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MEDIA RELEASE CONTACT: 20 May 2008 Shari Nault [PHONE REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] JUDGES SELECT FINALISTS FOR HIGH PLAINS BOOK AWARD In preparation for the second annual The High Plains Book Award [HPBA] ceremony and banquet scheduled for Friday, October 17, 2008 in Billings, the first-round judges [30 community readers] recently chose 11 books for final review from the 36 submitted, almost double the number from the HPBA launch in 2007. The finalist selection includes three in the Fiction category, three in First Book and five Nonfiction books for consideration by the final judges. There will also be an Emeritus Award for a celebrated body of work awarded. The 2007 Emeritus Award went to Larry Watson, a ND native, currently living and teaching in Wisconsin, author of Montana 1948, White Crosses, and Sundown, Yellow Moon. This year’s finalists include authors from five states including Montana and one Canadian writer - truly a High Plains representation. See selection below. The High Plains Books Awards have been established to recognize regional authors and/or literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. First Book Migration Patterns: Stories - by Gary Schanbacher A collection of stories exploring migration in all its various nuances, featuring characters who live in or are touched by the American West. Author Gary Schanbacher was raised amidst the rich storytelling tradition of southeastern Virginia; currently he lives in Littleton, Colorado. Turpentine - by Spring Warren An ambitious novel of excitement, humor and pathos following a young upper-class Easterner swept up in the sprawling Frontier West of the 1870s. Author Spring Warren hails from Wyoming, where her family has lived since the 1870s. Where the Rivers Run North - by Sam Morton A spellbinding historical novel of the “Absaraka” region (now Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming) through the Native American, Pioneer and Modern eras. Author Sam Morton has been a horse trainer for more than 30 years, and splits his time between Big Horn, Wyoming and Wellington, Florida. -more- ---PAGE BREAK--- Nonfiction High Plains Book Awards 2 of 2 This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor - by Susan Wicklund A compassionate chronicle of Wicklund’s “fundamental commitment to patients, and to the cause of keeping reproductive rights safe and legal.” Author Susan Wicklund has been a medical provider for 20+ years, most recently at her own clinic in rural Montana. Boxing for Cuba - by Guillermo Vincente Vidal Vidal’s memoir traces his life as a young man displaced from his family in Cuba and shuttled to a Colorado orphanage, where he eventually emerged as a civic leader. Author Guillermo Vincente Vidal is the Deputy Mayor and Manager of Public Works for the City and County of Denver. Gall: Lakota War Chief - by Robert W. Larson An examination of the conflicting stories of the legendary war chief called the “Fighting Cock of the Sioux,” shedding new light on both the man and his people. Author Robert W. Larson is retired as Professor of History at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. One Woman’s Montana - by Kathe LeSage A photography collection of landscapes and natural wonders across Big Sky Country, this is LeSage’s “visual love poem about Montana.” Author and photographer Kathe Le Sage is a life-long Montanan now living near Wolf Creek. Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonné - B. Byron Price, Editor A lavishly-illustrated collection of essays about the most beloved artist of the American West, this is the first comprehensive description and documentation of Russell’s works. Editor B. Byron Price is Director of the Charles M. Russell Center and Charles Marion Russell Chair of Art History, University of Oklahoma. Fiction Shallow Grave - by Lori G. Unearthed remains in South Dakota put private investigator Julie Collins in a deep hole filled with tribal politics, family disputes and rivalries--even as she has to keep digging to find the truth. Shamus Award-nominated author Lori G. lives in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Watershed Years - by Russell Rowland In this highly anticipated sequel to In Open Spaces, family frictions threaten to tear apart Eastern Montana’s Arbuckle Ranch in the years immediately following World War II. Author Russell Rowland lives in Billings, Montana, and teaches at MSU-Billings and Gotham Writers’ Workshops. A Feast of Longing - by Sarah Klassen An intimate collection of stories following ordinary, middle-class Canadians as they long for significance, for meaning, and for release from their guilt. Sarah Klassen is the award-winning author of another short story collection, The Peony Season, as well as five books of poetry. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba Festivity details is at www.billings.lib.mt.us The public is encouraged to attend. The awards are in conjunction with the 6th annual High Plains BookFest: The Call of the Wild. For information about High Plains BookFest, contact Corby Skinner [EMAIL REDACTED] -end-