Oklahoma Center for the Book. 2008 Oklahoma Book Award Program.

              Oklahoma
19th 2008
Book Awards A Celebration of Oklahoma Books and Authors
Welcome to the
19th Annual
Oklahoma
Book
Awards
Ceremony
A Celebration of
Oklahoma Books and Authors
Oklahoma Heritage Association
& Gaylord–Pickens Museum
NW 13 Street and Shartel Avenue in Oklahoma City
Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm
405/235–4458 www.oklahomaheritage.com
The Oklahoma
Heritage Association
the leader in publishing Oklahoma’s history
The Association preserves Oklahoma history and promotes pride in our great
state. Through educational programs, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, our
publications and the new Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, the
OHA strives to tell Oklahoma’s story through its people.
2008 • Oklahoma Book Awards
Welcome.................................................................................................................................................... Lynn McIntosh
President, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Greetings from the State Library...................................................................................................Susan McVey
Director, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Master of Ceremonies.................................................................................................................................Bob Burke
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
Ralph Ellison Award Presentation........................................................................... Charles Robert Goins
Honoring Danney Glenn Goble recipient of the 2007 Non-fiction Award for Historical Atlas of Oklahoma
Special Awards Presentation...................................................................................................... Lynn McIntosh
Poetry Award Presentation......................................................................................................Kirk Bjornsgaard
Vice-President, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Design/Illustration Award Presentation....................................................... Louisa McCune-Elmore
Editor in Chief, Oklahoma Today
Non-Fiction Award Presentation.........................................................................................Laurie Sundborg
Past President, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Children/Young Adult Award Presentation.....................................................Gini Moore Campbell
Secretary, Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
Fiction Award Presentation..........................................................................................................Marcia Preston
recipient of the 2004 Fiction Award
Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award...................................................................B. Byron Price
Honoring David Dary Director of the University of Oklahoma Press
Announcements.....................................................................................................................................Glenda Carlile
Executive Director, Oklahoma Center for the Book
Music by Edgar Cruz
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.
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 o u p r e s s . c o m
Congr atul ations
to all of our a uthors
Danney Glenn Goble
Recipient of the 2008 Ralph Ellison Award
Professor Danney Goble was a rare person, a seamless blend of teacher, scholar, and friend. His
brilliant intellect and biting humor were balanced by humility and generosity of heart. He often
defied convention.
An exceptionally gifted teacher, he made Oklahoma history and politics come alive to his stu-dents.
They respected, admired, and adored him. He taught at Tulsa Junior College (now Tulsa
Community College), Rogers University (now Oklahoma State University–Tulsa), the University
of Tulsa, and the University of Oklahoma. He was recognized with several teaching awards.
Danney Goble earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Oklahoma and his
master’s degree at OU, but he discovered that Oklahoma history was “real history” while he was
earning his doctorate at the University of Missouri. As an Oklahoman, he was keenly aware of
the inferiority complex that many Oklahomans tend to have about their state. He worked hard
throughout the remainder of his adult life to help Oklahomans become better acquainted with
their state’s history, especially the colorful events of the twentieth century. He traveled all around
the state to speak about Oklahoma history wherever he was invited—in classrooms, libraries,
civic groups, seminars, and conferences.
Author or co-author of eight books, he was a scholar who wrote with the polish of a professional
writer, unmatched in his ability to tell a good story. This is particularly evident in two collabora-tive
works, Little Giant: The Life and Times of Speaker Carl Albert, which won the Oklahoma Book
Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and A Matter of Black and White: The Autobiography
of Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, which was named the outstanding book in political science by the Na-tional
Conference of Black Political Scientists. He also collaborated very successfully with David
Baird in writing The Story of Oklahoma, a high school textbook that has been adopted by many
public schools, and with Bob Goins on the award-winning fourth edition of Historical Atlas of
Oklahoma. At the time of his death, he was co-authoring with Mike Cassity a book on the history
of Presbyterianism in Oklahoma.
Danney’s first book, Progressive Oklahoma: The Making of a New Kind of State, remains a classic
for its description of the impact of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory on the development
of political traditions in the state. —LaDonna Sullivan, Assistant to the Director
Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center
The Ralph Ellison Award
From time to time, the Ralph Ellison Award, honoring a deceased Oklahoma writer, is presented.
The award is named after the first recipient, Ralph Ellison, author of the ground-breaking novel
Invisible Man. A list of Ellison Award recipients is listed on the Previous Winners page of this
program.
