Shortlist for 2027 One Book One Nebraska Announced
What book will all Nebraskans be encouraged to read in 2027? We will all find out on November 14th at the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) literary festival. A Nebraska family saga, a cross‑country odyssey, a deeply researched historical narrative — all stories with ties to Nebraska — are the finalists for the 2027 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:
-The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern, University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
-The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, Viking, 2021.
-Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters’ Escape from Nebraska Territory by Gail Shaffer Blankenau, University of Nebraska Press, 2024.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska, and the Nebraska Library Commission. It encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss the same book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting. A Nebraska Center for the Book committee selected the three finalists from a list of nineteen titles nominated by Nebraskans. In the coming weeks, Nebraska Center for the Book board members will vote on the 2027 selection.
Nebraskans are invited to take part in the Nebraska Celebration of Books (N.COB) Literary Festival where the choice for the 2027 One Book One Nebraska will be announced. Held on Saturday, November 14th, from 10:00am-5:30pm, on the second floor of the UNL City Campus Union and Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, this event aims to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors. The festival will honor the 2026 One Book One Nebraska with an author talk by Karen Russell, in addition it will feature 2026 Nebraska Book Award winning authors, book vendors, and presentation of the Mildred Bennett Award and Jane Geske Awards. Visit https://bookfestival.nebraska.gov/ for more information about the N.COB festival programming and authors.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Nebraska Library Commission.
As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information."
The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.