FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
The Antidote: A Novel Chosen as 2026 One Book One Nebraska
People across Nebraska are encouraged to read the work set in Nebraska—and then talk about it with their friends and neighbors. The Antidote: A Novel (Knopf, 2025) by Karen Russell is the 2026 One Book One Nebraska selection.
The Antidote is a historical fiction novel during the dust bowl, set in a fictional town in rural Nebraska.
Karen Russell’s The Antidote is a haunting Dust Bowl epic that blends historical fiction with magical realism. Set in 1930s Nebraska, the novel follows Antonina Rossi—known as “the Antidote,” a prairie witch who stores memories—and the Oletsky family as they endure the devastation of Black Sunday’s dust storm and the catastrophic flooding of the Republican River. Through interwoven narratives, Russell explores themes of memory, resilience, and survival amid environmental collapse, crafting a lyrical meditation on how communities confront trauma and corruption while clinging to hope.
Karen Russell is the author of six books of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. She is a MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She has received two National Magazine Awards for Fiction, the Shirley Jackson Award, the 2023 Bottari Lattes Grinzane Prize, and the 2024 Mary McCarthy Prize. The Antidote is a finalist for the National Book Award and a national bestseller. She serves on the board of Street Books, a mobile library for people living outdoors. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, son, and daughter.
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, 2026 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.
2026 will mark the twenty-second 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.”
What do all of these #BookFace picks have in common? They’re all 2025 Nebraska Book Award winners and they’ll all be featured at this weekend’s Nebraska Celebration of Books literary festival. “Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol” byby Susanne Shore, Kevin Moser, Drew Davies, received the Design Award. “Animal Climate Heroes!” by Alison Pearce Stevens, and illustrated by Jason Ford received the Cover & Illustration Award. “Isamu’s American Dream” by D.D. Davenport received the Fiction Award. Drew Davies, Alison Pearce Stevens, and D.D. Davenport, will be speaking at author roundtables and available for book signings at the festival.
Winners of the 2025 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored at the Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) Literary Festival. Held on Saturday, November 15th, from 10:00am-5:30pm, this literary event will be on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union and Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center in downtown Lincoln. The festival will include author roundtables, book signings, and a reception, with the awards ceremony directly after at 4:30. The ceremony will feature short acceptance speeches and readings by the winning authors and illustrators. Book award categories include fiction, nonfiction, children/young adult, poetry, and cover/design/illustration, all winning books have a Nebraska connection and were published in 2024. The ceremony will also feature the presentation of the Mildred Bennett and Jane Geske Awards. For more information about the festival and to stay up to date on the featured authors and speakers visit bookfestival.nebraska.gov.
I’m breaking with tradition and using my Friday Reads post to talk about the three books on the short list for the 2026 One Book One Nebraska selection. We wanted to give a short overview of each book, some author information, and include comments by the readers on the selection committee. The winner will be announced Saturday, November 15th at the Nebraska Celebration of Books literary festival’s awards ceremony. Let us know which book you would pick to be the next One Book One Nebraska read, or nominate a book to be considered for 2027.
Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf. Vintage Books/Penguin Random House, 2015. Genre: Fiction
Set in contemporary Colorado, Haruf has crafted a love story between a widow and her widower neighbor. Life has given them a second chance to find happiness despite the nosiness of the townsfolk and a lack of support from family members. Readers found it consistent with Haruf’s previous novels. One evaluator described this love story as “genuine.”
Haruf authored six novels. He previously lived in Lincoln while teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan. He was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the New Yorker Book Award. He died in 2014. The book was published posthumously and was adapted into a film.
Lisa Kelly previously reviewed this title for Friday Reads, and you can read that review here.
The Antidote, Karen Russell. Knopf, 2025. Genre: Fiction
Set in western Nebraska in the 1930’s, Russell’s novel includes two actual events—the Black Sunday dust storm and the flooding of the Republican River. The main character is the Antidote who magically handles memories. The novel includes a variety of interesting characters whose lives intersect in dramatic ways. One evaluator noted that the book “has lots of good topics for discussion.”