2008 Oklahoma Book Award Finalists
Poetry
Reassembling Dust—Fred Alsberg—Pudding House Chapbook Series, Columbus, OH
Alsberg covers a myriad of diverse topics and themes that come together to make a cohesive
whole in this reassembly. The flow of his poetry belies the attention he pays to the details,
revealing him as a gifted and precise poet. A Chicago native, Alsberg received his MFA
in creative writing of poetry from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. His work has
appeared in Blue Unicorn, Kansas Quarterly, Greensboro Review, Rhino, Sundog: The Southeast
Review, Oregon East, Louisiana Review, Oklahoma Today and elsewhere. He lives in Weatherford
where he teaches at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
Not Exactly Job—Nathan Brown—Mongrel Empire Press, Norman, OK
The poet is protagonist in this ambitious and unusual endeavor, which extends the poetry of
Job. Brown’s poetry catches the resemblances and correspondences between the suffering
biblical hero and the poet, as well as between the current political world scene and Job’s
predicament. Nathan Brown is a poet, musician, performer and photographer from Norman.
He holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Writing from the University of Oklahoma, and teaches
both at OU and in public school and community workshops. His 2006 collection, Suffer the
Little Voices, was an Oklahoma Book Award finalist.
What Trees Know—Sandra Soli—Greystone Press, Edmond, OK
In this elegant collection of poems, Soli blends past and present, the personal and the
universal, to reveal a quiet wisdom. Born in Birmingham, England, Soli emigrated to Oklahoma
after World War II and became a naturalized citizen while attending Oklahoma College for
Women. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and has been featured on National
Public Radio. She is winner of LSU’s Eyster Prize in Poetry and has been a finalist in many other
major competitions. Her chapbook Silvering the Flute was an Oklahoma Book Award finalist. For
nine years, she was columnist and poetry editor for ByLine magazine.
Open Mike Thursday Night—Jim Spurr—Village Books Press, Cheyenne, OK
Spurr presents elements of traditional poetry in a slam format, creating a collection of
performance work that is wise, down to earth, good-humored and rip-roaring fun. The writer
has an ear for irony and a special talent for surprise, which add an edge to this authentic voice.
This longtime resident of Shawnee writes: “In the mid fifties I was a paratrooper making my
first jump and said to myself, I got to remember this. Every poem I have ever written ever since
has been a failed effort to capture that brief but glorious instant.”
Design/Illustration
Charles Banks Wilson—Design by Carol Haralson—Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
Miami native Haralson employs her award-winning book design skills to honor another
Miami native, painter extraordinaire and Oklahoma treasure Charles Banks Wilson. The 175
images that grace the book include paintings, graphite drawings, pen and ink sketches, and
lithography—demonstrating the remarkable range of this artist’s work over the past seven
decades. Haralson has received seven Oklahoma Book Awards for her work, more than any
other finalist. She lives and works in Sedona, Arizona.
Historic Photos of Oklahoma City
Design by Megan Latta and Larry Johnson—Turner Publishing, Nashville, TN
Johnson is a reference librarian for the Metropolitan Library System, where he maintains the
Oklahoma Collection and the Oklahoma Images Project, which provides online access to
historic photos of central Oklahoma. He worked with designer Latta to create this nostalgic
look at the city that was. Johnson was born and raised in Oklahoma, received his history
degree from Southern Nazarene, and his master’s in Library and Information Studies from the
University of Oklahoma.
Celebrating Oklahoma! The Oklahoma Centennial Photographic Survey
Photography by Mike Klemme—Michael Lee Klemme, publisher, Enid, OK
As the official photographer of the Oklahoma Centennial, Klemme traveled thousands of miles
over the course of twenty months to capture this exhilarating portrait of the Sooner State on
the eve of its 100th birthday. Klemme has spent the past twenty years photographing resorts,
golf courses, architecture and communities around the world. His photographs have appeared
in Sports Illustrated, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Golf Magazine, Business Week and countless
other national and international lifestyle publications.
Chickasaw Lives, Vol I: Explorations in Tribal History—Design by Skip McKinstry,
Cover Illustration by Joshua D. Hinson—The Chickasaw Press, Ada, OK
McKinstry has designed an intriguing, small horizontal volume—reminiscent of some family
photo albums— that lends intimacy to this story of the Chickasaws, the first book to present
the tribe’s story from prehistory through the 20th Century. Likewise, Hinson’s inspiring cover
illustration depicts archetypal images of tribal members from different periods. Hinson’s work
has been featured in the statewide traveling art exhibit, The State of Being Native American.
