Category Archives: News & Announcements

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Larry D. Sweazy

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Thursday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) with author, Larry D. Sweazy.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Mr. Sweazy’s career and his Josiah Wolfe Series starting with RATTLESNAKE SEASON (DBC 13590). Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Larry D. Sweazy questions about his series. Please submit your questions by August 14. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with his book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

RATTLESNAKE SEASON: A JOSIAH WOLFE, TEXAS RANGER NOVEL (DBC 13590) by Larry D. Sweazy.

NLS Annotation: A character-rich western novel about a Texas Ranger, Josiah Wolfe, who is haunted by dark memories, on the hunt for a former friend turned killer. Some descriptions of sex. Some strong language. Violence.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, August 21!

2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Longlist

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Founded in 2009, The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction celebrates quality, innovation, and ambition of writing for books published in the last year in the UK, Ireland, or the Commonwealth. In order to qualify, the majority of the storyline must have taken place at least 60 years ago. The winner was announced at the Borders Book Festival on Thursday, June 12.

For more information check out the Prize’s website.

Longlisted titles in the NLS Collection are:

HEART IN WINTER by Kevin Barry (DB 122515)
GLORIOUS EXPLOITS by Ferdia Lennon (DB 125459)
SIGN OF HER OWN by Sarah Marsh (LB 0000111)

In His Own Words: Brian Wilson

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Brian Wilson passed away on June 11. He was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. NLS has two of his memoirs in our collection.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE: MY OWN STORY (DB 34660)
I AM BRIAN WILSON: A MEMOIR (DB 86546)

Marfield Prize for Outstanding Writing about the Arts

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Since 2006, the Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is announced annually by the Arts Club of Washington. The award recognizes the author of an outstanding nonfiction book about the visual, literary, media, or performing arts. This $10,000 prize is designed to recognize excellence in arts writing for a broad audience. The winner was announced in mid-April, and the prize was awarded on June 4.  

For more information check out the Marfield Prize website.

Titles in the NLS collection are:

Winner

CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER by Natalie Dykstra (DBC 11759)

Nominees

3 SHADES OF BLUE: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, BILL EVANS, AND THE LOST EMPIRE OF COOL by James Kaplan (DB 119773)
COCKTAILS WITH GEORGE AND MARTHA: MOVIES, MARRIAGE, AND THE MAKING OF WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Philip Gefter (DB 121300)
GET THE PICTURE: A MIND-BENDING JOURNEY AMONG THE INSPIRED ARTISTS AND OBSESSIVE ART FIENDS WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SEE by Bianca Bosker (DB 119366)
DRAWN TESTIMONY: MY FOUR DECADES AS A COURTROOM SKETCH ARTIST by Jane Rosenberg (DB 126498)

Past Award Recipients in the TBP collection:

2023: ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AND ME by Patrick Bringley (DB 113368, en español DB 126480)
2022: MR. B: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S 20TH CENTURY by Jennifer Homans (DB 111898)
2018: LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean (DB 92869, BRC 01820, LB 11432)
2016: YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE: THE STORY OF RAINER MARIA RILKE AND AUGUSTE RODIN by Rachel Corbett (DB 86724)
2015: RAZZLE DAZZLE: THE BATTLE FOR BROADWAY by Michael Riedel (DB 88018)
2013: INSIDETHE DREAM PALACE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NEW YORK’S LEGENDARY CHELSEA HOTEL by Sherill Tippins (DBC 27079)
2012: LADY IN GOLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF GUSTAV KLIMT’S MASTERPIECE, PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER by Anne-Marie O’Connor (DB 75392)
2008: WHITE HEAT: THE FRIENDSHIP OF EMILY DICKINSON AND THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON by Brenda Wineapple (DB 69087)
2006: STEEL DRIVIN’ MAN: JOHN HENRY, THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Scott Reynolds Nelson (DB 67453)

Agatha Awards Nominees 2025

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Since 1988, The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, have been awarded by Malice Domestic Ltd. in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery.

These are the literary awards for “cozy mysteries” also defined as mystery and crime books in the traditional mystery subgenre: “books typified by the works of Agatha Christie…loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence.” The 2025 Agatha Awards were announced on April 26.

For more information, check out the Agatha Awards’ website.

Best Contemporary Novel

VERY WOODSY MURDER by Ellen Byron (DB 124223)
MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian (DB 119883)
FONDUE OR DIE by Korina Moss (DB 128179 IN PROCESS)
DARK WIVES by Ann Cleeves (DB 123656)

Best Historical Novel

LAST HOPE by Susan Elia MacNeal (DB 121458)

Best First Novel

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID by K. T. Nguyen (DB 120643)

Best Non-Fiction

BOOKSHOP: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSTORE by Evan Friss (DB 124566)

Best Children’s/YA Mystery

SHERLOCK SOCIETY by James Ponti (DB 126810)

TBP Book Club Title Announced for July 2025!

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Join the Talking Book Program for a book club discussion on Thursday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). We’ll be discussing the book ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518).

Our book club discussions are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.

Or if you prefer, reply to this email or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge, mail you a large print copy of the book, or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

ART THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, CRIME, AND A DANGEROUS OBSESSION by Michael Finkel (DB 115367, LB 14518)

NLS Annotation: For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2023.

We look forward to having you join us on Thursday, July 25!

Hugo Award Finalists 2025

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Since 1953, the Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious awards, were established by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them. The awards will be presented in Seattle on August 16, 2025.

For more information check the Awards’ Website.

Here are the finalists for 2025 that are in the TBP collection.

