February 21, 2002

Annual Prairie Schooner writing prizes awarded

Prairie Schooner has awarded 15 writing prizes for work published in its 2001 volume. Prairie Schooner magazine is published with the support of the UNL English Department and the University of Nebraska Press.

The $1,000 Lawrence Foundation Award for the best short story in the 2001 volume went to Marilyn Krysl for Cherry Garcia, Pistacho Cream, published in the Winter issue. This prize is made possible by the Lawrence Foundation of New York City.

Jane Bernstein is the winner of the $1,000 Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing for The Anatomy of Worry, an essay from the Spring 2001 issue. The Faulkner Award is supported by charitable contributions to honor Virginia Faulkner, former editor-in-chief of the University of Nebraska Press and fiction editor at Prairie Schooner.

The Edward Stanley Award for Poetry, $1,000, will be divided between Constance Merritt and Eleanor Wilner for their eight poem series Call and Response in the Spring 2001 issue. Contributions from the family of Edward Stanley, a member of the committee that founded Prairie Schooner in 1926, make possible this award.

Alicia Ostriker is the recipient of the $1,000 Larry Levis Prize for Poetry for three poems published in the Fall issue. The Larry Levis Prize for Poetry is made possible with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, Marcia Southwick and Murray Gell-Mann.

The Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award, an annual prize beginning this year, was awarded to Reetika Vazirani for the essay The Art of Breathing and the poem From Patanjali in the Fall issue. The Glenna Luschei Prize Prairie Schooner Award is made possible through Luschei's donation of $500,000 to the NU Foundation to benefit Prairie Schooner. This donation provides the Glenna Luschei Endowed Editorship for Prairie Schooner, and support in perpetuity for the magazine. The gift also establishes the Glenna Luschei Fund for Excellence at Prairie Schooner, as well as other stipends for faculty, staff and contributors to the magazine.

The Bernice Slote Award, a $500 prize for the best work by a beginning writer, goes to Matt Bondurant for his story The Queen of Sparta published in the Winter issue. The Slote Award is supported by the estate of Bernice Slote, Prairie Schooner editor from 1963 through 1980.

The Prairie Schooner Strousse Award of $500 for the best poem or group of poems goes to Robin Becker for five poems published in the Fall issue.

Daniel Stern is the winner of the $250 Hugh J. Luke Award for his story The Fellowship, which appeared in the Summer issue. The Hugh J. Luke Award was established in memory of Prairie Schooner's editor from 1980 through 1987.

The Jane Geske Award of $250 goes to Kyoko Mori for her short story The World of Weather, which appeared in the Winter issue. The Jane Geske Award is made possible by the contribution of Norman Geske, and was established in memory of Jane Geske.

Prairie Schooner Readers' Choice Awards of $250 each go to Scott Cairns of Columbia, Mo., for six poems in the Summer issue; Judith Ortiz Cofer of Athens, Ga., for two poems in the Fall issue; Jonathan Holden of Manhattan, Kan., for the essay The Procedural Status Quo in the Fall issue; Ha-yun Jung of Madison, Wis., for the short story Our Lady of Height in the Summer issue; Andrew McCuaig of Madison, Wis., for the short story The Only Woman in the Orchestra in the Winter issue; and Judith Taylor of Los Angeles, Calif., for eight poems in the Spring issue.

Back issues and subscriptions can be purchased by writing to Prairie Schooner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 201 Andrews Hall, PO Box 880334, Lincoln, NE 68588-0334, calling (800) 715-2387, visiting the magazine's Web site at <http://www.unl.edu/schooner/psmain.htm>. The magazine is also available at bookstores. Subscriptions are $26 for one year; single copies are $9.

NET names TV program services manager

Nebraska Educational Telecommunications has named Steven Graziano manager of television program services, effective Jan. 2.

This senior management position is responsible for television programming and channel operations for the statewide Nebraska ETV Network and the NETV2 cable television service, as well as multi-channel traffic operations, on-air promotion and audience research. Graziano will also take the lead in developing multiple channel programming options as part of NET's conversion to digital television.

Graziano joined NET in 1988 as broadcast promotion manager and since 1996 has also served as NETV2 program manager. His accomplishments include developing NETV2 into a 24-hour service and launching a Spanish-language program service on NETV2, a national first in public television.

4-H camp has new director

Brad Mellema of Central City has been named director of the Nebraska State 4-H Camp at Halsey.

Mellema manages the camp's personnel, programs and facilities. He was guest coordinator and fund-raiser at Timberlake Ranch Camp near Marquette. Mellema earned his speech communications degree from the University of Nebraska in 1991.

"I'm looking forward to providing the highest quality camp experience possible and expanding the opportunities available in this region," Mellema said.

The Nebraska State 4-H Camp is two miles west of Halsey in the Nebraska National Forest. The site hosts 13 4-H camps, other youth conferences and adult retreats for 4,500 visitors each year. Participants can canoe, swim, hike, fish and explore the forest during their visits.

For more information about Nebraska's 4-H camps, contact Cooperative Extension or visit http://4h.unl.edu.