When not at his day job, McKinstry pursues a 20-year calling to graphic design through a
variety of freelance projects.
Oklahoma: A Portrait of America—Photography by Scott Raffe,
Design by Carl Brune—Billy Books, Tulsa, OK
A seamless synthesis of photography, design and the written word (writing by Libby Bender),
this book captures an “unvarnished Oklahoma in all its eccentricity and beauty and humor
and absurdity and strength,” according to Rilla Askew in the book’s afterword. Raffe’s assured
eye, an artful juxtaposition of photographs, and Brune’s simple, yet sophisticated, design
provide the impact. Raffe is an award-winning professional photographer who made his way
to Tulsa by way of Chicago, St. Louis and Denver. Brune is an Oklahoma native and a two-time
Oklahoma Book Award winner in design.
What Cats Want for Christmas
Illustrations by Kandy Radzinski—Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI
What do cats want for the holidays? Radzinski illustrates her own story with fourteen
precocious felines who request everything from “fleas for my neighbor’s Pekingese” to a
“sweater knit of red Irish Setter.” Radzinski is a two-time Oklahoma Book Award winner in
this category. She has illustrated children’s books, posters, greeting cards, and even a 6-foot
penguin. She was the artist for the state’s 2007 Centennial Summer Reading Program for
Children. She lives in Tulsa with her two Scottie dogs, husband Mark, and son Ian.
Stealing Home, Jackie Robinson: Against the Odds
Illustrations by Mike Wimmer—Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, NY
Fifteen paintings by Wimmer illustrate Jackie Robinson stealing home base during the 1955
World Series, while accompanying text tells the story of the pioneering player who broke the
color barrier in major league baseball. The texture of Wimmer’s thick brush strokes and his
use of deep color convey the excitement and drama of Robinson’s historic steal. The Norman
artist has illustrated many children’s books, including the ALA Notable Children’s Book The
Story of Babe Ruth, and the Orbis Pictus Award-winning Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh.
Wimmer received the 1995 Oklahoma Book Award for All the Places to Love.
Non-Fiction
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr—Nancy Isenberg—Viking Press, New York, NY
Whereas traditional historiography portrays Burr as a villain, Isenberg argues he was no less
a patriot and principled thinker than those who debased him, a strong character we might
embrace today. The author describes him as a Revolutionary War hero, an Enlightened thinker,
feminist, a brilliant lawyer and orator, and an inspired legislator, politician, and statesman.
Isenberg is the Mary Frances Barnard Chair in nineteenth-century American History at the
University of Tulsa, and has written extensively on issues of politics and law.
Alternative Oklahoma: Contrarian Views of the Sooner State
edited by Davis D. Joyce—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
Oklahoma historian and author Davis Joyce has put together fourteen essays that represent
the progressive, libertarian, and even radical viewpoints that often have been overlooked
in traditional scholarship regarding the state’s past. Topics range from race and gender and
religion to economics, energy, and popular music. Joyce is Professor Emeritus of History at East
Central University, Ada. He is also the author of Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision.
Choctaw Nation: A Story of American Indian Resurgence
Valerie Lambert—University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE
An enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation, Lambert describes in vivid detail what nation
building has meant to the Choctaw people and for non-Indians. Drawing on field research, oral
histories, and archival sources, she explores the struggles and triumphs of a tribe building a
new government and launching an ambitious program of economic development in the late
twentieth century. Lambert serves as assistant professor of anthropology at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Seminole Freedmen: A History
Kevin Mulroy—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
In this history of the Seminole Freedmen, Mulroy puts forth the argument these people are
neither Seminoles nor “black Indians,” but are maroon descendants who inhabit their own
racial and cultural category. He describes their experiences as slaves, participants in the
Seminole Wars, and emigrants to the West, as well as their involvement in the Civil War and
the allotment process in Oklahoma. Mulroy serves as associate executive director for Research
Collections and Services at the University of Southern California Libraries.
Ralph Ellison: A Biography—Arnold Rampersad—Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY
Rampersad’s biography of Ralph Ellison provides both a reliable account of the main events
of his life and a complex, authoritative portrait of an unusual artist and human being. The
author explores Ellison’s struggles through his childhood in Oklahoma, his tenure at Tuskegee
Institute, and his rise to literary acclaim with his book Invisible Man. Rampersad is the author of
numerous books including Days of Grace. He lives in Stanford, California.
