Nebraska Book Award winners to attend event

Nebraska Book Award winners will read from their works at the Celebration of Nebraska Books, 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North in downtown Lincoln. The event, which is free and open to the public, also will highlight the 2010 One Book One Nebraska selection, honor winners of the 2010 Jane Geske Award and include the announcement of the 2011 One Book One Nebraska selection. The Nebraska Book Awards honor authors and publishers with Nebraska connections who published books in 2009. The following winners or their representatives are expected to attend. Some will read from their work and sign copies of their books.     • Joe Starita, winner for non-fiction for “I Am a Man: Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice,” the 2010 One Book One Lincoln selection.     • Paige Namuth for Robert Cochran, winner of the non-fiction honor for “Louise Pound: Scholar, Athlete, Feminist Pioneer.”     • Dwaine Spieker, winner for poetry for “Garden of Stars.”     • Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite, winners for anthology for “African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology.”     • A representative of the Loren Eiseley Society, winner of the anthology honor for “The Loren Eiseley Reader.”     • Kimberli A. Lee of Texas Tech University Press, winner for cover/design/illustration for “I Do Not Apologize for the Length of This Letter: The Mari Sandoz Letters on Native American Rights, 1940-1965.” • Michael Forsberg, winner of the cover/design/illustration honor for “Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild.” Representatives from Plainsongs poetry magazine and Hastings College will accept the Jane Geske Award, which recognizes a Nebraska association, organization, business, library, school, or other group for exceptional contributions to literacy, books, reading, libraries, or literature in Nebraska. Joseph Wydeven of the Nebraska Humanities Council Speakers Bureau will discuss the writing and photography of Wright Morris’ “The Home Place,” the 2010 One Book One Nebraska selection. The Nebraska History Museum will open at 1 p.m. for visitors to view exhibits, including “Willa Cather: A Matter of Appearances.” The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Commission and Nebraska State Historical Society. For more information, contact Mary Jo Ryan at 402-471-3434, 800-307-2665 or visit http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/. Schedule for 2010 Celebration of Nebraska Books: 2:30 p.m. Nebraska Center for the Book annual membership meeting 3:00 p.m. Program: 2010 One Book One Nebraska, The Home Place, by Wright Morris, with Joseph Wydeven 3:30 p.m. Presentation of 2010 Jane Geske Award and 2010 Nebraska Book Awards, with remarks and readings by winning authors 5:00 p.m. Announcement of the 2011 One Book One Nebraska book selection 5:30 p.m. Wine and cheese reception and author signings 6:30 p.m. Closing