Russell has authored six books of fiction. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for her novel Swamplandia! She also received the Shirley Jackson Award and the 2024 Mary McCarthy Prize. The Antidote is on the long list for the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction. Russell lives in Portland, Oregon.
Rod Wagner previously reviewed this title for Friday Reads, and you can read that review here.
Nebraska: Under a Big Red Sky, Joel Sartore. Nebraska Book Publishing, 1999. Genre: Photography/Nonfiction
This is Joel Sartore’s second book. It contains photographs of Nebraska from every section of the state. Compiled early in his career, it was prompted by his desire to show others the full range of his home state. Photos range from Sandhill cranes to the Sower to small town sports to rodeos to Carhenge to Memorial Stadium–to mention just a few. One committee member liked both the photos and Sartore’s humor, adding “I think there could be some good discussions about living in Nebraska.”
Joel Sartore lives in Lincoln, Nebraska and has been a contributor to National Geographic as well Audubon Magazine, Time, Life, and Newsweek. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum and received the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography from the Sierra Club. He was named the 2025 Nebraskan of the Year by Lincoln’s Rotary Club.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Shortlist for 2026 One Book One Nebraska Announced
What book will all Nebraskans be encouraged to read in 2026? We will all find out on November 15th at the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) literary festival. A mesmerizing dust bowl epic filled with magical realism, a photographic journey across Nebraska, a beautifully written novel about second chances — all stories with ties to Nebraska—are the finalists for the 2026 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:
The Antidote: A Novel by Karen Russell, Knopf, 2025.
Nebraska: Under a Big Red Sky by Joel Sartore, Bison Books, 2006.
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf, Knopf, 2016.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and the 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 nineteen titles nominated by Nebraskans. In the coming weeks, Nebraska Center for the Book board members will vote on the 2026 selection.
Nebraskans are invited to take part in the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) Literary Festival where the choice for the 2026 One Book One Nebraska will be announced. Held on Saturday, November 15th, from 10:00 am – 5:30 pm, on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union and Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, this event aims to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors. The festival will honor the 2025 One Book One Nebraska with an author talk by Tosca Lee, in addition it will feature 2025 Nebraska Book Award winning authors, Nebraska State Poets Jewel Rodgers and Matt Mason, a writing workshop hosted by Larksong Writers Place, book vendors, and presentation of the Mildred Bennett Award and Jane Geske Awards. Visit https://bookfestival.nebraska.gov/ for more information about the N.COB festival programming and authors.
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.”
We’re in Washington D.C. for this week’s #BookFace! The Smithsonian Magazine is just one of 4,401 English magazine titles available as an eBook from Nebraska OverDrive Libraries! Three years of issues are available of many titles, as well as some single titles (generally special edition issues of certain magazines or items like adult coloring books). Magazines do not count against a reader’s checkout limit of 6, and magazine issues may be checked out for 7, 14, or 21 days, depending on your library’s policy. Along with all the English-language titles, you have access to Spanish-language titles, and many other languages including French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Afrikaans, and Italian.
“Smithsonian magazine places a Smithsonian lens on the world, looking at the topics and subject matters researched, studied and exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution—science, history, art, popular culture and innovation—and chronicling them every day for our diverse readership.” —Smithsonian Magazine Blurb
We just had to bring this week’s bookface with us to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.! The Nebraska Center for the Book has selected one youth 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 and “The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific” by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee. Both titles will be part of the National Center for the Book’s Great Reads from GreatPlaces program. Check out the festival schedule, featured authors, and highlights for past events on the Library of Congress’s event page! You can even enjoy the event from home and watch the festival through the National Book Festival website.
Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!
Join us to learn about Nebraska’s The Festival Near You community bookwalks and author visits planned for across the state on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, on Wednesday, August 6 at 10am CT.