Voices From The Heartland
edited by Carolyn Anne Taylor, Emily Dial-Driver, Carole Burrage, and Sally
Emmons-Featherston—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
Oklahoma women from a wide range of professions, lifestyles, and backgrounds share their
thoughts and experiences on a variety of topics from adultery to left-handedness, from losing
children to losing perspective. The authors share their personal reflections on finding balance
as they look back on defining moments in their lives, mull over what they wished they had
learned sooner, and convey the wisdom they’ve unearthed on their individual journeys.
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride—Michael Wallis—W.W. Norton & Company, New York, NY
This biography provides new insight regarding the notorious Billy the Kid, and challenges and
debunks many of the myths that have followed him since his death at the age of twenty-one.
Wallis gives an analysis of the outlaw’s crimes in the larger context of the political and social
corruption that had become a way of life in New Mexico Territory. Wallis lives in Tulsa, and has
written extensively on the Oklahoma and Western experiences. He is recipient of the 1999
Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2000 Oklahoma Book Award winner for
The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West.
Books on Trial: Red Scare in the Heartland
Shirley A. Wiegand and Wayne A. Wiegand—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
This sobering story explores the 1940 police raid on the Progressive Bookstore in Oklahoma
City that resulted in the seizure of thousands of books and pamphlets and the arrest and
detainment of twenty customers and the proprietors. This episode in Oklahoma and America’s
history serves as a warning that civil liberties can be suppressed when hysteria overshadows
reason. Shirley Wiegand is Professor Emerita of Law at Marquette University, and Wayne
Wiegand is the F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor
of American Studies at Florida State University.
Children/Young Adult
Marked: A House of Night Novel
P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast—St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, NY
Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has been marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of
Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. She faces many challenges,
including discovering that the leader of the school���s most elite group is misusing her Goddess-given
gifts. P.C. Cast is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as
a speaker and teacher. Her daughter, Kristin Cast, attends the University of Tulsa and has won
awards for poetry and journalism. Both authors live in the Tulsa metropolitan area.
Cam’s Quest: The Continuing Story of Princess Nevermore and the Wizard’s
Apprentice—Dian Curtis Regan—Darby Creek Publishing, Plain City, OH
In this long-awaited sequel to Curtis Regan’s book Princess Nevermore, Cam, the sixteen-year-old
wizard’s apprentice, sets out to seek his past. Cam finds the truths of his past speed him
toward a future he could never have foreseen. Curtis Regan is the author of more than fifty
books for young readers, ranging from picture books to young adult novels. Born in Colorado,
she lived in Oklahoma for several years where she was active with the Oklahoma Society
of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In 1996, she was inducted into the Oklahoma
Professional Writers Hall of Fame. She now lives in Kansas.
Wart—Anna Myers—Walker Books, New York, NY
Stewart has plenty of reason to dislike his new art teacher. Not only did she give him the awful
nickname Wart, she has begun dating his dad and also happens to be a witch. A teacher for
many years, the seed for Wart was planted in Myers mind when one of her students accused
his mother of being a witch. The author of more than a dozen books, Myers has received three
Oklahoma Book Awards. She is president of the Oklahoma Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators. She lives in Chandler.
Two Bears’ Run— A.E. Riddle—Publish America, Baltimore, MD
The men in his family had always been runners, so when Thomas’s father died he didn’t know
what else to do but run. Running across the prairie, from Claremore to the Tall Grass Preserve
in Osage County, Thomas pictures the land as it had been in the days of his ancestor, Two
Bears. Gradually, he begins to feel as if he were actually in that long-ago time and place. He is
no longer Thomas, but Two Bears. Riddle lives in Ponca City and writes about Oklahoma.
Brewster the Rooster—Devin Scillian—Sleeping Bear Press. Chelsea, MI
What has gotten into Brewster the rooster? The Macintosh family can’t understand why their
barnyard pet is crowing at the darnedest things. Doc Sawyer is consulted. But can he figure
out how to help Brewster? Scillian, an award winning author, journalist, and musician currently
anchors the news for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit. He, his wife Corey, and their four
children live in Michigan and have a dog, a flop-eared rabbit, a fish, and to their dismay, not
one single rooster.
