Tag Archives: Nebraska Author

25th Annual Nebraska Book Awards Submissions Now Open!

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Entries for the 25th annual Nebraska Book Awards are now being accepted!

The competition is open to Nebraska authors, Nebraska publishers, and other authors or publishers of books set in or relating to Nebraska. Books published in 2023, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination in 2024. They must be professionally published, have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and be bound.

You can submit a book to be entered in one or more of the following categories: Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Certificates will be awarded to the winners in each category, and they will be invited out to participate as featured authors at the October 12th, 2024 Nebraska Celebration of Books in Lincoln. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony for the authors, publishers, and their families, where winning books will be displayed and authors will have the opportunity to read from and sign their books.

The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered. Deadline for entries is May 31, 2024. For more information, including entry forms, see: http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.htm

Interested in learning more about previous winners? You can find a complete list of information on all 25 years of Nebraska Book Award winners, including the title, author, publisher, and category won, here: https://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/winners/nebook.html

To see a list of previous submissions made to enter the Nebraska Book Awards, you can see the records from 2010-2023 here: https://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html#submissions

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2024 One Book One Nebraska: Now Available on BARD!

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

“Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime” by Debora Harding is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

This memoir of native Nebraskan, Debora Harding, is all about a traumatic childhood event, the aftereffects of which would change her family forever. Harding expertly weaves the past with the present in a riveting story of survival and family dynamics.

“With remarkable narrative skill, Harding untangles the lingering effects of family dysfunction and criminal trauma. This is a page-turner with a deep heart and soul, full of forgiveness but demanding of accountability.”

BookPage, “Best Books of 2020: Memoirs”

This title has been selected as the 2024 One Book One Nebraska. The program is now in its 20th year of bringing Nebraskans together for the reading and discussion of one great book written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. Nearly every One Book One Nebraska winner is available on cartridge and for download on BARD.

The narration was done by Connie Healey, who has been volunteering for NLC’s Talking Book and Braille department for 10 years and received a Nebraska Library Association’s Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2022. The recording took over 30 hours in the studio and an additional 20 hours of post-production to prepare for our patrons. Connie has now read three One Book One Nebraska selections, the other two being “The Bones of Paradise” by Jonis Agee and “Prairie Forge” by James J. Kimble.

TBBS borrowers can request “Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime,” DBC02052, or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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Nominate Books Now for the 2024 Nebraska Book Awards

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

The 2024 Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) and Nebraska Library Commission, will recognize and honor books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or relate to Nebraska.

Books published in 2023, as indicated by the copyright date, are eligible for nomination. They must be professionally 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 in each category will be invited to participate as featured authors at the October 12th, 2024 Nebraska Celebration of Books in Lincoln. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony for the authors, publishers, and their families, where winning books will be displayed and authors will have the opportunity to read from and sign their books.

The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered. Deadline for entries is May 31, 2024. For more information, including entry forms, see http://www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards/nebookawards.html

Books may be entered in one of two ways, either complete the Online Entry Form and submit payment through PayPal, then mail three copies of the book to the below address. Or, mail the Entry Form [pdf], three copies of the book, and the entry fee via a check made out to the Nebraska Center for the Book to the below address.

NCB Book Awards Competition
c/o Nebraska Library Commission
The Atrium
1200 N Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508-2023

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. Together we 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.    

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Dancing with the Octopus Proclaimed the 2024 One Book One Nebraska

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

On Jan. 8, 2024, Governor Jim Pillen signed a proclamation honoring 2024 One Book One Nebraska: Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) by Debora Harding. Rod Wagner, Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB) Board member, and Nebraska Library Commission Director spoke about the program and selection. Dancing with the Octopus is a riveting and thoughtful memoir written by Nebraska native Debora Harding. Kidnapped, assaulted at the age of 14, then left abandoned by her attacker in the middle of a snow storm, Harding recounts the trauma inflicted on herself and her family in the wake of the attack. Poignant in the discussion of mental health and fraught family dynamics that Harding would carry into adulthood, she chooses to meet her attacker many years later. The full proclamation can be viewed on the One Book One Nebraska webpages at http://onebook.nebraska.gov.