Every year, the Library of Congress hosts the National Book Festival in Washington D.C.. The Nebraska Center for the Book selects one children’s book and one adult book by Nebraska authors to represent the state at the festival, as part of the ‘Great Reads from Great Places’ programming. This year they have selected Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder by Carla Ketner and illustrated by Paula Wallace, and The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee.
This year Nebraskans will have the opportunity to join in the fun with programming during the month of July and 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.
Presenters: Tessa Timperley, Communications Coordinator, Nebraska Library Commission and Carla Ketner, Author of Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
Aug. 13 – Ditching 1000 Books: A New Initiative
Aug. 20 – Banding Together: Lessons from the MPLA Leadership Institute
Aug. 27 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Upcoming Changes to Nebraska Libraries on the Web Service
Sept. 3 – E-rate 101: Just the Basics for 2026
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
Celebrate the 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Long March Home, with us on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, January 22 at 10am CT.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program is entering its twenty-first year. Nebraska libraries and other literary and cultural organizations continue to plan activities and events to encourage all Nebraskans to read and discuss the same book. Join us to hear more about this state reading promotion activity, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and the Nebraska Library Commission.
We are excited to talk about the 2025 selection The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee (Revell, 2023).
Join authors Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee, Nebraska Center for the Book President Pat Leach, Nebraska Center for the Book Board Member Becky Faber, and Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner to:
Hear from the authors about this year’s selected book and ask questions.
Learn about how to create a successful local reading promotion using Nebraska’s year-long, statewide celebration featuring The Long March Home.
Brainstorm strategies to read and discuss The Long March Home.
Find tools to help engage your community in local activities to encourage them to come together through literature to explore this work in community-wide reading programs.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
Jan. 29 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Tech Kits for STEM Career Exploration
Feb. 5 – Fostering Healthy Communication in Your Library
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
Learn about Nebraska’s state reading and writing contest for youth, Letters About Literature, on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, October 23 at 10am CT.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is a statewide organization dedicated to the promotion of reading in all its forms. Its annual Nebraska Letters About Literature contest allows students in 4th through 12th grade to write to authors (living or deceased) about their favorite book or poem about how his or her book affected their lives. This session will provide helpful information for teachers and librarians interested in the competition. It will also cover the submission process and be an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the entire competition process. Teachers will be interested in this program that will help enhance and extend their classroom instruction.
Nov. 6 – Summer Reading Program 2025: Color Our World
Nov. 13 – Nebraska Open Meetings Act: 2024 Overview and Update
Dec. 11 – Best New Children’s Books of 2024
Jan. 8, 2025 – Best New Teen Reads of 2024
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific Chosen as 2025 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 Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific (Revell, 2023) by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee is the 2025 One Book One Nebraska selection.
The Long March Home is a historical fiction novel inspired by true stories of friendship, sacrifice, and hope on the Bataan Death March.
From the Inside Cover:
Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire.
Life in the Philippines seems like paradise–until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history.
What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive.
Marcus Brotherton is a New York Times bestselling author and coauthor, with fiveNew York Timesbestsellers, seven national bestsellers, and four books have been optioned for movies. He was born in British Columbia and earned degrees at Multnomah University in Portland and Biola University in Los Angeles. He currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children.
Tosca Lee is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of twelve books. Those awards include three International Book Awards, and a Nebraska Book Award for her thriller The Line Between and it’s sequel A Single Light. She received her B.A. from Smith College and currently lives in Nebraska with her husband, three of four children still at home, and her 160-lb. German Shepherd, Timber.
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, 2025 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.
2025 will mark the twenty-first 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.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Young Readers Invited to Write to Favorite Authors
Young readers in grades 4-12 are invited to write a personal letter to an author for the Nebraska Letters about Literature (LAL) contest, a state reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead) from any genre: fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic – explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world. Submissions must be completed online October 1 – December 31, 2024. Nebraska Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Lincoln City Libraries, Francie & Finch Bookshop, and Humanities Nebraska.