Pappy’s Handkerchief—Devin Scillian—Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea, MI
Young Moses and his family sell all they own and leave Baltimore to travel west and take part
in the Oklahoma Land Run. A unique opportunity for an African American family, their wagon
journey is plagued with troubles from ice storms and flooded rivers to diminishing supplies
and sickness. Scillian, a former anchor for KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, was a finalist in 2004 and
2007 for the Oklahoma Book Award. Devin describes the 2004 finalist, S is for Sooner, as his love
letter to Oklahoma.
When Turtle Grew Feathers—Tim Tingle—August House Publications, Atlanta, GA
In this Choctaw folktale, storyteller Tim Tingle reveals some unexpected twists to Aesop’s
fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, Tingle is a
popular storyteller across America. His book Walking the Choctaw Road was a finalist for the
2004 Oklahoma Book Award in fiction, and was the second title selected for the Centennial
Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma reading and discussion program. He won the Oklahoma Book
Award in the children’s category in 2007 for Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship
and Freedom.
The Dog Who Thought He Was Santa—Bill Wallace—Holiday House, New York, NY
Christmas is almost here and eleven-year-old Don Franklin should be excited; but times are
tough and he isn’t sure his family will have enough money to celebrate. Plus, his little sister,
Susan, is sure that Santa will bring the gift she wants but she won’t tell anyone what it is. It’s a
good thing Don’s dog Frank is around! Wallace is the author of more than thirty-five books for
young readers and has received prestigious awards from across the United States, including
the 2000 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. He and his wife Carol, also a children’s
author, live in Chickasha.
Fiction
Harpsong—Rilla Askew—University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
Askew’s third novel draws on history, folk tradition and myth to create this love story about
Dustbowl heroes who didn’t leave for California. Harpsong, and her two previous novels, Mercy
Seat and Fire in Beulah, comprise a compelling trilogy of work that throws new light on the
events and times that have shaped the Oklahoma character. Askew is a two-time Oklahoma
Book Award winner, and recipient of the Western Heritage Award and the American Book
Award. Fire in Beulah was the 2007 Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma book. She teaches at the
University of Oklahoma and lives in Oklahoma and New York.
The Drop Edge of Yonder—Donis Casey—Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, AZ
Who killed Uncle Bill? In this third Alafair Tucker mystery, the homespun sleuth is desperate
to find out in order to protect her daughter Mary from the killer. Casey knows how to write
a mystery, and she also captures the authentic voice of early-day Oklahoma. Booklist writes,
“Casey lovingly portrays the Tuckers’ close extended family, immersing the reader in both the
domestic aspects and the harsh realities of everyday farm life.” The first Alafair Tucker mystery,
The Old Buzzard Had it Coming, was an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and part of the fourth
Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma six-pack of titles.
Set Sail for Murder—Carolyn Hart—William Morrow, New York, NY
A new Henrie O. mystery is always cause for celebration in Oklahoma and Mystery literary
circles. In this novel, newspaper reporter Henrietta O’Dwyer comes to the aid of an old flame,
and discovers that love once kindled never burns to ashes. Oklahoma City’s Hart has been
hailed as America’s Agatha Christie, and is the first author to win all three major mystery
awards—the Agatha, the Anthony, and the Macavity. On the home front, Hart is the recipient
of the 2004 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award, and a 2001 Oklahoma Book Award
winner for Sugarplum Dead.
The Hellfire Conspiracy—Will Thomas—Touchstone Books, New York, NY
In the latest adventure in what is “fast becoming one of the genre’s best historical-mystery
series” (Booklist), private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn must
track down London’s first serial killer. Thomas is author of three other Barker and Llewelyn
mysteries—To Kingdom Come, The Limehouse Text, and the Shamus and Bary award-nominated
Some Danger Involved, which also won the 2005 Oklahoma Book Award. Thomas lives with his
family in Tulsa.
Paper Hearts—Debrah Williamson—New American Library, New York, NY
Author of the acclaimed Singing with the Top Down, Williamson‘s new work is the story of
teenage runaway Chancy Deel and cranky old man Max Boyle. Chancy needs a home, and
Max needs a reason to hold on. In securing a place to live, these two solitary souls discover
something much more rare—a place to belong, and a heart to care. Williamson has written
professionally for twenty years and is the author or coauthor of nearly thirty novels, including
works under the name Debrah Morris. A native Oklahoman, she lives in Norman.
