Non-profits interested in bringing an award-winning Indiana author to their community to speak to a public audience can apply for funds to cover speaking fees as part of Indiana Humanities’ Novel Conversations Speakers Program.
The program, open to public libraries, schools, churches, museums, community centers, prisons and other nonprofit organizations, is funded by a $22,500 grant from the Glick Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
The speakers program features current and past recipients of the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award. This year’s participants are:
- Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, 2018 Regional Author Winner
- Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, 2018 Emerging Author Finalist
- Lori Rader-Day, 2017 Regional Author Winner
- Bryan Furuness, 2017 Emerging Author Finalist
- John David Anderson, 2017 Genre Excellence Winner
- Philip Gulley, 2016 Regional Author Winner
- Sarah Gerkensmeyer, 2016 Emerging Author Winner
- Bill Kenley, 2016 Emerging Author Finalist
- Edward Kelsey Moore, 2016 Emerging Author Finalist
- Adrian Matejka, 2015 Regional Author Winner
- Laura Bates, 2015 Emerging Author Finalist
- Michael Shelden, 2014 National Author Winner
- Ray Boomhower, 2010 Regional Author Winner
Indiana Humanities will select up to 25 host organizations and match them to their preferred authors through an application process. Application guidelines and author bios are available at IndianaHumanities.org/ncspeakersprogram. The deadline to apply is Oct. 12.
In addition to paying the speakers’ fees, Indiana Humanities will provide participating organizations with resources such as a communications toolkit, press release template and event banner. Participating organizations are responsible for working with authors to schedule engagements and cover any travel expenses. Author events must be completed by June 30, 2019.
“Year after year we hear from librarians, teachers and other community leaders who value this program because it provides them with a unique opportunity to engage residents in insightful discussions about reading and writing,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “We’re thrilled to celebrate Indiana’s rich literary history and thankful to The Glick Fund for its support.”
Indiana Humanities’ Novel Conversations program is a free statewide lending library offering sets of books, primarily fiction and biographies, to reading and discussion groups at libraries, senior centers, schools and other places throughout the state. Indiana Humanities makes available 750 titles by more than 500 authors, including dozens of Hoosier writers. All of the authors taking part in this year’s speakers program are represented in the Novel Conversations library.
Any Indiana resident with a book club can participate in Novel Conversations for free. Books are shipped via the Indiana State Library’s INfo Express service to libraries around the state, or picked up and returned at Indiana Humanities’ headquarters in Indianapolis. Residents of areas outside library districts may be eligible for free direct shipping. All books must be reserved in advance online by visiting indianahumanities.org/novelconversations.
About the Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award
The Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award, a program of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, recognizes the contributions of Indiana authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation. Funded by The Glick Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation, its goal is to elevate the written arts in Indiana, inspiring Hoosiers’ love of reading and drawing greater attention to “home-grown” literary achievement.
About Indiana Humanities
Indiana Humanities connects people, opens minds and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage Hoosiers to think, read and talk. Learn more at indianahumanities.org.