The State of Kansas announces this year’s list of Kansas Notable Books. State Librarian Ray Walling says the list celebrates the rich stories and culture of Kansas.
“The 2024 Kansas Notable Books list recognizes 15 books written by Kansans or about Kansas. From historical figures like abolitionist James Montgomery, to the remarkably resilient residents of Udall, to people reflecting on grief and personal struggles through poetry, the authors introduce readers to a variety of Kansans. The selections also take readers on a geology field trip across the state, to Kansas City's Montgall Avenue, into a classroom as seen through the eyes of a child on the autism spectrum, inside a murder mystery, and beyond to other worlds. With something for everyone, I hope all Kansans will visit their local public library to check out these wonderful titles.”
Each year, the Kansas Notable Books list features 15 books, published during the previous calendar year, which are about or set in Kansas, or written by a Kansas author. This year’s selection committee includes representatives of public, university, and regional libraries, academics, and writers.
Kansas Notable Books authors will be awarded their medals at the Kansas Book Festival on September 27 at Washburn University.
Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program at the State Library of Kansas which is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. The mission of the Kansas Center for the Book is to highlight the state’s literary heritage and foster an interest in books, reading, and libraries.
For more information or questions about Kansas Notable Books program, visit kslib.info/notablebooks or contact the State Library of Kansas at 785-296-3296 or email infodesk@ks.gov.
2024 Kansas Notable Books
Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind: James Montgomery and His War on Slavery, by Todd Mildfelt and David Schafer, University of Oklahoma Press
Daughter of Chaos, by Sarah Edgerton (Tonganoxie), Elizabeth Hawk Publishing
Doomed by Blooms, by Anna St. John (Haysville), Level Best Books
Grief Said "Have a Seat", by Amanda G. Elsbury (Wichita), Elite Publications
Henry, Like Always, by Jenn Bailey (Leawood), Chronicle Books
I've Been Fighting This War Within Myself, by Antonio Sanchez-Day (Topeka) and edited by Brian Daldorph (Lawrence), Meadowlark Poetry Press
Into the Sunset: Emmett Dalton and the End of the Dalton Gang, by Ian Shaw, University Press of Kansas
The Jayhawk: The Story of the University of Kansas’s Beloved Mascot, by Rebecca Ozier Schulte (Lawrence), University Press of Kansas
Kansas City's Montgall Avenue: Black Leaders and the Street They Called Home, by Margie Carr (Lawrence), University Press of Kansas
Orion O'Brien and the Spirit of Quindaro, by Fran Borin (Mission Hills), Mission Point Press
Proclaiming the Good News: Mennonite Women’s Voices, 1972-2006, by Lois Y. Barrett and Dorothy Nickel Friesen, Institute of Mennonite Studies
Red Rabbit, by Alex Grecian (Topeka), Tor Nightfire
Roadside Geology of Kansas, by James S Aber (Emporia), Susan E. W. Aber (Emporia), and Michael J. Everhart (Derby), Mountain Press
We're Safe When We're Alone, by Nghiem Tran (Wichita), Coffee House Press
Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas, by Jim Minick, Bison Books
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