Update: Pictures of the celebration have been posted on Picasa.
This event hosted by the Nebraska Center for the Book honored winners of the 2011 Jane Geske Award and 2011 Nebraska Book Awards. The book choice for the 2012 One Book One Nebraska statewide read was announced. In conjunction with the celebration highlighting the 2011 One Book One Nebraska (Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted Kooser), the Nebraska Repertory Theatre offered two performances of “Local Wonders: A Musical” at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on October 22.
| 3:30 p.m. - | Annual Membership Meeting |
| 4:00 p.m. - | Presentation: 2011 Jane Geske Award |
| 4:15 p.m. - | Presentation: 2011 Nebraska Book Awards |
| Remarks and readings by winning authors. Winning authors to be announced. | |
| 5:30 p.m. - | Announcement of
2012 One Book One Nebraska Awards Reception & Author Signings |
| 6:30 p.m. - | Closing |
The 2011 Celebration of Nebraska Books is set for Saturday, October 22, 3:30 – 6:30 pm, at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln. The event, free and open to the public, will highlight this year’s One Book One Nebraska, honor winners of the 2011 Jane Geske and Nebraska Book Awards, and announce the choice for the 2012 One Book One Nebraska. One Book One Nebraska is a statewide reading program supported by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Association, Nebraska Library Commission, and the University of Nebraska Press. Throughout 2011, Nebraskans have been reading and discussing former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps. Public nominations for the 2012 One Book One Nebraska were submitted in May and June 2011. Finalists will be revealed in the fall and the 2012 selection will be announced at the October 22 celebration.
The celebration will also feature presentation of the Nebraska Center for the Book's Nebraska Book Awards and Jane Geske Award. The 2011 Nebraska Book Awards honor authors and publishers of books with a Nebraska connection published in 2010. Featured winning authors will read from their work and sign copies of their books. The 2011 Jane Geske Award will be presented 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.
In conjunction with the celebration, the Lied Center for Performing Arts will offer six performances of Local Wonders: A Musical, October 19 – 23 at the Lied Center's Johnny Carson Theater, produced by the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. A 2:00 p.m. performance will precede the October 22 celebration and another performance will be presented after the celebration at 7:30 p.m. These performances are ticketed events. Tickets are available at www.liedcenter.org/events/detail.php?eid=157.
The Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting will also be held at the October 22 celebration. An Awards Reception honoring the winning authors and book signing will conclude the festivities.
The 2011 Celebration of Nebraska Books is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, and Nebraska Library Commission, in partnership with the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, and University of Nebraska Press. For more information contact Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 or 800-307-2665, or visit the Facebook pages of the Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, and One Book One Nebraska.