The Nebraska Center for the Book’s panel of judges will select a winner and an honorable mention per competition level (Level I for grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7-8, and Level III for grades 9-12) to be honored in a proclamation-signing ceremony at the state capitol during National Library Week in April 2025. Their winning letters will be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. Nebraska winners and honorable mentions will receive state prizes.
Teachers, librarians, and parents can download the contest guidelines, free teaching materials, information on the online entry system, and past winning letters on the Nebraska Center for the Book website. An informational NCompass Live webinar will air on October 23rd, discussing this year’s contest, the submission process, and judging criteria. For more information contact Nebraska Center for the 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 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.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Shortlist for 2025 One Book One Nebraska Announced
What book will all Nebraskans be encouraged to read in 2025? We will all find out on October 12th at the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) literary festival. A collection of nonfiction essays about Nebraska, a novel set in 1950’s about personal journeys, a historical fiction novel about the Pacific theater in World War II —all stories with ties to Nebraska—are the finalists for the 2025 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:
My Nebraska: The Good, the Bad, and the Husker by Roger Welsch, The Globe Pequot Press, 2006.
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles, Viking Press, 2021.
The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee, Revell, 2023.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and the 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 nineteen titles nominated by Nebraskans. In the coming weeks, Nebraska Center for the Book board members will vote on the 2025 selection.
Nebraskans are invited to take part in the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) Literary Festival where the choice for the 2025 One Book One Nebraska will be announced. Held on Saturday, October 12th, from 10:00am-5:30pm, in the Regency Suite, Heritage Room, and Swanson Auditorium located on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union, this event aims to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors. The festival will honor the 20th anniversary of the One Book One Nebraska program with a panel of past authors, in addition it will feature Nebraska authors, a SLAM poetry showcase, book vendors, and presentation of the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Nebraska Book Awards, Mildred Bennett Award and Jane Geske Award.
This year’s One Book One Nebraska selection, Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime by Debora Harding, will be featured with a memoir writing workshop facilitated by Lucy Atkins from Larksong Writers Place. See http://onebook.nebraska.gov or https://www.facebook.com/OneBookOneNebraska for more information about ongoing 2024 One Book One Nebraska activities.
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.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Nebraska’s 2024 Book Award Winners Announced
Celebrate Nebraska’s 2024 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 October 12th, winners of the 2024 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored at the celebration which will include an author roundtable during the festival and the awards ceremony directly after at 3:30. The ceremony will feature readings by some of the winning authors, designers, and illustrators of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2023. And the winners are:
Children’s Picture Book: Ted Kooser: More Than a Local Wonder written by Carla Ketner, illustrated by Paula Wallace. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.
Children’s Novel: The Adventures of Pearl and Monty: The Bait and Switch by E. Adams. Publisher: Jade Forest Publishing.
Teen Novel: The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom by Allison L. Bitz. Publisher: HarperTeen.
Cover and Design: Feisty Righty: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey by Jennifer D. James, Cover Art by Courtney Keller. Publisher: Self Published.
Design Honor: Horizons by Julie S. Paschold. Publisher: Atmosphere Press.
Fiction: The War Begins in Paris: A Novel by Theodore Wheeler. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company.
Nonfiction Nebraska as Place: Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape by Dana Fritz. Publisher: Bison Books.
Nonfiction History: The First Migrants by Richard Edwards and Jacob K. Friefeld. Publisher: Bison Books.
Poetry: The Gathering of Bastards by Romeo Oriogun. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.
Poetry Honor: The Book Eaters by Carolina Hotchandani. Publisher: Perugia Press.
This year’s Book Awards Celebration will be a combined event with the Nebraska Book Festival, called “The Nebraska Celebration of Books” which aims to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors. Held, Saturday, October 12th, from 10:00am-4:30pm, on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union in the Regency Suite, Heritage Room, and Swanson Auditorium, the event will honor the 20th anniversary of the One Book One Nebraska program with a panel of past authors. In addition it will feature Nebraska authors, a SLAM poetry showcase, book vendors, and presentation of the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Nebraska Book Awards, Mildred Bennett Award, Jane Geske Award, and 2025 One Book One Nebraska announcement.
