FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dawn Lipp
(317) 232-3699
dlipp@statelib.lib.in.us
HEADLINE: Indiana Center for the Book Honors Best Books of Indiana
DATELINE: Indianapolis, Indiana
June 15, 2006
In an awards ceremony earlier this evening the Indiana Center for the Book recognized the top writers in the Best Books of Indiana competition. Approximately 50 people from across Indiana and surrounding states attended the ceremony at the Indiana State Library in downtown Indianapolis.
Dawn Lipp, coordinator of the Indiana Center for the Book, said, "We are delighted with this second year of the competition and are excited about plans for next year's competition." The Best Books competition began in 2005 to renew interest in Indiana’s strong literary heritage and to highlight Indiana's ongoing literary successes. Books by Indiana authors or about Indiana, published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year are eligible. Categories include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children's literature.
This year’s winners are:
Fiction
Best Book: Stakeout on Millennium Drive by Ian Woollen. Ramble House Press, Shreveport, Louisiana. “Good portrait of Indiana and Indianapolis. Letter format interesting and works well. Reminiscent of Confederacy of Dunces.” (Best Books of Indiana 2006 Fiction Judges)
Finalists: The Island of Misfit Toys by André Swartley. Bound to Excel, Elkhart, Indiana
Slave or Free And... 11 other problem solving plays by Fred Woodress & Anne Blackmon Woodress. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana
Nonfiction
Best Book: The War Comes to Plum Street by Bruce Smith. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana
Finalists: Jonathan Jennings: Indiana's First Governor by Randy K. Mills. Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis, Indiana
James Dean: Rebel with a Cause by Wes Gehring. Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis, Indiana
Poetry
Best Book: Metropolis Burning by Karen Kovacik. Cleveland State University Poetry Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Finalist: Night Highway by Barbara Koons. Bedbug Press, Brownsville, Oregon
Children’s literature
Best Book: Abuelita's Secret Matzahs by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. Emmis Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. “An outstanding example of children's literature. The characters are wonderfully written, and it is beautifully illustrated. The frames of each page mix symbols and images which nicely combine the family's mixed Jewish and Southwestern/Hispanic heritage. The intricate illustrations of the frame complement the main illustration. The detail also encourages repeated readings.” (Best Books of Indiana 2006 Children’s literature Judges)
Finalists: Captured! A Boy Trapped in the Civil War by Mary Blair Immel. Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Sword and the Pen: A Life of Lew Wallace by Ray E. Boomhower. Indiana Historical Society Press, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Indiana Center for the Book is a program of the Indiana State Library and an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The Center’s role is to stimulate public interest in reading and books at the state and local levels and to encourage the study of books in society. The Center develops programs to support books and reading through competitions, lectures, and related activities in Indiana.