CRPLSA

Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators

Tag: Minnesota Book Award

Announcing MNBA Finalists

On Saturday, January 28, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library announced the finalists in nine categories for the 29th Annual Minnesota Book Awards.  Reviewed and chosen by 27 judges from around the state – writers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and others from the literary community – the categories are:

Eligibility and process — Books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans are eligible for Minnesota Book Awards. The Awards are given each year for books published in the previous year. For instance, the this selection of finalists were 2016 for consideration in 2017.

The Book Awards process begins with nominations, which are received from authors, publishers and others from throughout the state. From the nominated works, panels of preliminary round judges choose four finalists. Award winners are then selected by different, final round, judging panels.  Of note this year, 15 of the titles were published by Minnesota presses.

The 29th Annual Minnesota Book Awards ceremony will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in St. Paul on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.  Seating is limited.  Make early reservations.

Winter Bees Wins an Emmy!

Congratulations on the Emmy win for Winter Bees: And Other Poems of the Cold about the making of a Minnesota Book Award-winning children’s book. This Beyond the Book television special was a production by TPT in partnership with The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and CRPLSA.

Appreciation for MNBA Support

MNBAThe Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, as the Library of Congress-designated Minnesota Center for the Book, expressed their appreciation to CRPLSA for financial support of the 28th Annual Minnesota Book Awards.

2016 MNBA Appreciation Packet for Outreach Partners

The Minnesota Book Awards year begins with nominations opening in August, promotion of the finalists in February and March, and culminates with the Awards Ceremony in April. This is followed by statewide outreach celebrating the winners throughout the spring and summer. And, during each phase, CRPLSA support and involvement expands MNBA horizons to the entire state.

MNBA Winners 2016

And the winners are…  MNBA

  • Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall   (Children’s Literature)
  • No House to Call My Home: Love, Family and Other Transgressions by Ryan Berg   (Nonfiction)
  • The Grave Soul by Ellen Hart   (Genre Fiction)
  • Water and What We Know: Following the Roots of a Northern Life by Karen Sabine   (Memoir & Creative Nonfiction)
  • Minnesota Modern: Architecture and Life at Midcentury by Larry Millett   (Minnesota)
  • There’s Something I Want You to Do by Charles Baxter   (Novel & Short Story)
  • Beautiful Wall by Ray Gonzalez   (Poetry)
  • See No Color by Shannon Gibney   (Young People’s Literature)

Each April, authors, publishers and book-lovers celebrate the best of local literature at the Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony. Managed by The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, with financial assistance from CRPLSA, this year’s celebration returned to the beautiful and historic Union Depot in Lowertown, Saint Paul. Books, autographs, refreshments, live music, and the announcement of the award winners all made an unforgettable evening!

Beyond the Book — Winter Bees

Winter Bees introduces the viewer to Joyce Sidman, the author of a 2015 Minnesota Book Award winner, and a young reader. Together they explore the winter environment and the creation of poems and art that make Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold a joyful read. Through the beautifully illustrated poems and this new video story, we learn how animals stay alive in our cold north country.

Winter Bees is a Beyond the Book special production by TPT in partnership with The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and CRPLSA.

The Art and Life of George Morrison DVDs on their way

George Morrison imageThe final task in CRPLSA’s partnership with The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and tpt will be the distribution of 84 DVDs to be shared among Minnesota’s public library collections.

The Art and Life of George Morrison: A Beyond the Book cultural documentary was based on the Minnesota Book Award-winning book, Modern Spirit and features the unique story of a great American artist.  From his early life near Grand Portage, training in Minneapolis and Paris in the 1940s and 1950s to his success as an abstract artist, Morrions’ life revolved around his artistic vision, intellectual drive, and creative energy.  As a Native American artist with strong connections to his Ojibwe roots, Morrison brought together his passion for modern art with a deep respect for the natural world – the spirit of the water, land, sky, horizon.  Making he documentary so dramatic is the inclusion of interviews with the artist and footage from his studio filmed in 1991, as well as original music by his son, Briand Morrison.

Check out Art and Life of George Morrison at a library near you.

Beyond the Book Special receives Emmy Nomination

George Morrison imageCRPLSA’s partnership with The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and tpt generated a September Emmy nomination.  In the category of Documentary – Cultural the first ever Beyond the Book production, The Art and Life of George Morrison: A Beyond the Book Special was one of four 2015 production that was considered.

The other nominees within the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences were:

  • On Eagle’s Wings: Minnesota’s Sacred Music – KSMQ-TV
  • Richard Bresnahan: The Taste of the Clay – Prairie Public Television
  • Tears to Water – WKBT-TV

The one-hour TV special, Tears to Water, produced by WKBT in LaCrosse highlighting water well construction in Uganda was the 2015 Midwest Documentary – Cultural recipient.

Modern Spirit premieres

George Morrison imageA new documentary based on the 2014 Minnesota Book Award-winning book, Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison, premieres Sunday, February 22 on  Twin Cities Public Television (tpt).  The concept of creating a high quality documentary to explore a recent Minnesota Book Award recipient was conceived of and funded by CRPLSA.  Modern Spirit will hopefully be the first of a long legacy of future programs.  Produced in partnership with tpt, the documentary gives a fascinating profile of the art, life and impact of famed Minnesota artist George Morrison and features interviews with authors Kristin Makholm and W. Jackson Rushing III.

The Minnesota Museum of American Art, The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) will host a premiere screening on Thursday, February 19 at the Jerome Hill Theater.  The premiere screening begins at 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by a question and answer segment with Shari Lamke, tpt producer, and artist Hazel Belvo, as well as a reception in the Minnesota Museum of American Art’s project space.

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