The 2024 One Book One Nebraska selection, Dancing with the Octopus: A Memoir of a Crime by Debora Harding (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) will be featured with a memoir writing workshop facilitated by Lucy Adkins of Larksong Writers Place.
The Nebraska Book Awards are sponsored and facilitated by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission.
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 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, with supporting sponsors including Outskirts Press, KZUM 89.3FM, and Concierge Marketing at this time. Humanities Nebraska provides support for the One Book One Nebraska program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Timperley Communications Coordinator Nebraska Library Commission Email
Rosemary Sekora Marketing and Sales Manager University of Nebraska Press rsekora@unl.edu
Announcing a New Literary Festival Event to Take Place this Fall
Book lovers, get your calendars to save the date. A new literary festival is taking place in Lincoln.
The 2024 Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) will take place on Oct. 12, 2024, in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus Union at 1400 R Street. Two presentations, a writing workshop, and a slam poetry competition will take place on second floor leading up to the presentation of the Nebraska Book Awards at 3:30 p.m. NCOB will also host local bookstores and other vendors throughout the day beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The event will officially kick off on Oct. 11 at White Elm Brewing with a literary trivia night at 5:30 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public. NCOB would like to thank the following organizations for making this new event possible: Nebraska Center for the Book, Zero Street Fiction series, Larksong Writers Place, Nebraska Writers Collective, Nebraska Library Commission, Lincoln City Libraries, and the University of Nebraska Press.
Learn about Nebraska’s state reading and writing contest for youth, Letters About Literature, on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, October 11, at 10am CT.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is a statewide organization dedicated to the promotion of reading in all its forms. Its annual Nebraska Letters About Literature contest allows students in 4th through 12th grade to write to authors (living or deceased) about their favorite book or poem about how his or her book affected their lives. This session will provide helpful information for teachers and librarians interested in the competition. It will also cover the submission process and be an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the entire competition process. Teachers will be interested in this program that will help enhance and extend their classroom instruction.
Presenter: Tessa Terry – Communications Coordinator, Nebraska Library Commission.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
Oct 18 – Learning Opportunities and Resources from WebJunction
Oct 25 – Pretty Sweet Tech: How Augmented Reality Can Create Optimal Literacy Experiences
Nov. 8 – Racial & Gender Bias in Search
Nov. 22 – Best New Children’s Books of 2023
Dec. 6 – Using Creativity to Grow & Develop
Dec. 20 – Summer Reading Program 2024: Adventure Begins at Your Library
Jan. 17, 2024 – Auditing Library Websites
Jan. 24, 2024 – Best New Teen Reads of 2023
To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.
The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
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 Hunting’s End. Discussion questions can be found on the Nebraska Library Commission website.
Smack in the middle of the Nebraska Sand Hills is Hunting’s End, a weekend lodge owned by the rich Kingery family. 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.
This title has been selected as the 2023 One Book One Nebraska. This dynamic program cultivates a culture of reading and discussion in our state by bringing our diverse state together around one great book by a Nebraska author.
TBBS borrowers can request “The Mystery of Hunting’s End,” DBC02012, 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.
Celebrate the 2023 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Mystery of Hunting’s End, with us on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, on Wednesday, March 1 at 10am CT.
In this nineteenth year of One Book One Nebraska, Nebraska libraries and other literary and cultural organizations continue to plan activities and events to encourage all Nebraskans to read and discuss the same book. Join us to hear more about this state reading promotion activity, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and the Nebraska Library Commission.
We are excited to talk about the 2023 selection The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon Eberhart (University of Nebraska Press, 1998).
Join Nebraska Library Commission Communication Coordinator Tessa Terry, Nebraska Center for the Book President Christine Walsh, and Nebraska Center for the Book Board Member Becky Faber to:
Learn about how to create a successful local reading promotion using Nebraska’s year-long, statewide celebration featuring The Mystery of Hunting’s End, by Mignon Eberhart.
