The 2003 Nebraska Book Festival will take place on October 24-25 in the Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University in downtown Omaha.

Together with the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Humanities Council, Creighton will co-sponsor the Festival as part of its celebration of 125 years of providing quality education to young women and men in the Jesuit tradition.

Festival co-directors are Dr. Timothy Austin, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Nebraska Humanities Council board member, and Brent Spencer, Associate Professor of English and Nebraska Center for the Book board member. Of Creighton’s sponsorship, Spencer said, “The University is very pleased to sponsor this year’s festival. It gives us opportunities to promote this excellent public event and to celebrate an important milestone in the history of our university.”

The year 2003 marks a milestone for several organizations in the area. The Omaha Public Library recently celebrated its 125th birthday. The Nebraska Humanities Council is marking thirty years of fulfilling its mission of cultivating an understanding of our history and culture throughout the state and the Nebraska Center for the Book will celebrate thirteen years of bringing together Nebraska’s community of the book. In order to ensure that the 2003 Nebraska Book Festival appropriately reflects this rich and lively heritage, this year’s festival sponsors have selected as its theme, Books Alive!

The Festival is still in the planning stages, but the two-day event will include readings by authors, writing workshops, panel discussions on writing and literature, displays on various aspects of books and bookmaking, and activities on topics ranging from contemporary fiction and poetry to insights into publishing, forming book groups, researching family genealogy, foreseeing the future of the book, and more.
For more information or to volunteer to help, contact Brent Spencer, Creighton University, 402-280-2192, <spencr@creighton.edu>.

The 2003 Nebraska Book Awards program, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book (NCB), will recognize and honor books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska publishers, set in Nebraska, or relating to Nebraska.

Books published in 2002, 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: Children/Young Adult, Cover Design/Illustrations, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Certificates will be awarded to the winners in each category. Award winners will be announced at the Nebraska Book Festival on October 24. The winning books will be displayed at the Book Festival. Winners will be entitled to display award stickers on their book covers. The entry fee is $40 per book and per category entered. Deadline for entries is June 30. Entry forms are available from the Nebraska Library Commission home page, <www.nlc.state.ne.us>, search on 2003 Book Awards or contact Mary Geibel, 402-471-2045, 800-307-2665, e-mail: Mary Geibel for print information. Enter by sending the entry form, three copies of the book, and the entry fee to NCB Book Awards Competition, Nebraska Library Commission, The Atrium, 1200 N Street, Suite 120, Lincoln, NE 68508-2023.