The Nebraska Center for the Book is the Nebraska affiliate of the
Center for the Book
The Center for the Book was founded in 1977 by Daniel J. Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress, to promote literacy, libraries, and reading and an understanding of the history and heritage of American literature. The Center for the Book is mainly su ...
in the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. It bestows out the annual Nebraska Book Awards in conjunction with the Nebraska Library Commission.
The Center's goal is to bring "readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars" together to excite interest in "the written word".
Awards
Nebraska Book Awards
The Nebraska book awards are given annually to books written by Nebraska authors, set in Nebraska, related to Nebraska or published by Nebraska-based publishers.
Prizes are awarded in the categories of, Nonfiction, Fiction, Children/Young Adult, Cover/Design/Illustration, Anthology and Poetry.
[
In 2019 the Center was at the center of a political controversy when Governor ]Pete Ricketts
John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American politician serving as the 40th governor of Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Ricketts is the son of Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade. He is also, with oth ...
refused to sign the customary proclamation declaring the winner on the grounds that the winning book, ''This Blessed Earth,'' by written by Nebraska journalist and author Ted Genoways
Ted Genoways (born April 13, 1972) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer at '' Mother Jones'' and ''The New Republic'', and an editor-at-large at ''Pacific Standard''. His books include ''This Blessed Earth'' and ''T ...
, is a "political activist" whose book is "divisive."Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, Genoways has been critical of Obama administration policies, of , of the fact that Nebraska has an entirely Republican congressional delegation and of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Mildred Bennett Award
The Mildred Bennett Award is given to an individual for a significant contribution to the Nebraska literary tradition.[
]
See also
* Books in the United States
As of 2018, several firms in the United States rank among the world's biggest publishers of books in terms of revenue: Cengage Learning, HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill Education, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Wiley.
H ...
References
External links
Nebraska Center for the book
{{Books
Centers for the Book
Center for the Book
The Center for the Book was founded in 1977 by Daniel J. Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress, to promote literacy, libraries, and reading and an understanding of the history and heritage of American literature. The Center for the Book is mainly su ...