Brainstorm strategies to read and discuss The Mystery of Hunting’s End.
Find tools to help engage your community in local activities to encourage them to come together through literature to explore this work in community-wide reading programs.
Learn about the 2023 Celebration of Nebraska Books, which will celebrate this book, along with the winners of the 2023 Nebraska Book Awards.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
March 8 – Read the Rainbow: Serving the LGBTQ+ Community in Your Library
March 29 – Pretty Sweet Tech
April 19 – Creative Aging Arts Program for Nebraska Libraries
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
Learn about Nebraska’s state reading and writing contest for youth, Letters About Literature, on this week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, September 21 at 10am CT.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is a statewide organization dedicated to the promotion of reading in all its forms. Its annual Nebraska Letters About Literature contest allows students in 4th through 12th grade to write to authors (living or deceased) about their favorite book or poem about how his or her book affected their lives. This session will provide helpful information for teachers and librarians interested in the competition. It will also cover the submission process and be an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the entire competition process. Teachers will be interested in this program that will help enhance and extend their classroom instruction.
Presenters: Tessa Terry – Communications Coordinator, Nebraska Library Commission; Richard Miller – Nebraska Center for the Book Board Member; Laurie Yocom, Director, Wilson Public Library; and Sally Snyder, Childrens’ Judge, Letters About Literature, Nebraska Library Commission.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
Sept. 28 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Programming a Robot Using Voice Commands
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Tessa Terry 402-471-3434
800-307-2665
Young Readers Invited to Write to Favorite Authors
Young readers in grades 4-12 are invited to write a personal letter to an author for the Nebraska Letters about Literature (LAL) contest, a state reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead) from any genre-fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic-explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world. Submissions must be completed online November 1- December 31, 2021. Nebraska Letters About Literature is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Library Commission, with support from Houchen Bindery, Ltd., Humanities Nebraska, and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
The Nebraska Center for the Book’s panel of judges will select a winner and an honorable mention per competition level (Level I for grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7-8, and Level III for grades 9-12) to be honored in a proclamation-signing ceremony at the state capitol during National Library Week in April 2022. Their winning letters will be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. Nebraska winners and honorable mentions will receive state prizes.
Teachers, librarians, and parents can download the contest guidelines, free teaching materials, information on the online entry system, and past winning letters on the Nebraska Center for the Book website. A recording of the informational NCompass Live webinar on November 3rd, discussing this year’s contest, is available online. For more information contact Nebraska Center for the 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 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.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tessa Terry 402-471-3434 800-307-2665
Young Nebraskans Win Writing Competition
Nebraska student’s competed for the twenty-second year in the annual Letters About Literature competition. They wrote to tell an author about how books can make a difference in a young person’s life. Young Nebraska writers who wrote winning letters in the Letters About Literature competition will receive award certificates signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts. Letters About Literature is a state-wide reading and writing promotion program. The competition encourages young people to read, be inspired, and write back to the author (living or dead) who had an impact on their lives.
This annual contest is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, Houchen Bindery Ltd., Humanities Nebraska, and Chapters Bookstore in Seward.
Young Nebraska writers to be honored are:
Winners Oslo Gegg, of Lincoln, who wrote to Homer Hickman
Annika Srivastav, of Lincoln, for her letter to Michelle Obama
Anna Dailey, of Omaha, for her letter to Ray Bradbury
Runners-up Alondra Ramos Figueroa, of Grand Island, who wrote to Alan Gratz
Lina Dvorak, of Lincoln, for her letter to Melissa Bashardoust
Kaydence LaPuzza, of Valley, for her letter to John Green
The students wrote personal letters to authors explaining how his or her work changed their view of themselves or the world. They selected authors from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. Winners were chosen from three competition levels: upper elementary, middle, and secondary school.
The Nebraska winners receive cash prizes and gift certificates, and will be honored at a virtual event on May 12th. Their winning letters are placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. For more information about the competition see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.
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.”
