The University Libraries is pleased to extend a warm invitation to the University community, donors, friends, literary lovers and Northern Nevada community members alike as it gears up to host and celebrate the 37th Annual Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. The 2024 w88 slot online will honor inductee Michael Branch and w88 slot online awardee Laura Newman.
Dean of w88 slot online Libraries Catherine Cardwell will host this year’s w88 slot online scheduled for Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. on the first floor, inside the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center’s Marilyn R. Melton Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame Gallery, the Leslie Harvey & Robert George Whittemore Tower Entry and Reception Gallery, and Wells Fargo Auditorium.
“I look forward to the Libraries’ annual celebration of Nevada authors and their accomplishments,” Dean Cardwell said. “The Libraries’ signature w88 slot online pays tribute to our past, preserves our literary history, and celebrates the Silver State’s imagination and creativity. Michael Branch and Laura Newman are highly deserving of these accolades.”
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony and book signing will begin at 7 p.m. followed by a dessert and wine reception at 8 p.m. Poet and Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame member Shaun Griffin will recognize the important memory of Sundance Books and John Trent, author of “The University of w88 slot online 1874-2024: 150 Years of Inspiring Excellence” will help those in attendance celebrate this important milestone in w88 slot online history.
Tickets to the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame w88 slot online are on sale now for per person in advance. Free parking for the duration of the w88 slot online will be available in the w88 slot online J. Whalen Parking. For more information contact Maggie Ressel by emailor 775-682-5653.
“Like many w88 slot online, I do much of my work in relative isolation, without the camaraderie inherent to a collaborative art form like filmmaking,” 2024 Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame Inductee Michael Branch said. “To me, the Hall of Fame has always been a home for w88 slot online in our state, and its inductees are literary artists whose work I’ve studied, taught, and been inspired by throughout my career. Having the opportunity to join that group means helping to strengthen a mutually supportive community of w88 slot online in order to share with others the encouragement I’ve long received from the NWHOF and its supporters.”
Meet the honorees in advance of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame w88 slot online at the Oct. 12 Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl
In addition to the Nov. 1 Hall of Fame w88 slot online, both honorees, Branch and Newman, will participate in the Nevada Humanities’ Literary Crawl taking place on Saturday, Oct. 12. They are part of a panel discussion titled, “Writing the Desert West in Fact and Fiction,” w88 slot online 2 – 2:45 p.m. at 1864 Tavern located on California Avenue in Reno. During the session they will discuss their unique perspectives of the West in a conversation moderated by Mark Maynard. In 2015, Maynard was awarded the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award. Community members wishing to get to know this year’s Hall of Fame honorees are encouraged to attend this unique and intimate session with the authors.
About Michael Branch, 2024 Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame Inductee, 2017 Silver Pen Awardee
Michael Branch is University Foundation Professor emeritus at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the author of more than 300 essays, which have appeared in venues including CNN, San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, Outside, Pacific Standard, Orion, Ecotone, National Parks, The Scientist, and High Country News. Mike has published ten books, including his trilogy of place-based humor writing from the Great Basin Desert: Raising Wild, Rants from the Hill, and How to Cuss in Western. His creative nonfiction includes pieces recognized as Notable Essays in The Best American Essays, The Best Creative Nonfiction and The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He has received the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame, the Ellen Meloy Desert w88 slot online Award and the Montana Prize for Humor. Mike’s most recent book, On the Trail of the Jackalope, has been called “an entertaining and enlightening road trip to the heart of an American legend.”
About Laura Newman, 2024 w88 slot online Awardee
Laura Newman is the author of the story collection The Franklin Avenue Rookery for Wayward Babies and the forthcoming The Darling of the Black Rock Desert – Three Novellas (Delphinium Books). Her writing has been printed in The Saturday Evening Post, Literary Hub, Failbetter, Apricity Magazine, New Plains Review, as well as earning finalist in LitMag’s Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction.
Prior to publishing, Laura was the first female General Sales Manager in KOLO TV’s 60+ year history. She received the American Advertising Federation’s Community Contribution Award for her media campaigns combating substance use issues. Laura is a many-time winner of the Reno News and Review Short Fiction contest. The only rule was that the piece be exactly 95 words. As a result of her sustained success with this contest, the editor called Laura the “Tom Brady of 95 words…the least glamorous literary form this side of the limerick!”
Regarding receiving the Silver Pen award, Newman said, “The Silver Pen Award is a true honor for me as a Nevadan, especially coming from the w88 slot online Libraries and its selection committee. As a writer, it is an oh-so-important affirmation. It gives me confidence to keep writing.”
About the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame
The Nevada Writers Hall of Fame was conceived by former Friends of the University Libraries President Marilyn Melton in 1988. She envisioned two purposes: an annual w88 slot online honoring Nevada's finest writers, and a stimulus to encourage excellence among emerging writers in the Silver State.
The first selection committee met at Marilyn’s home and chose Robert Laxalt and Walter Van Tilburg Clark as the recipients. Since that time, the Hall of Fame has become an annual w88 slot online.
The names of all the authors who have been inducted into the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame are now prominently displayed on a wall of honor in the Leslie Harvey and Robert George Whittemore Tower Entry and Reception Gallery of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.
Honorees are selected based on their body of work, critical recognition and a strong connection to w88 slot online through the themes of their writing or residence in the state.
The Silver Pen Award was established in 1996 as part of the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame to recognize w88 slot online who work in or write about Nevada, are in their mid-career, and have already shown substantial achievement.
The award is designed to honor their talent and encourage other emerging and mid-career w88 slot online. It is hoped through their outstanding work they may one day be inducted into the Nevada w88 slot online Hall of Fame.