The One Book One Nebraska reading program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, and Humanities Nebraska is entering its twentieth year. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. Libraries across Nebraska will join other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events to encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book. Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities are available at http://onebook.nebraska.gov.

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 Nebraska’s 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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Friday Reads: “The Mystery of Hunting’s End” by Mignon Eberhart

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Kayla Henzel

Posted June 2, 2023 by Rod Wagner

The Mystery of Hunting’s End is this year’s selection for the One Book One Nebraska program. Published in 1930, Mignon Eberhart chose the Nebraska Sandhills region near Valentine for the remote setting of this mystery novel. Hunting’s End is a lodge owned by the wealthy Kingery family. There, a small and curious group comes together by invitation, the same group present five years earlier when a death occurred. Was it by a heart attack or was it murder?

The Nebraska Sandhills, where Mignon G. Eberhart lived as a newlywed, inspired the setting of this mystery. Matil Kingery’s intent in this reunion is to discover which one of her guests murdered her father.  

Posing as another guest is detective Lance O’Leary. At his recommendation, Matil has arranged for Nurse Sarah Keate to care for Aunt Lucy Kingery at Hunting’s End – a challenging assignment, as it turns out. Keate is a perceptive and persistent sleuth and an able O’Leary ally. Nurse Keate has a recurring presence in Eberhart’s novels.

Gathered together at the lodge, the guests are sealed from the outside by a November snowstorm. A dog named Jericho lurks about, and a stray cat is curiously present for each discovery of a new death.

This book keeps the reader guessing as to who is behind the murders at Hunting’s End. Why were these murders committed and who is the killer? The reader will be alert to clues leading to the identity of the guilty party.

I found The Mystery of Hunting’s End to be an enjoyable and fun read. It is true to a good mystery book – colorful characters and a plot that continues to surprise and keep the reader guessing – who did it?

Mignon Eberhart was a prolific writer, one of the most popular mystery writers of her time with a career spanning from the 1920s to the 1980s. Eberhart published over 50 novels and numerous short stories during her career, and with several adapted for film and television. The 1938 movie, Mystery House, is based on The Mystery of Hunting’s End. Eberhart received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and was a past president of the Mystery Writers of America.  

For more about Mignon Eberhart, read Nebraska Wesleyan University Professor Rick Cypert’s America’s Agatha Christie: Mignon Good Eberhart, Her Life and Works. Cypert contributed discussion questions for The Mystery of Hutning’s End. Discussion questions can be found on the Nebraska Library Commission website. Mignon G. Eberhart. The Mystery of Hunting’s End. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 1998. ©1930.

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This review was posted on the Nebraska Library Commission blog June 2, 2023. See the original post here: http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nlcblog/2023/06/02/friday-reads-the-mystery-of-huntings-end-by-mignon-eberhart/

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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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“The Mystery of Hunting’s End” Chosen as 2023 One Book One Nebraska

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Kayla Henzel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 24, 2022

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

The Mystery of Hunting’s End Chosen as 2023 One Book One Nebraska

People across Nebraska are encouraged to read the work of a Nebraskan — and then talk about it with their friends and neighbors. The Mystery of Hunting’s End (Bison Books, 1998) by Mignon Eberhart is the 2023 One Book One Nebraska selection.

The Mystery of Hunting’s End is a 1930s chiller, inspired and set in the Sand Hills of Nebraska, where Mignon G. Eberhart lived as a newlywed. Smack in the middle of the rolling desolation is Hunting’s End, a weekend lodge owned by the rich Kingery family. To that place socialite Matil Kingery invites a strange collection of guests — the same people who were at the lodge when her father died of “heart failure” exactly five years ago. She intends to find out which one of them murdered him. The selection committee for the 2023 One Book One Nebraska enjoyed the concept of a mystery. This is a book that keeps the reader guessing as to who is behind the murders taking place in a lodge outside of Valentine during a blizzard. Why were these murders committed, are any of the guests staying at the lodge safe, and who is the killer? The book is full of colorful characters, including Nurse Sarah Keate and detective Lance O’Leary. The reader is challenged to find clues that will lead to the discovery of who is the guilty party. Mignon G. Eberhart was born and raised in Lincoln, NE. She had a long and celebrated career, writing a total of 59 novels, earning her the Grand Master Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. She died at the age of ninety-seven in 1996. 