Best Novel

ALIEN CLAY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 124970)
SERVICE MODEL by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 122092)
SORCERESS COMES TO CALL by T. Kingfisher (DB 123396, BR 26176 IN PROCESS)
TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett (DB 118884, BR 25745 IN PROCESS)
MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (DB 121556, BR 25559 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127955 en proceso)

Best Novella

PRACTICE, THE HORIZON, AND THE CHAIN by Sofia Samatar (DB 123094)

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

MAID AND THE CROCODILE by Jordan Ifueko (DB 124172)

Texas Talking Book Program Author Talk: Georgina Kleege

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Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Tuesday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m. (Central) with author and educator, Georgina Kleege. Note that this time is a bit earlier than our usual author talks.

Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Georgina’s career and her latest book, MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART. Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.

Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!

Participating is easy:

  • Use your landline to dial in via phone.
  • Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
  • Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.

To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.

We invite you to ask Georgina Kleege questions about her book. Please submit your questions by July 8. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions

To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here

Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.

Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Also, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: WHAT BLINDNESS BRINGS TO ART (DB 93533, BR 22550) by Georgina Kleege.

NLS Annotation: Author of Sight Unseen (DB 48328, BR 12149) critically examines the ways institutions make art accessible to blind people and the connection of visual arts with language. Uses personal experiences, scientific studies, and historical literary analysis to support her arguments. 2018.

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, July 15!

Kirkus’ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)

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It’s 2025, and Kirkus has celebrated the occasion by compiling a list of the best books published in the last 25 years. In order to create this curated list, Kirkus Reviews first reviewed a large pool of books published in the US between 2000 and 2024. The books were then categorized into broad genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Teen and Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books. Kirkus Reviews editors then made the final selections, considering both the quality of the book and the potential for reader interest.

For more information, check out the Kirkus Reviews Website

Here are the books that are in the TBP collection.

Fiction

AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (DB 77188, LB 08272, en español DBG 17313, en français DBG 18008, BRG 04956, BRG 04957)
LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson (DB 76417, LB 10827)
ORYX AND CRAKE by Margaret Atwood (DB 56234, BR 14805)
ARTHUR AND GEORGE by Julian Barnes (DB 61635, BRG 01754, LB 09687)
MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN: SELECTED STORIES by Lucía Berlin (DB 83703, BR 23549, en español DB 83996)
2666 by Roberto Bolaño (DB 68418, en español DB 68961)
WITNESS: STORIES by Jamel Brinkley (DB 116828)

Nonfiction

OPEN: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Andre Agassi (DB 70076, en español DB 119726)
SECONDHAND TIME: THE LAST OF THE SOVIETS: AN ORAL HISTORY by Svetlana Aleksievich (DB 84738)
GULAG: A HISTORY by Anne Applebaum (DB 58287)
AMERICAN PROMETHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (DB 61087)

Teens and Young Adult

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi (DB 90928, BR 22258)
SAINTS AND MISFITS by S. K. Ali (DB 90693, BRG 04091)
KIT’S WILDERNESS by David Almond (DB 51741)
FEED by M. T. Anderson (DB 55687, BRG 01588)
FEVER, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (DB 51967, BR 16484)
BLOOD YEARS by Elana K. Arnold (DB 117992, BR 25423)

Middle Grade

I LIVED ON BUTTERFLY HILL by Marjorie Agosín (DB 81239)
CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander (DB 79528, BR 24707, BT 13359, LB 11454, en español DB 111942)
ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate (DB 75687, BR 19679, LB 11289)
NIGHT GARDENER: A SCARY STORY by Jonathan Auxier (DB 79649, BRG 03549, LB 11288)
CHASING VERMEER by Blue Balliett (DB 83073, DBC 16811, BRG 00685)
GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Regan Barnhill (DB 85739, BR 21836, LB 09158)
IVY AND BEAN by Annie Barrows (DB 64440)
LUCKY BROKEN GIRL by Ruth Behar (DB 88385, en español DB 110128)

Picture Books

UNDEFEATED by Kwame Alexander (DB 118181, BR 22617, LB 14537)
TROMBONE SHORTY by Troy Andrews (DB 85566, BR 21098)
CROWN: AN ODE TO THE FRESH CUT by Derrick Barnes (DB 90685, BR 22031)
HELLO LIGHTHOUSE by Sophie Blackall (BR 22571, LB 14526)
RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS by Jen Bryant (DB 80620)

Pulitzer Prize Finalists 2025

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The Pulitzer Prizes, which are administered at Columbia University, were established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian American journalist and newspaper publisher who left money to the university upon his death. A portion of his bequest was used to establish the Pulitzer Prize as an incentive to excellence, and the first awards were given in 1917. Joseph Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in books and drama, one for education, and five traveling scholarships. Since then, the Pulitzer Prize board has increased the number of awards to 23 and introduced poetry, music, photography, memoir, and audio journalism as subjects.

Below are the 2025 finalists and winners in the TBP collection under the category of Letters and Drama Prizes. The winners were announced on May 5.

For more information check the Awards’ Website.

Fiction

JAMES by Percival Everett (DB 120063, BR 25513 IN PROCESS, LB 0000436, en español DB 127871 en proceso)
HEADSHOT by Rita Bullwinkel (DB 124703)

History

NATIVE NATIONS: A MILLENNIUM IN NORTH AMERICA by Kathleen DuVal (DB 121149)

Biography

EVERY LIVING THING: THE GREAT AND DEADLY RACE TO KNOW ALL LIFE
by Jason Roberts (DB 120621)
JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE by David Greenberg (DB 125436, BR 25696 IN PROCESS,
LB 0003598)

Memoir or Autobiography

FI: A MEMOIR by Alexandra Fuller (DB 121448)