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David Dary
Recipient of the 2008 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
David Dary is a respected journalist and educator, and a prize-winning historian of the Old West.
He has written 15 books and more than 200 articles for newspapers and magazines. He is emeri-tus
professor of journalism at the University of Oklahoma. He retired in 2000, after eleven years
as head of what is now the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He lives in
Norman, Oklahoma.
Dary was born in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1934. After graduating from Kansas State University, in
1956, and completing a stint in the Army Reserve, a newly-wed Dary went to work in the radio
business in Texas. In the 1960s Dary worked in production and administration for CBS and NBC
News in Texas and Washington D.C. In 1967, while at NBC, Dary wrote his first book, Radio News
Handbook.
In the late 60s, after returning to Kansas for family reasons, Dary helped plan and build a new
NBC television station in Topeka. In 1969, he joined the faculty of the journalism school at the
University of Kansas, Lawrence. He earned his master’s degree in journalism during his first year
of teaching. Over the next twenty years at KU, Dary rose to the rank of full professor.
His university teaching schedule allowed him time to write, and in 1974, Dary completed The
Buffalo Book. It became a Book-of-the-Month selection. During this time he also began writing
stories for the Kansas City Star’s Sunday supplement—collected in True Tales of the Old-Time Plains
(1979). In 1981, Dary wrote Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries. Published by Alfred A. Knopf
of New York, Cowboy Culture won several awards and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The
books that followed—including Seeking Pleasure in the Old West, Entrepreneurs of the Old West, The
Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends and Lore, and The Oregon Trail: An American Saga—confirmed his
place as a leading authority on the American West. Dary has received the Cowboy Hall of Fame’s
Wrangler Award, two Western Writers of America Spur Awards, the Westerners International Best
Nonfiction Book Award, and the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement from the Western
Writers of America.
In 1989, the University of Oklahoma recruited Dary to head the School of Journalism, where he
hired new faculty, rebuilt the program, and elevated the journalism school to a freestanding col-lege.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
The Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
The Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented each year to recognize a body
of work. This award is named for the Norman, Oklahoma, historian who served as the first
president of the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
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
2006 • Leanne Howe, Evidence of Red
2007 • Carl Sennhenn, Travels Through Enchanted Woods
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
2006 • Design—Carol Haralson,
Home: Native People in the Southwest
Illustration—Jon Goodell,
Mother, Mother, I Want Another
2007 • Design—Carl Brune, OKC: Second Time Around
Illustration—Jeanne Rorex Bridges, Crossing Bok
Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom
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
2006 • Bob Burke—Oklahoma historian—Oklahoma City
2007 • Clifton Taulbert—award-winning author—Tulsa
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
2006 • John Joseph Mathews
Osage novelist and historian—Pawhuska
2007 • Muriel Wright—acclaimed Oklahoma historian—
Oklahoma City
Winners
Previous
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
2006 • Timothy Egan, The Worst Hard Time
2007 • Charles Robert Goins and Danney Goble,
Historical Atlas of Oklahoma, Fourth Edition
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
2006 • David Kent, The Black Jack Conspiracy
2007 • Sheldon Russell, Dreams to Dust: A Tale of
the Oklahoma Land Rush
Children/Young Adult
1990 • Helen Roney Sattler, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Its Kin
1991 • Stan Hoig, A Capital 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
2006 • Anna Myers, Assassin
2007 • Children Winner—Tim Tingle, Crossing Bok Chitto: A
Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom
Young Adult—Tim Tharp, Knights of the Hill Country
The Chisholm Trail Corral
of Westerners International
congratulates
our friend David Dary,
Arrell Gibson Lifetime
Achievement Award Recipient
and founding member of our Corral in Oklahoma City
Read About It
Congratulates all of the
2008 Oklahoma Book
Award Finalists
Read About It airs on Cox Cable.
Please check your local listings.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book
wishes to thank the judges
for the 2008 competition
Keith Allen
Mary Ann Blochowiak
Kay Boies
Adrienne Butler
Julie Dill
Bettie Estes-Rickner
Kathryn Fanning
Dee Fisher
Gerald Hibbs
Michael Hull
Carol Davis Koss
Sharon Martin
Louisa McCune-Elmore
Raymond D. Munkres
Kitty Pittman
Richard Rouillard
Carl Sennhenn
Kristin Sorocco
Laurie Sundborg
William R. Struby
Leah Taylor
Una Belle Townsend
Al Turner
B.J. Williams
Revere Young
The Center acknowledges the generous
contributions
of the following organizations
and individuals
Barnes and Noble
Best of Books, Edmond
Bill and Irene’s Flowers
Bob Burke
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Chickasaw Regional Library System
Rodger Harris, Research Division
of the Oklahoma Historical Society
Fred Marvel, Photographer
Metropolitan Library System
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Oklahoma Heritage Association
Steve’s Sundry, Books & Magazines
University of Oklahoma Press
Special thanks to...