Libraries across Nebraska will join other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book. Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities will be available after January 1, 2023 at http://onebook.nebraska.gov. Updates and activity listings will be posted on the One Book One Nebraska Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/onebookonenebraska.

2023 will mark the nineteenth year of the One Book One Nebraska reading program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. The Nebraska Center for the Book invites recommendations for One Book One Nebraska book selection year-round at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/obon-nomination.asp.

One Book One Nebraska is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and Nebraska Library Commission. The Nebraska Center for the Book 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 housed at and 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.”

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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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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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Great Reads from Great Places Online Panel with Nebraska’s Astronaut Clayton Anderson

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Kayla Henzel

Letters in Space by Astronaut Clayton Anderson was chosen to represent Nebraska at the 2022 National Book Festival. Nebraska’s Great Reads from Great Places book was chosen from its 2021 Nebraska Book Award winners.

Author Clayton Anderson took part in an online panel conversation with other chosen authors from state Centers for the Book in the Midwest Region. He talked about his book, what inspired him, what he likes most about Nebraska, and more.

Astronaut Clayton Anderson is Nebraska’s only Astronaut. He spent 167 days in space and 38 hours and 28 minutes in executing 6 spacewalks. He applied 15 times before NASA selected him as an Astronaut in 1998. He spent 30 years working for NASA, 15 as an engineer and then 15 as an Astronaut.

Astronaut Clayton “Astro Clay” Anderson is the author of three children’s books; Letters from Space, A is for Astronaut: Blasting through the Alphabet, and It’s a Question of Space: An Ordinary Astronaut’s Answers to Sometimes Extraordinary Questions, and his award winning memoir, The Ordinary Spaceman.

Find out more about Astro Clay and his current and upcoming books at www.AstroClay.com. Follow him on social media @Astro_Clay

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Check out the Library of Congress’ YouTube channel for other videos from the 2022 National Book Festival.

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Restoration of Cather childhood home in Red Cloud, Nebraska, set to begin soon

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Kayla Henzel

by Paul Hammel | Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Restoration work will soon begin on the historic home in Red Cloud where Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather spent most of her teenage years.

Cather had an attic bedroom in the 1 1/2-story, wood-frame vernacular house at 245 N. Cedar St., living there between the ages of 10 and 16. She left for college in 1896.

The 143-year-old childhood home is considered the “crown jewel” of the multiple historic sites in Red Cloud that are associated with Cather. The author mentions the house in at least three of her books: “The Song of the Lark,” “Old Mrs. Harris” and “The Best Years.”

Visitors from across the world

“Visitors from all over the world remark that walking through the doors of Cather’s Childhood Home and into her tiny attic bedroom is an unforgettable experience,” said Ashley Olson, executive director of the National Willa Cather Center.

The nearly $1 million in restoration work is the first in 50 years on the structure. It will begin Aug. 15 and is projected to be completed by next year.

Along with rehabilitating the wooden structure, improving access and adding climate controls, the work will include restoring, and possibly replicating, the rose-colored wallpaper Cather herself installed in her attic bedroom. The paper was payment for her work at a Red Cloud drug store.

“It’s a pretty special place,” said Catherine Pond, marketing coordinator for the Cather Center.

The childhood home has been open for public tours since 1967. The Cather Center took possession of the house in 2019 from History Nebraska. The restoration work is being made possible in part by a $415,000 Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service.

Shovel-ready funds

The project is part of the Cather Center’s ambitious “Campaign for the Future,” which has raised more than $7 million toward restoration of several Cather-related properties. It would also be used for expansion of educational programming, development of visitor amenities and growth of an endowment.

The center was recently awarded a $2.3 million “shovel-ready” grant from the State Legislature, using funds supplied by the American Rescue Plan Act, to help restore a historic hotel in Red Cloud.

The shovel-ready grant, as well as the federal grant to restore the childhood home, require matching, private funds. The Cather Center is seeking to raise another $200,000 in private gifts to help finance the restoration work at the childhood home.

For more information, contact the Cather Center at WillaCather.org.

August 9, 2022 | nebraskaexaminer.com

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