Oklahoma Center for the Book. 2006 Oklahoma Book Award Program.

              Book Awards
Welcome to the
17th Annual
Oklahoma
Book Awards
Ceremony
A Celebration of Oklahoma Books and Authors
2006 Oklahoma Book Awards
Welcome.............................................................................................................................................M.J. Van Deventer
President, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Comments....................................................................................................................................................Susan McVey
Director, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Anne Boni
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Master of Ceremonies.........................................................................................................................B. Byron Price
Director, Charles M. Russell Center
Letters About Literature...................................................................................................................... Jane Taylor
Introducing 2005 National Winner Amy Tai Chair, Letters About Literature Committee
Ralph Ellison Award Presentation.............................................................................................Harvey Payne
Honoring John Joseph Mathews Director, Tall Grass Prairie Preserve
Accepted by Virginia Mathews
Children/Young Adult Award Presentation...........................................................................Molly Griffis
Children/Young Adult Award Winner–2002 & 2005
Poetry Award Presentation...................................................................................................................Sandra Soli
Poetry Editor, ByLine Magazine
Non-fiction Award Presentation..................................................................................................Revere Young
Friend of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Design/Illustration Award Presentation..................................................................................B.J. Williams
Immediate Past President, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Fiction Award Presentation.................................................................................................................... Billie Letts
Fiction Award Winner–1996 & 1999
Special Presentations—Directors Award.................................................................. Connie Armstrong
Editor, Oklahoma Almanac
Distinguished Service Award............................................Bob Blackburn
Director, Oklahoma Historical Society
Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award.............................................Governor George Nigh
Honoring Bob Burke Interim Director, Oklahoma Department of Tourism
Announcements and Drawing......................................................................................................Glenda Carlile
Executive Director, Oklahoma Center for the Book
Music by Scott Johnson
The book sale and signing continues after dinner. Best of Books contributes all proceeds to the Friends of the Oklahoma Center for The Book.
Please enjoy visiting with the book award medalists and finalists.
John Joseph Mathews
Recipient of the 2006 Ralph Ellison Award
A native of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, John Joseph Mathews (1895–1979), grew up among the
Osage and developed a respect and admiration for his native people. One of his earliest
recollections as a child was hearing an Osage Indian prayer-chant to the morning star.
Following his service in the United States Air Force during World War I, Mathews returned to
Oklahoma and received a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma. He
graduated from Oxford University in 1923, as one of the school’s first graduates with Native
American heritage. Mathews later worked as a realtor in California, until he became a rancher
and began devoting his time to writing.
Mathews authored both fiction and non-fiction books. His work focused primarily on
southwestern history and particularly the Osage Indians. He became one of the early writers to
be concerned with the loss of traditional Native American culture. His books include Wah’Kon-
Tah: The Osage and the White Man’s Road, Talking to the Moon, Life and Death of an Oilman: The
Career of E.W. Marland, and The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters. His novel, Sundown, is
somewhat autobiographical. The book’s main character is Challenge Windzor, a young man
born and raised on an Oklahoma reservation, who has difficulty blending his Indian heritage
and white culture.
Throughout his life, Mathews continued to preserve the history of the Osage people and their
culture. He served as a member of the Osage Tribal Council from 1934 to 1942, and played an
integral role in the development of the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska. He died in June
1979. The Oklahoma Historical Society honored Mathews for his work in preserving the history
of Oklahoma and the Osage people by posthumously inducting him into the Oklahoma
Historians Hall of Fame.
Harvey Payne, a friend and admirer of John Joseph Mathews, will be presenting the Ralph
Ellison Award. Payne, an attorney as well as a devoted environmentalist, serves as director of
the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma, where he diligently works to maintain protection
of the 40,000 acre preserve. In 1991 he received the Chevron Conservation Award, and has
been recognized by the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation with the At Large Conservation Award.
An accomplished nature and wildlife photographer, Payne’s photographs have appeared in
publications nationwide. More than one hundred of his prairie photographs are on permanent
display at a Smithsonian exhibit on prairies at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Payne
maintains a private law practice in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Virginia Mathews, daughter of John Joseph Mathews, is accepting the Ralph Ellison Award
for her father. She is a longtime member of the American Library Association, and was elected
an Honorary Life Member in 1994. Mathews has spent her professional life of nearly fifty years
as a writer, editor, speaker, project director, and advocate for literacy and libraries, especially
service to children.
The Ralph Ellison Award
From time to time, the Ralph Ellison Award, honoring a deceased Oklahoma writer, is pre-sented.
The award is named after the first recipient, Ralph Ellison, author of the ground-break-ing
novel Invisible Man. A list of Ellison Award recipients is listed on the Previous Winners page
of this program.
