Kristin Bauer Ganoung, illustrated by K. E. Gadeken. Publisher: Prairieland Press

Youth Book: Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens, illustrated by Matt Huynh. Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company

Cover and Design: After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America’s Stolen Lands by Margaret D. Jacobs. Publisher: Princeton University Press

Illustration: Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens, illustrated by Matt Huynh. Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company

Fiction: The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert. Publisher: Doubleday

Nonfiction Biography: The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather & Edith Lewis by Melissa J. Homestead. Publisher: Oxford University Press

Nonfiction Biography Honor: Time in the Wilderness: The Formative Years of John “Black Jack” Pershing in the American West by Dr. Tim McNeese. Publisher: Potomac Books

Nonfiction Health and Fitness: Fuel Your Body: How to Cook and Eat for Peak Performance by Angie Asche. Publisher: Agate Publishing

Nonfiction Natural History: Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens, illustrated by Matt Huynh. Publisher: Godwin Books, Henry Holt Company

Nonfiction Nebraska as Place: Nebraska Golf: Out of the Shadows by Stu Pospisil. Publisher: Omaha World Herald

Nonfiction Popular History: Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen. Publisher: Workman Publishing Company

Poetry: The Way of Things by Shannon Vesely. Publisher: Rogue Faculty Press

Poetry Honor: Unholy Heart by Grace Bauer. Publisher: The Backwaters Press

Special Poetry: More in Time: A Tribute to Ted Kooser by Jessica Poli, Marco Abel, Timothy Schaffert. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

The Celebration of Nebraska Books, on October 22nd, will also honor winners of the 2022 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.

The 2022 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Bones of Paradise: A Novel by Jonis Agee (William Morrow, 2016) will be featured in a keynote presentation by the author. The introduction of the 2023 One Book One Nebraska book choice will conclude the festivities.

The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from History Nebraska’s Nebraska History Museum. Humanities Nebraska provides support for One Book One Nebraska. 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.”

###  

The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.    

Posted in Awards, Books & Reading, Events, General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment