An awards presentation ceremony will highlight the Nebraska Center for the Book’s
Celebration of Nebraska Books on November 3, 2012 at the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Museum of Nebraska History, 15
th and P Streets, in downtown Lincoln. Winners of the
2012 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors. And the winners are:
2012 Nebraska Book Award Winners
Anthology: Aspects of Robinson: Homage to Weldon Kees, edited by Christopher Buckley and Christopher Howell. The Backwaters Press.
Anthology Honor: Women on the North American Plains, edited by Renee Laegreid and Sandra K. Mathews. Texas Tech University Press.
Cover/Design/Illustration: First Telegraph Line across the Continent: Charles Brown’s 1861 Diary, edited by Dennis Mihelich and James E. Potter. Book design by Reigert Graphics. Nebraska State Historical Society Books.
Cover/Design/Illustration Honor: Flushed During Play: 51 Pet Rodent Deaths, compiled by Jeff Lacey. Artwork by Calvin Banks.
Fiction: To Be Sung Underwater, by Tom McNeal. Little, Brown and Company.
Nonfiction Biography:
Rattlesnake Daddy: A Son’s Search For His Father, by Brent Spencer. The Backwaters Press.
Nonfiction History: The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the ‘68 Racial Divide, by Steve Marantz. University of Nebraska Press.
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place: Portraits of the Prairie: The Land That Inspired Willa Cather, by Richard Schilling. University of Nebraska Press.
Nonfiction Reference: Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains, by Jon Farrar. University of Iowa Press.
Poetry: Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet, by Twyla M. Hansen and Linda M. Hasselstrom. The Backwaters Press.
The celebration, free and open to the public, will also feature presentation of the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Jane Geske Award to an organization, business, library, school, association, or group that has made an exceptional contribution to literacy, books, reading, libraries, or literature in Nebraska. The Jane Geske Award commemorates Geske’s passion for books, and was established in recognition of her contributions to the well-being of the libraries of Nebraska. Jane Pope Geske was a founding member of the Nebraska Center for the Book, former director of the Nebraska Library Commission, and a long-time leader in Nebraska library and literary activities.
This year the Celebration marks the eighth year of One Book One Nebraska, selecting and promoting a title for Nebraskans to read to celebrate the literary richness of our state.
“I Am a Man:” Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice is the 2012 One Book One Nebraska and Nebraska libraries and other literary and cultural organizations across the state are hosting activities and events to encourage all Nebraskans to read and discuss the same book (see
http://onebook.nebraska.gov/2012/index.aspx). Author Joe Starita will speak about the book and his experience discussing his book with Nebraskans across the state through the One Book One Nebraska program.
The Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m.—just prior to the 3:30-6:30 p.m. Celebration. An Awards Reception honoring the winning authors, book signings, and announcement of the 2013 One Book One Nebraska book choice will conclude the festivities.
The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, and Nebraska Library Commission, in partnership with the Nebraska State Historical Society, Museum of Nebraska History, and the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press. 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.
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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, www.nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.