Children/Young Adults
Clabbernappers—Len Bailey—Tor/Starscape, New York, NY
Chess, pirates, royalty and a confident young cowboy come together in this unusual fantasy,
Bailey’s first book. Eleven-year-old Danny Ray (“…the best rodeo cowboy in Oklahoma—Junior
Division of course!”) finds himself transported from the Cherokee County Fair to the checkered
land of Elidor, where the royal citizens are in need of a hero. Can Danny rescue the kidnapped
queen from the Sarksa pirates in time to save the Great Chess Game? Bailey graduated from
Tahlequah High School and Trinity College in Illinois. He and his family live in the Chicago
suburbs.
Assassin—Anna Myers—Walker & Company, New York, NY
“I am not evil. I tell this story so that you might understand and perhaps so that I might see
more clearly.” Thus begins Anna Myers’ latest work of historical fiction. It is the story of Bella,
a seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln, who comes under the influence of charismatic actor John
Wilkes Booth, the man who will become infamous for killing a president. Myers has won two
Oklahoma Book Awards, and her book Tulsa Burning was selected as one of New York Public
Library’s Books for the Teen Age. The author lived many years in Chandler, but now calls Tulsa
home.
Cowboy Camp—Tammi Sauer—Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, NY
In this delightful picture book, young Avery wants to be a cowboy more than anything, but he
just doesn’t fit the mold. His belt buckle is too small, his hat is too big, his shoes are too red, he
hates grits and beans, he’s allergic to horses, and “whoever heard of a cowboy named Avery?”
Will he make the grade? Sauer spent the first eighteen years of her life in Victoria, Kansas,
population 1,208. Today she lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, with her family.
Dancing with Elvis—Lynda Stephenson—Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Grand Rapids, MI
It’s 1956, and ever since she and her mother rescued Angel Musseldorf from her abusive
parents, Frankilee Baxter has been miserable. In addition to being more pretty, popular, and
talented than Frankilee, Angel moves in, steals Frankilee’s clothing, and begins dating the boy
Frankilee likes. At the same time, Frankilee’s community is struggling with the issue of school
integration. What keeps our young heroine going is her fantasy about Elvis Presley rescuing
her from life in Clover, Texas. Booklist calls Stephenson’s ambitious first book a debut that
“won’t easily be forgotten.” The author lives in Edmond with her husband and a cat named
Elvis.
2006 Oklahoma Book Award Finalists
Czar of Alaska: The Cross of Charlemagne—Richard Trout—Pelican Publishing Co., Gretna, LA
International bestselling author Clive Cussler says Trout writes tales for young people the way
they “should be written.” In this fourth installment of the MacGregor Family Adventure Series,
Drs. Jack and Mavis MacGregor and their three children head to Alaska where they encounter
an unusual new threat from eco-terrorists, common anarchists, a rogue Vatican priest, and a
corrupt Polish archaeologist. Trout is an environmental biologist, consultant, and professor at
Oklahoma City Community College. He and his wife have two grown daughters.
Pick of the Litter—Bill Wallace—Holiday House, New York, NY
Wallace is the beloved author of many books for young readers, and is known far and wide
for his middle-grade fiction. He is a two-time winner of the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the
recipient of the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the
Book. The author’s latest work is an honest and touching boy-and-dog story, where young
Tom learns firsthand about honor, friendship and puppy love. Wallace and his family live in
Chickasha.
Poetry
Suffer the Little Voices—Nathan Brown—Greystone Press, Edmond, OK
In this stark, honest and challenging work, Brown tells spiritual truths as he sees them—truths
that have often been arrived at painfully. As the poet invites readers to accompany him on
this exploration of faith and religion, he employs styles that range from conversational to
almost biblical, demonstrating he is comfortable and masterful writing in a variety of voices.
Nathan Brown is a musician, entertainer, recording artist, minister, teacher, father and poet
philosopher who lives in Norman, Oklahoma.
Evidence of Red—LeAnne Howe—Salt Publishing, Cambridge, UK
Howe’s collection of poetry and prose is personal and multi-layered. It breaks out of the
traditional Native American mold to create a new paradigm. Unique imagery, the counterpoint
between the historically poignant with the cultural iconography of the present, and the
unexpected humor that pops up, add up to a thoroughly original work. Howe, an enrolled
member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, was raised in Oklahoma City. She is a fiction
writer, playwright, journalist, scholar and poet. Her novel Shell Shaker was a finalist for the 2003
Oklahoma Book Award.
Everything That Is–Is Connected—Judith Tate O’Brien—Village Books Press, Cheyenne, OK
O’Brien’s most recent collection of poetry exposes the illusory borders that mask true
connections, revealing “a world without the boundaries that separate people from one
another, from the natural world, from the past, and from the future, a world that could be
described as a divine milieu.” This is Judith Tate O’Brien’s third book to be named an Oklahoma
Book Award finalist. Her poetry has been widely published and has won several prizes and a
Pushcart Prize Nomination. She has been a teacher, a nun and a family therapist. O’Brien is also
a stroke survivor. She lives in Oklahoma City with Gene, her husband of twenty-six years.
Non-Fiction
The Worst Hard Time—Timothy Egan—Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY
The dust storms that terrorized the high plains of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and other
states in the darkest days of the Great Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since.
New York Times journalist and author Timothy Egan follows a half-dozen families through the
rise and fall of the region, producing a story Walter Cronkite describes as “can’t-put-it-down
history.” Egan has written four books and has received several awards, including the Pulitzer
Prize. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
Wanderers Between Two Worlds: German Rebels in the American West, 1830–1860
Douglas Hale—Xlibris, Philadelphia, PA
This is the true story of seven young men who launched an abortive revolution in 1833
Germany in an attempt to bring unity and freedom to their country. Bungling the revolt,
the rebels find themselves branded as traitors and hunted as criminals. Fleeing to the new
world, the youths embrace the challenges of the American frontier in Illinois, Missouri and
Texas, while carving out careers of distinction. Historian Douglas Hale is professor emeritus at
Oklahoma State University. This is his third book. He and his wife, sculptor Lou Moore Hale, live
in Stillwater.
The University of Oklahoma: A History, Volume I, 1890–1917
David W. Levy—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
This is the first in a projected three-volume definitive history of the University of Oklahoma.
Levy examines the people and events surrounding the school’s formation and development,
chronicling the determined ambition of pioneers to transform an apparently barren landscape
into a place where a worthy institution of higher education could thrive. Levy is Irene and
Julian J. Rothbaum Professor of Modern American History and David Ross Boyd Professor at
the University of Oklahoma.
Hidden Treasures of the American West: Muriel H. Wright, Angie Debo and Alice Marriott
Patricia Loughlin—University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM
In the 1930s and 1940s, three Oklahoma women produced some of the most important
writings about Oklahoma, American Indians, and the American West. But Wright, Debo and
Marriott never received the attention that has been enjoyed by other public historians who
studied and wrote on the same topics. Loughlin, assistant professor of history at the University
of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, pulls the curtain back to reveal the lives of these women,
their establishment of new methodologies, and their significant texts that have contributed
greatly to the historiography of Oklahoma and the nation.
Palace on the Prairie: The Marland Family Story—C.D. Northcutt, William C. Ziegenhain, and
Bob Burke—Oklahoma Heritage Association, Oklahoma City, OK
The story of the E. W. Marland family of Ponca City is one of the most intriguing sagas in
Oklahoma history. It is the story of big oil, great wealth, politics, and generous philanthropy. It
is also the story of a great love, a mysterious disappearance, and the building of an incredible
mansion home. Northcutt was Lydie Marland’s legal advisor and friend; Ziegenhain has done
major research on the Marland family history; and Burke, tonight’s Lifetime Achievement
Award recipient, has written and co-written more than sixty books about Oklahoma and its
people.
On the Wild Edge: In Search of a Natural Life—David Petersen—Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY
Petersen reflects on his twenty-five years of life in the Colorado wilderness. In the past we
listened to Henry David Thoreau or Aldo Leopold: today it is Petersen’s turn. His observations
are lyrical, scientific, and from the heart. Petersen was born and raised in Oklahoma and
attended the University of Oklahoma. He was a pilot in the U.S. Marines, the managing editor
of a national motorcycle magazine, a two-time college graduate, a mailman, a beach bum, and
the western editor of Mother Earth News. On the Wild Edge is his “lucky thirteenth” book.
The Chuck Wagon Cookbook—B. Byron Price—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
Price offers a fascinating history of ranch and range cooking, tracing its evolution from
nineteenth-century ranchers to today’s working cowboys. Chock full of recipes to try at home,
the book is also enhanced by folklore, abundant photographs, and letters from cowboys in
order to do full justice to the rich and vital legacy of Western cooking. Price is director of the
Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of the American West at the University of Oklahoma,
and former director of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War
Anthony Shadid—Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY
Washington Post reporter Anthony Shadid received the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting
from Iraq. Fluent in Arabic, a veteran observer of the Middle East, he hoped to explain the
complexities of post–9/11 Arab identity and to tell the human story of the American invasion’s
impact on Iraqi lives. Night Draws Near reveals the hidden faces of a nation and a conflict
that will resonate around the world for generations to come. An Arab-American of Lebanese
descent, Shadid was born and raised in Oklahoma City, and now lives in Washington and
Baghdad.
The Oklahoma Aviation Story—Keith Tolman, Kim Jones, Carl Gregory, and Bill Moore
Oklahoma Heritage Association, Oklahoma City, OK
The adventure of flight in Oklahoma is told from its simple beginnings of the balloon era
through the golden age into military and the jet age. The names, the dates and the places are
all here in one book for the very first time. All of the authors have a fascination with Sooner
State aviation: Tolman has written extensively about Oklahoma aerospace history; Jones is
curator of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum; Gregory has written a book on Tulsa aviation
history; and Moore has written articles on Oklahoma aviation and has produced two aviation
documentaries for OETA.
Design/Illustration
Images of History: The Oklahoman Collection—Design by Jim Argo, Bob Blackburn and Scott
Horton—Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, OK
Since 1903, the Oklahoma Publishing Company has documented events in the state, one
day at a time, in words and images. This book celebrates the photographic images of The
Oklahoman and companion newspapers during the past century. Together, the images
reveal the progress of a state and its people. Blackburn is executive director of the Oklahoma
Historical Society. Argo retired as The Oklahoman photo editor in 2003. Horton is creative
director of NewsOK.com. Argo and Horton received the Oklahoma Book Award for design in
2004 for Family Album: A Centennial Pictorial of the Oklahoma Publishing Company.
Mother, Mother, I Want Another—Illustrated by Jon Goodell—Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY
Critically acclaimed artist Jon Goodell illustrates this new edition of Maria Polushkin Robbins’s
delightful comedy of errors. When Mother Mouse tucks Baby Mouse into bed, she gives her
baby a kiss. “I want another, Mother,” Baby Mouse says. And so Mother Mouse is on the hunt
for another Mother to help put Baby to bed! Goodell earned a degree in fine arts from the
University of Oklahoma and finds illustrating books for young readers the most rewarding
work he can imagine. He lives in Norman with his family and cooks in his spare time.
Home: Native People in the Southwest
Designed by Carol Haralson—Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Miami, Oklahoma, native Carol Haralson designed this book as a companion to an exhibit
at the Heard Museum. The exhibit explored artistic expressions of Native Peoples on the
meanings of home. Haralson worked professionally in Oklahoma for many years and continues
to work with Oklahoma institutions and individuals on a variety of book design projects from
her studio in Arizona. Her efforts have earned her more Oklahoma Book Award medals than
any other OBA honoree.
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma: Selected Works
Designed by John Hubbard—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
This beautifully illustrated catalogue highlights 101 works of art from the museum. Combining
full-color reproductions with explanatory text, the catalogue presents significant examples
of Asian, European, American, American Indian, and contemporary art from the museum’s
permanent collection. The pages offer a tour of the museum’s exceptional paintings,
sculptures, works on paper, and photographs. Book designer John Hubbard lives in Seattle.
Charles Faudree’s Country French Living—Photography by Jenifer Jordan, book design by
Charles Faudree and M.J. Van Deventer—Gibbs Smith, Salt Lake City, UT
One of America’s top one hundred designers, Tulsa’s Charles Faudree is recognized as a master
of the Country French style. Interior photographer Jennifer Jordan beautifully captures the
essence of Faudree’s design sensibility. Faudree and M.J. Van Deventer grew up together in
Muskogee, and have collaborated on writing and designing a previous title, Charles Faudree’s
French Country Signature. Van Deventer is editor of Persimmon Hill magazine, and current
president of the Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
A Western Legacy: The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
Photography by Ed Muno, design by John Hubbard—The University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
This volume commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the museum that sits on Oklahoma
City’s Persimmon Hill, offering both an institutional history and a pictorial overview of its
extensive holdings. Although western fine art has long been its primary focus, the museum
today collects a broad array of materials that reflects the variety of peoples, cultures, and
historical currents found in the West. The museum’s curator of art, Ed Muno, demonstrates his
virtuoso ability behind the lens of a camera, and book designer John Hubbard of Seattle puts
it all together.
I is for Idea: An Inventions Alphabet
Illustrated by Kandy Radzinski—Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI
This children’s book celebrates the men and women from around the world who made
incredible contributions to everyday life through their inventions. Radzinski has illustrated
children’s books, posters, greeting cards, and even a six-foot penguin (for Tulsa Zoo’s Penguins
on Parade project). She is a two-time Oklahoma Book Award winner for her illustrations for The
Twelve Cats of Christmas and S is for Sooner. The artist lives in Tulsa with two Scottie dogs, Miss
Moe and Kirby, a son named Ian, and a husband named Mark.
Theodore—Paintings by Mike Wimmer—Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, NY
This children’s introduction to Theodore Roosevelt is Wimmer’s second collaboration with
former Governor Frank Keating. Their first work, Will Rogers, was awarded the 2003 Spur Award
by the Western Writers Association of America. Wimmer’s illustrations for All the Places to Love
received the 1995 Oklahoma Book Award, and his two collaborations with author Robert
Burliegh have also received recognition—Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh won an Orbis
Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, while Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth
was named an ALA Notable Children‘s Book. Wimmer is a native of Muskogee. He lives with his
family in Norman, Oklahoma.
Fiction
Fields of Gold—Marie Bostwick—Kensington Books, New York, NY
In 1922 Oklahoma, young Evangeline Glennon assumes her life in the agricultural community
of Dillon will be as predictable and flat as the miles of wheat that stretch toward the horizon.
But when a dashing young aviator lands in her family’s field, Eva’s life is changed forever. In
addition to being an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, this debut novel has also been honored
by Romantic Times Book Club magazine as a finalist for Best Historical Saga. Bostwick lives in
Connecticut with her husband and three sons.
The Old Buzzard Had It Coming—Donis Casey—Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, AZ
Alafair Tucker, her husband Shaw, and their nine children live a busy and happy life on their
farm in Oklahoma at the turn of the twentieth century. When her daughter becomes involved
in the murder of the meanest man in Muskogee County, she vows to move heaven and earth
to protect her child, and incidentally, find out who killed the old buzzard. Casey was born and
raised in Tulsa, and worked many years as an academic librarian at the University of Oklahoma
and Arizona State University. She and her husband live in Tempe, Arizona.
The Black Jack Conspiracy—David Kent—Pocket Books, New York, NY
Kent’s novel Department Thirty was one of the best selling e-books of 2003. It was also the start
of a series revolving around the mysterious Department Thirty, a secret agency that erases the
identities of top-level criminals in exchange for the kind of information people would kill for. In
this third installment, Department case officer Faith Kelly uncovers a vast conspiracy that has
its roots in a notorious frontier massacre in Oklahoma Territory. David Kent is the pen name of
Kent Anderson. Anderson grew up in Madill. He has three sons and lives in Oklahoma City.
The Hot Kid—Elmore Leonard—William Morrow, New York, NY
Carl Webster, the hot kid of the marshals service, works out of the Tulsa Federal Courthouse
during the 1930s, the period of America’s most notorious bank robbers. Carl wants to be
America’s most famous lawman. Meanwhile, Jack Belmont wants to rob banks and become
public enemy number one. The stage is set for the fortieth novel of Elmore Leonard’s
incomparable career. He has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America,
and many of his books have been made into movies, including Get Shorty and Out of Sight.
Leonard lives with his wife in Michigan.
Tales of the Wide-A-Wake Café—Curt Munson—Author-House, Bloomington, IN
Inspired by a photograph of waitresses taken during 1940, Munson has recreated the world
of a small café on Route 66 during America’s coming of age. This is the story of Janice, Tina,
Cynthia, Clara and the rest of the women of this greatest generation; the story of what they did
and how they lived and loved when war changed everything in their lives. Munson, an award-winning
writer and public speaker, served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He currently makes his
home in Edmond, Oklahoma.
To Kingdom Come—Will Thomas—Touchstone, New York, NY
Victorian enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his young assistant Thomas Llewelyn, first introduced
in the 2005 Oklahoma Book Award-winner Some Danger Involved, return in this new adventure.
Barker and Llewelyn set out to infiltrate a secret cell of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
known as the Invisibles, a cell that is bent on bringing London to its knees and ending the
monarchy forever. Thomas’s writing has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and in
publications of various Sherlock Holmes societies. He lives with his wife in Broken Arrow.
The Meinders
Foundation
Congratulates Bob Burke
2006 Arrell Gibson Lifetime
Achievement Award recipient
Bob,
Amazing, smart, and passionate about everything
you do, we are so proud to stand with you this evening as you
receive this lifetime achievement award. It’s true that you have
written so many wonderful biographies, but day in and
day out the life you live before us is the greatest
one of all—a truly wonderful husband,
father and friend. We love you.
—Your wife and
family
Bob Burke
Recipient of the 2006 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
Bob Burke, an Oklahoma City attorney and historian, is tonight’s recipient of the Arrell Gibson
Lifetime Achievement Award. He has written or co-written sixty-five books about Oklahoma
including Roscoe Dunjee: Champion of Civil Rights, Kate Bernard: Oklahoma’s Good Angel,
Oklahoma Government Today: How We Got There, and A History of the Oklahoma Governor’s
Mansion.
A native of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Burke received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the
University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University. He served
as a journalist and sportscaster for local radio and television stations in Oklahoma before
joining the American Broadcasting Company in New York. He has held numerous positions in
state government including director of a large state agency during Governor David Boren’s
administration.
Burke has written on such diverse topics as aviation, baseball, and religion in Oklahoma. He
received the Oklahoma Book Award for non-fiction in 1999 for From Here to Eternity: The Life
of Wiley Post and the Winnie Mae. His biography on Bryce Harlow was a Pulitzer Prize nominee
and won the Oklahoma History Book of the Year Award from the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Burke currently serves on the governing boards of the Jim Thorpe Association, Oklahoma Arts
Council, Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, and the Oklahoma Heritage Association.
George Nigh will present the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award to Bob Burke. Nigh, a
dedicated public servant, was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1951
to 1959, and served as lieutenant governor of Oklahoma from 1959 to 1963 and again from
1967 to 1979. He was governor of Oklahoma from 1979 to 1987, and later served as University
of Central Oklahoma president from 1992 to 1997. In 2000 Nigh co-authored Good Guys Wear
White Hats: The Life of George Nigh with Burke. He is currently interim director of the Oklahoma
Department of Tourism.
The Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
The Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented each year to recognize a body
of work. This award was named for the Norman, Oklahoma, historian who served as the first
president of the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
Fiction
1990 • Robert Love Taylor, The Lost Sister
1991 • Linda Hogan, Mean Spirit
1992 • Robert L. Duncan, The Serpent's Mark
1993 • Rilla Askew, Strange Business
1994 • Eve Sandstrom, Down Home Heifer Heist
1995 • William Bernhardt, Perfect Justice
1996 • Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is
1997 • Stewart O’Nan, The Names of the Dead
1998 • Rilla Askew, The Mercy Seat
1999 • Billie Letts, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon
2000 • William Bernhardt, Dark Justice
2001 • Carolyn Hart, Sugarplum Dead
2002 • Douglas Kelley, The Captain’s Wife
2003 • Diane Glancy, The Mask Maker: A Novel
2004 • M.K. Preston, Song of the Bones
2005 • Will Thomas, Some Danger Involved
Non-Fiction
1990 • Leonard Leff, Hitchcock & Selznick
1991 • Carl Albert and Danney Goble, Little Giant
1992 • David Morgan, Robert England, and
George Humphreys, Oklahoma Politics & Policies:
Governing the Sooner State
1993 • Henry Bellmon and Pat Bellmon, The Life and Times of
Henry Bellmon; and Daniel Boorstin, The Creators
1994 • J. Brent Clark, 3rd Down and Forever
1995 • Dennis McAuliffe Jr., The Deaths of Sybil Bolton
1996 • William Paul Winchester, A Very Small Farm
1997 • Annick Smith, Big Bluestem: A Journey Into the Tall Grass
1998 • John Hope Franklin and John Whittington Franklin,
Editors; My Life and an Era: The Autobiography of Buck
Colbert Franklin
1999 • Bob Burke, From Oklahoma to Eternity: The Life of Wiley
Post and the Winnie Mae
2000 • Michael Wallis, The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and
the Creation of the American West
2001 • David LaVere, Contrary Neighbors: Southern Plains and
Removed Indians in Indian Territory
2002 • Lydia L. Wyckoff, Editor; Woven Worlds: Basketry from
the Clark Field Collection
2003 • Michael A. Mares, A Desert Calling:
Life in a Forbidding Landscape
2004 • Eric R. Pianka and Laurie J. Vitt,
Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity
2005 • Ed Cray, Ramblin’ Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie
Children/Young Adult
1990 • Helen Roney Sattler, Tyrannosaurus Rex and His Kin
1991 • Stan Hoig, A Capitol for the Nation
1992 • Jess and Bonnie Speer, Hillback to Boggy
1993 • Anna Myers, Red Dirt Jessie
1994 • Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, Cherokee Summer
1995 • Russell G. Davis and Brent Ashabranner,
The Choctaw Code
1996 • Anna Myers, Graveyard Girl
1997 • Barbara Snow Gilbert, Stone Water
1998 • S. L. Rottman, Hero
1999 • Barbara Snow Gilbert, Broken Chords
2000 • Harold Keith, Brief Garland: Ponytails,
Basketball, and Nothing But Net
2001 • Joyce Carol Thomas, Hush Songs
2002 • Molly Levite Griffis, The Rachel Resistance
2003 • Darleen Bailey Beard, The Babbs Switch Story
2004 • Children—Una Belle Townsend, Grady’s in the Silo
Young Adult—Sharon Darrow, The Painters of Lexieville
2005 • Children—Joyce Carol Thomas, The Gospel Cinderella
Young Adult—Molly Levite Griffis, Simon Says
Poetry
1990 • William Kistler, The Elizabeth Sequence
1992 • Carol Hamilton, Once the Dust
1993 • Jim Barnes, The Sawdust War
1994 �� Carter Revard, An Eagle Nation
1995 • Joy Harjo, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky
1996 • Francine Ringold, The Trouble with Voices
1997 • Renata Treitel, translation of
Rosita Copioli’s The Blazing Lights of the Sun
1998 • Betty Shipley, Somebody Say Amen
1999 • Mark Cox, Thirty-Seven Years from the Stone
2000 • N. Scott Momaday, In the Bear’s House
2001 • Carolyne Wright, Seasons of Mangoes and Brainfire
2002 • Ivy Dempsey, The Scent of Water: New and Selected Poems
2003 • Joy Harjo, How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems
2004 • Laura Apol, Crossing the Ladder of Sun
2005 • Francine Ringold, Still Dancing
Previous
Design/Illustration
1990 • David E. Hunt, The Lithographs of Charles Banks Wilson
1991 • Carol Haralson, Cleora's Kitchens
1992 • Joe Williams, Woolaroc
1993 • Design—Carol Haralson,
Will Rogers: Courtship and Correspondence
Illustration—Kandy Radzinski,
The Twelve Cats of Christmas
1994 • Deloss McGraw, Fish Story
1995 • Mike Wimmer, All the Places to Love
1996 • Kim Doner, Green Snake Ceremony
1997 • Carol Haralson and Harvey Payne,
Big Bluestem: A Journey into the Tall Grass
1998 • Carol Haralson, Visions and Voices: Native American
Painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art
1999 • David Fitzgerald, Bison: Monarch of the Plains
2000 • Carol Haralson, Glory Days of Summer: The History of
Baseball in Oklahoma
2001 • Lane Smith, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip
2002 • Carl Brune,
Woven Worlds: Basketry from the Clark Field Collection
2003 • Murv Jacob, The Great Ball Game of the Birds and Animals
2004 • Design—Scott Horton and Jim Argo, Family Album: A
Centennial Pictorial of the Oklahoma Publishing Company
Illustration—Kandy Radzinski, S is for Sooner
2005 • Carol Haralson,
A History of the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion
Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
1990 • Daniel Boorstin—Librarian of Congress Emeritus—native of Tulsa
1991 • Tony Hillerman—award winning mystery writer—native of Sacred Heart
1992 • Savoie Lottinville—Director of the University of Oklahoma Press for 30 years
1993 • Harold Keith—Newbery Award winning children's author—Norman
1994 • N. Scott Momaday—Pulitzer Prize winning Kiowa author—native of Lawton
1995 • R.A. Lafferty—Hugo Award winning author—Tulsa
1996 • John Hope Franklin—historian—native of Rentiesville
1997 • S.E. Hinton—author of young adult novels—Tulsa
1998 • Jack Bickham—novelist, teacher and journalist—Norman
1999 • Michael Wallis—historian and biographer—Tulsa
2000 • Bill Wallace—writer of novels for young people—Chickasha
2001 • Joyce Carol Thomas—children and adult fiction author, and playwright—native of Ponca City
2002 • World Literature Today—The University of Oklahoma, Norman
2003 • Joy Harjo—poet and member of the Muscogee Nation—native of Tulsa
2004 • Carolyn Hart—award winning mystery writer—Oklahoma City
2005 • C.J. Cherryh—Hugo Award winning author—Oklahoma City
Ralph Ellison Award
1995 • Ralph Ellison—National Book Award winner—Oklahoma City
1997 • Angie Debo—“First Lady of Oklahoma History”—Marshall
1999 • Melvin Tolson—poet, journalist, and dramatist—Langston
2000 • Jim Thompson—novelist and screenwriter—Anadarko
2002 • John Berryman—poet, biographer, and editor—McAlester
2004 • Lynn Riggs—playwright and screenwriter—Claremore
2005 • Woody Guthrie—author, illustrator, and songwriter—Okemah
Winners
The Oklahoma Center for the Book
wishes to thank the judges
for the 2006 competition
Keith Allen
Peggy Perry Anderson
Mary Ann Blochowiak
Kay Boies
M. Scott Carter
Terry Collins
Julie Dill
Bettie Estes-Rickner
Kathryn Fanning
Gerald Hibbs
Carol Davis Koss
Sharon Martin
Louisa McCune-Elmore
Raymond D. Munkres
Dee Pierce
Kitty Pittman
Byron Price
Richard Roulliard
Diane Seebass
Kristin Sorocco
Laurie Sundborg
William R. Struby
Leah Taylor
Mary Waidner
Revere Young
The Center acknowledges the generous
contributions
of the following organizations
and individuals
Barnes and Noble
Best of Books, Edmond
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Rodger Harris, Research Division
of the Oklahoma Historical Society
Fred Marvel, Photographer
The Meinders Foundation
Metropolitan Library System
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Pioneer Library System
The Sheraton Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
Special thanks to...
Sue Stees, Ceremony Chair, and
committee members M.J. Van Deventer, Kitty Pittman,
Diane Seebass, and B.J. Williams
Public Information Office—Oklahoma Department of Libraries:
Glenda Carlile, Connie Armstrong,
Michael O’Hasson, Bill Petrie,
Bill Struby, and Bill Young
Invites you to attend the
Oklahoma Centennial Book Festival
on the campus of
Oklahoma City University
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Find out more at www.okbookfest.com
Oklahoma Heritage Association
Oklahoma’s Story Through Its People
www.oklahomaheritage.com
Nancy Berland—Oklahoma City
Kirk Bjornsgaard—Norman
Bettye Black—Langston
Bob Burke—Oklahoma City
Gini Moore Campbell—Oklahoma City
Diane Canavan—Shawnee
Glenda Carlile—Oklahoma City
David Clark—Norman
Betty Crow—Altus
Louix Escobar-Matute—Tulsa
Wayne Hanway—McAlester
Julie Hovis—Edmond
Lynn McIntosh—Ardmore
Susan McVey—Oklahoma City
Teresa Miller—Tulsa
Raymond D. Munkres—Midwest City
Karen Neurohr—Stillwater
Kitty Pittman—Oklahoma City
Marcia Preston—Edmond
Judy Randle—Tulsa
Diane Seebass—Tulsa
Sue Stees—Tulsa
Laurie Sundborg—Tulsa
Jane Taylor—Edmond
William R. Young—Oklahoma City
Friends of the Center
The Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book is a non-profit, 501–c-3 organization.
The Friends is a cultural and educational corporation to advance and promote the role
of the book and reading in Oklahoma. The Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
supports and further enhances the programs and projects of the Oklahoma Center for
the Book in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Center for the Book in the
Library of Congress. A volunteer board of directors from across the state governs the
Friends.
President­—
M.J. Van Deventer—Oklahoma City
Vice-President—Bettie Estes-Rickner—Mustang
Secretary—Gini Moore Campbell—Oklahoma City
Treasurer—Gerald Hibbs—Oklahoma City
Immediate Past-President­—
B.J. Williams—Oklahoma City
8 0 0 6 2 7 7 3 7 7 · O U P R E S S . C O M
2 8 0 0 V E N T U R E D R I V E • N O R M A N , O K L A H O M A 7 3 0 6 9
U N I V E R S I T Y O F O K L A H O M A P R E S S
The University of Oklahoma
A History, Volume 1, 1890–1917
By David W. Levy
This book, the first in a projected three-volume
definitive history, traces the University’s progress from
territorial days to 1917. David W. Levy examines the
people and events surrounding the school’s formation
and development, chronicling the determined ambition
of pioneers to transform an apparently barren land-scape
into a place where a worthy institution of higher
education could thrive.
$29.95 Cloth · 0-8061-3703-7 · 368 pages
A Western Legacy
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
In half a century the National Cowboy & Western
Heritage Museum has grown from a Hall of Fame hon-oring
the American cowboy to a world-class institution
housing extraordinary collections of art, artifacts, and
archival materials. A Western Legacy celebrates the
fiftieth anniversary of this premier museum, offering
both an institutional history and a captivating pictorial
overview of its holdings.
$59.95 Cloth · 0-8061-3728-2
$29.95 Paper · 0-8061-3731-2
256 pages
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
at the University of Oklahoma
Selected Works
By Eric McCauley Lee and Rima Canaan
This beautifully illustrated catalogue highlights 101
works of art from the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at
the University of Oklahoma. Combining full-color
reproductions with explanatory text, the catalogue
presents significant examples of Asian, European,
American, American Indian, and contemporary art
from the museum’s permanent collection.
$59.95 Cloth · 0-8061-3673-1
$39.95 Paper · 0-8061-3680-4
292 pages
The Chuck Wagon Cookbook
Recipes from the Ranch and
Range for Today’s Kitchen
By B. Byron Price
Each spring at the National Cowboy and Western
Heritage Museum genuine chuck wagon cooks gather
to share recipes, stories, and real cowboy fare. This
cookbook features their recipes along with a colorful
history of ranch and range cooking.
$39.95 Cloth · 0-8061-3647-2
$19.95 Paper · 0-8061-3654-5
304 pages
Project Highlights
The Oklahoma Center for the Book (OCB) in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and its
Friends support group has participated in several events in the last year. Many exciting events
are anticipated in the coming months.
For the last four years the Center has participated in the National Book Festival in Washing-ton,
D.C. Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book president M. J. Van Deventer and OCB
executive director Glenda Carlile were fortunate to attend the festival last fall, promoting our
state and the its authors.
Letters About Literature is a contest co-sponsored with the Center for the Book in the Li-brary
of Congress and Target Corporation where students write a letter to an author, living or
dead, telling how a book has influenced his or her life. In 2005—for the first time—Oklahoma
had a national winner. She was Amy Tai, a Jenks Middle School student who wrote a letter to
Amy Tan about the book The Joy Luck Club. We are pleased to have Amy with us tonight.
Kid’s Caught Reading/Oklahoma Celebration of Reading is an annual event that the Cen-ter
has been pleased to participate in for several years. Friends of the Center will again give
$25 prizes to ten students from across the state who are “caught reading” in their spare time.
Oklahoma Library Association—The Friends provided funds to sponsor a speaker at the
2005 Oklahoma Library Association annual conference and plan to participate again in 2006.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book was pleased to participate in the Red Dirt Book Festival
in Shawnee in 2005, and look forward to participating in the Oklahoma Centennial Book
Festival to be held at Oklahoma City University on May 20, 2006, and the Oklahoma Cel-ebration
of Books to be held at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa on September 29 & 30.
Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma—The Center is proud to be a sponsor of this statewide reading
and discussion program. The 2005 author Tim Tingle had a successful tour across Oklahoma
speaking to libraries and other organizations on his book Walking the Choctaw Road. The 2006
book chosen is The Saints and Sinners of Okay County by Dayna Dunbar. Information is avail-able
tonight on the 2006 Literary Six-pack.
Oklahoma Author Database—At long last, Oklahoma author information is being collected
in a database and will soon be available for use by libraries, schools and individuals.
Information is available for membership to the Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the
Book.
The Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers
OSU-Tulsa Presents the
September 29-30 at OSU-Tulsa
Featuring Pat Conroy, Alexander McCall Smith,
Dennis Lehane, and 50 of your favorite writers
Pat Conroy Alexander McCall Smith
A celebration in every sense of the word!
Elizabeth McCall Smith
Sigrid Estrada
Dennis Lehane
For more information, contact
Teresa Miller, Executive Director
of Oklahoma Center for Poets and
Writers, at 918-594-8215. Or visit
www.poetsandwriters.okstate.edu.
Celebration
of Books
Congratulations to the 2006 finalists
for the Oklahoma Book Awards
www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb
405–522–3575
200 NE 18 Street
Oklahoma City
OK 73105–3298
The 2006 Oklahoma Book Awards are sponsored by the
Oklahoma Center for the Book and the Friends of the
Oklahoma Center for the Book.
Book Awards