The Nebraska Library Commission and Nebraska Center for the Book has announced Nancy Plain as winner of the 2016 Nebraska Book Award in the category of Children/Young Adult for This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon. Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.
Celebrate with Nebraska’s 2016 Book Award Winners at October 29 Festival Author readings and an awards presentation ceremony will highlight the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Celebration of Nebraska Books on October 29 at the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Nebraska History Museum at 131 Centennial Mall North, in downtown Lincoln. Winners of the 2016 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 2016.
Nancy Plain is an award-winning writer of biographies and histories for young readers–and readers of all ages. This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon, has earned a starred Kirkus review: “Like Audubon’s paintings, this volume ‘glows with life….A superb introduction to the life and times of a great American artist and naturalist.'” Another of her books, Light on the Prairie: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska’s Pioneer Days, has been called “a model of how a book for young readers can educate as well as delight” [Kate Elliott, The Annals of Iowa]. Among Plain’s literary awards are three Spur Awards for Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction, the Nebraska Book Award for Youth Nonfiction, the Will Rogers Medallion Award, the Carter G. Woodson Honor Award, the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, and First Place in Children’s Nonfiction from the National Federation of Press Women.
The celebration, free and open to the public, will also honor winners of the 2016 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 Nebraska organizations 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 2016 One Book One Nebraska selection, The Meaning of Names (Red Hen Press) by Karen Gettert Shoemaker, will be featured in a presentation by Shoemaker about this Nebraska-set novel with a World War I backdrop, keynoting the Celebration at 2:45 p.m.
The Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m.—just prior to the 2:30-6:30 p.m. Celebration. An awards reception honoring the winning authors, book signings, and announcement of the 2017 One Book One Nebraska book choice will conclude the festivities.
The Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book and Nebraska Library Commission, with support from the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press and Nebraska State Historical Society’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 informatio
