The annual Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award works to recognize Indiana authors’ contributions to literature in both Indiana and across the nation.
Four IU alumni have been selected as winners or finalists for the 2013 Indiana Authors Award, according to a press release.
Hoosier author Michael Martone was awarded the $10,000 National Author prize.
The National Author prize goes to writers with Indiana ties whose work is known and read throughout the country and they are evaluated by their entire body of work, according to the release.
Martone will also designate a $2,500 grant for the public library of his choosing.
Martone, born and raised in Fort Wayne, is the author of several books, according to the release.
Some of his most recent are “Four for a Quarter,” “Not Normal, Illinois: Peculiar Fictions from the Flyover,” “Racing in Place: Collages, Fragments, Postcards, Ruins” and “Double-wide,” to name a few.
“There was never a time in my 40 years of writing that I have not written about Indiana,” Martone said in the release. “My readers outside the state are always amazed to discover this baffling and beautiful land in my stories.”
James H. Madison, the Thomas and Kathryn Miller professor emeritus of history at IU, was named Regional Author winner earning a $7,500 prize.
The Regional Author prize is given to a writer who is well-known and respected throughout the state of Indiana, according to the release.
Regional Author winners are also judged on their entire body of work and Madison will also designate a $2,500 grant for the library of his choosing.
The Emerging Author winner has not yet been announced.
Two of the three finalists, Tricia Fields and Mike Mullin, are IU alumni.
The winner will be revealed at the Oct. 26 Award Dinner.
Nominations for the awards were submitted in early spring from across the state.
Any published writer who was born or has lived in Indiana for the past five years was eligible, according to the release.
A statewide award panel consisting of eight members selected the national and regional winners and the three Emerging Author finalists from a pool of publicly nominated authors.
All winners will be honored Oct. 26 at the fifth annual Indiana Authors Award Dinner at the Central Library in Indianapolis.
– Makenzie Holland
