Society of Midland Authors Announces Awards
By Melissa Feldsher in Arts & Entertainment on May 6, 2009 4:00PM
The Society of Midland Authors is kind of like the literary Mensa of the Midwest. Since its founding in 1915, members have included Poetry magazine founder Harriet Monroe, founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement Jane Addams, social theorist Daniel J. Boorstin, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg.
Next Tuesday at its annual banquet and awards presentation, the Society will honor this year's authors who live in, were born in, or are strongly tied to the Midwest. Past winners have included Saul Bellow, Studs Terkel, and Gwendolyn Brooks. This year the following authors will be added to the Society of Midland Authors' illustrious ranks:
- Adult Fiction: Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project
- Adult Non-Fiction: Neil Shubin, Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body
- Biography: John E. Hallwas, Dime Novel Desperadoes: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers
- Children’s Fiction: Louise Erdrich, The Porcupine Year
- Children’s Non-Fiction: Candace Fleming, The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary
- Poetry: Ronald Wallace, For a Limited Time Only
Additionally, the Society will present the James Friend Memorial Award for Literary Criticism to Teresa Budasi of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Complimentary copies of the winning books will be available to guests.
The Society of Midland Authors awards banquet, Tuesday, May 12, Congress Hotel, Buckingham Room, 520 S. Michigan Ave, Cocktails begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. $65.