B.J. Williams, Ceremony Chair, and
committee members M.J. Van Deventer, Kitty Pittman,
Betty Crow, and Karen Klinka
Public Information Office—Oklahoma Department of Libraries:
Glenda Carlile, Connie Armstrong,
Michael O’Hasson, Bill Petrie,
Bill Struby, and Bill Young
Turner Museum
Associates L.L.C.
Appraisers of rare books,
manuscripts, art and other
fine collections for donations,*
insurance, estate management
and other purposes
Offices in Norman and Edmond
405–702–3646
*Alvin O. Turner, Ph.D, ISA has completed all requirements necessary
to fulfill new federal requirements for income tax purposes.
Bill & Irene’s Flowers
3004 NW 23 Street (405) 943–3353
Oklahoma City, OK 73107
Congratulations
a tip of our
collective Stetsons
David Dary
on the occasion of receiving
the Arrell Gibson Award
for Lifetime Achievement
from the Oklahoma
Center for the Book
The South Canadian Cross-
Timbers Corral of Westerners
International Norman, Oklahoma
Project Highlights
The Oklahoma Center for the Book (OCB) in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and its Friends
support group have participated in several events in the last year. Many exciting events are an-ticipated
in the coming months.
Oklahoma Author Database—At long last, Oklahoma author information is being collected in a
database and is available for use by libraries, schools and individuals. Log on to www.crossroads.
odl.state.ok.us, and click “collections” and “authors” to see this work-in-progress.
Authors in Libraries—The Center has been awarded a grant by Inasmuch Foundation to send
book award finalists to libraries in rural communities.
Letters About Literature is a contest co-sponsored with the Center for the Book in the Library
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.
Kids Caught Reading is an annual event that the Center 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.
For the last five years the Center has participated in the National Book Festival in Washington,
D.C. Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book vice president Kirk Bjornsgaard and OCB
executive director Glenda Carlile were fortunate to attend the festival last fall, promoting our
state and its authors.
The Friends of the Center for the Book provided funds to sponsor a speaker at the 2007 Oklahoma
Library Association annual conference and plan to participate again in 2008.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book was pleased to participate in the Red Dirt Book Festival in
Shawnee, November 2–3, 2007.
Information is available for membership to the Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book—
please call 405–522–3575.
The Friends of the Oklahoma Center for the Book
thank Bob Burke for making this evening possible.
We appreciate your many years of support for the
Book Award program and other Oklahoma Center for
the Book projects. Bob, you’re the best!
Connie Armstrong—Norman
Bettye Black—Langston
Bob Burke—Oklahoma City
David Clark—Norman
Betty Crow—Altus
Linda Edmondson—Oklahoma City
Louix Escobar-Matute—Tulsa
Bettie Estes-Rickner—Yukon
Wayne Hanway—McAlester
Julie Hovis—Edmond
Karen Klinka—Edmond
Susan McVey—Oklahoma City
Raymond Munkres—Midwest City
Karen Neurohr—Stillwater
Kitty Pittman—Oklahoma City
Judy Randle—Tulsa
Richard Rouillard—Oklahoma City
Diane Seebass—Tulsa
Kristin Sorocco—Oklahoma City
Sue Stees—Tulsa
Laurie Sundborg—Tulsa
B.J. Williams—Oklahoma City
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—Lynn McIntosh—Ardmore
Vice-President—Kirk Bjornsgaard—Norman
Secretary—Gini Moore Campbell—Oklahoma City
Treasurer—Gerald Hibbs—Oklahoma City
Immediate Past-President—M.J. Van Deventer—Oklahoma City
1940’s Soda Fountain • Newest Book
Releases • Over 4,000 Magazine Titles • Special
Orders for Those Hard-To-Find Books • Items
Unique to Tulsa and Oklahoma • Local and
National Author Events • Much Much More
2612 South Harvard, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114 • 918–743–3544
200 NE 18 Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105–3298
www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb 405–522–3575