If you’re looking for ideas for books to read from talented Indiana authors, the 2024 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards shortlist is out.
The biennial award, an Indiana Humanities program, celebrates storytellers in nine categories of books. More than 50 books are on this year’s shortlist. The winners – chosen by a panel of former winners, writers, teachers, scholars, bookstore owners and librarians – will be announced August 21.
But, in the meantime, you can learn about four Indy-based authors on the shortlist. After a trip to Central Library and power-reading their books, I called Maurice Broaddus, Edward Fujawa, Janna Matthies and Rebecca McKanna to talk about reading and writing in the Circle City.
Check out our conversations, edited for length and clarity, and discover how Indianapolis shows up in their work (even a space opera), tips for living the writerly life and how these writers are celebrating their shortlist status.
Maurice Broaddus’ space opera and his kid-lit hero share real-life community roots
Maurice Broaddus is a double-category nominee – in genre fiction for “Sweep of Stars” and middle grade for “Unfadeable” – and a previous Indiana Authors Award winner. He is also the resident afrofuturist at Kheprw Institute and spent last weekend introducing a mentee to Gen Con. Right now, he’s working on three novels and three short stories.
“Unfadeable” features landmarks that would be familiar to any longtime Indy resident. And, as the first in a trilogy of books, “Sweep of Stars” finds a way to make Indianapolis a home base even for a space opera. But it’s his characters, who are at turns flawed, funny and fierce, that may feel most familiar to Indy audiences.
Question: One thing that stood out for me with “Unfadeable” is how present Indianapolis is. How did you decide how much to focus on that local identity?
Answer: For me, Indianapolis formed and shaped me, as a person and as a writer. So, the more closely I observe Indiana and Indianapolis, the more closely I write about it – the stories, the trees, everything. I feel like I’m just interrogating my own identity, but also America’s, by being hyperlocal.
When I work with middle schoolers, they might be waffling with the book, and then when they see that it takes place just down the street, they get into it. And even in Sweep of Stars, a space opera, I made Indianapolis the (post-climate change) capitol.
Q: If you could pick a famous Hoosier, past or present, that you’d like to see reading your books, who would it be?
A: Mari Evans. My house is around the corner from where she used to live. We never got the chance to meet, but we came close several times. And, because a lot of my work is shaped by poets, I would also see that community right now. So, Januarie York, Tatjana Rebelle, Chantel Massey – the poets who challenge me.
Q: What’s one of your favorite aspects from each of your shortlisted books?
A: In “Sweep of Stars,” it’s the military units that go off into space. It’s not anything military that they do, it’s just every time that they’re cutting up with each other. Those scenes are like, “What if I got my friends to go explore the other side of the universe?”
In “Unfadeable,” it’s Bella (the main character). I love that she learns to advocate for herself and her community. Like a lot of folks who make some changes, she’s one that has trouble following rules to begin with.
Q: What tips do you have for aspiring writers?
A: I rarely give the advice of anything along the lines of “write every day” or “read a lot,” because that’s like telling them to remember to breathe.
But I do say, especially with my middle and high school students, join the drama club. That’s another way to embody a story and write stories. But then there’s the practical aspect that, as a writer, you’ll be on stage more times than you think.
Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
A: Writers finish. That was taught to me by my high school English teacher, Mr. Combs, at Northwest High. No matter how many projects I end up starting, they all get finished.
Another big piece of advice was, “Do that ish.” That’s from my friend Daniel José Older.
When I had stopped writing my novel “Pimp My Airship” halfway through, I was unsure about writing such a departure from my other work. I had an accountability session with Daniel, and he reminded me that we need to push the boundaries of all of it, of our audience and of ourselves as creatives.
Edward Fujawa’s ‘Vanished Indianapolis’ reveals lost locations
Local history buffs likely know about Edward Fujawa’s blog, Class900: Indianapolis, where he writes about Indy’s built environment and its roots in the past. His focus on chronicling the past led this full-time attorney to get a bonus masters degree focused on archive work. It also led to his first book, “Vanished Indianapolis,” which is nominated in the Indiana Authors Awards nonfiction category.
The book covers a range of sites: the old City-County Courthouse, Flanner House’s many locations, the Central Canal and more. It also highlights events that tell us more about our past, like the burial of Pogue’s Run to make room for elevated train traffic and the racist attacks on visitors to Fairview Park (now the Butler campus).
Q: Of all the sites in your book, which is your favorite?
A: My favorite was digging into the history of Fairview Park. I live two blocks away. And it used to be owned by the streetcar company as an amusement park before Butler bought it.
I hadn’t really gone in-depth into it before “Vanished Indianapolis.” It was so interesting to find out about the park, the events that were there, the people – and to learn about how it was a part of the greater Indianapolis history, but also my neighborhood.
Q: One of the really interesting parts of that was how you pulled in reporting from the Indianapolis Recorder about the racial tensions that emerged from having different groups there. Can you share more about that?
A: Yeah, there are uncomfortable parts of history. Some people tend to just think of the positive moments, but when you’re digging into, especially, local history, you’ll run across stuff that isn’t positive. And you should not try to just sweep it under the rug.
Q: What’s a tip you have for making history a regular part of someone’s life?
A: Look around. You’ll spot things in your own neighborhood, on your commute, at a park. And if you start asking questions, you can dig into the history of the place. Then, you’ll discover people, you’ll discover events.
A lot of the topics I write about come from me just riding the bus and looking out the window. I’d wonder about the history and then that blossoms into a tree of topics to dig into.
Q: How are you celebrating being included in the shortlist?
A: I’ll probably go with my wife Ashlee to get a beer at Chilly Water down the street. That’s where I did a lot of my historical research, just sitting there with my laptop. And I’ll also call my mom and sister in Bargersville.
Q: What famous Hoosier would you like to see reading your book?
A: James Madison, a professor emeritus down at IU Bloomington. He’s probably the preeminent Indiana historian and a fantastic author. I took several of his classes. That would be really cool to have him read it.
Rhymes nurture musical connections in Janna Matthies ‘Here We Come!’
In the children’s category, Janna Matthies’ “Here We Come!” celebrates music and community. They are themes that make sense for the local pre-k and kindergarten music teacher, who also edits the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Teddy Bear Concert series.
Her text offers a great way to engage with drums, claps and rhymes for families or teachers. It would also make a great bedtime story. In the book, illustrated by French artist Christine Davenier, a modest crew that begins with a small child and teddy bear expands to include a dog, a bear, a gum-chewing kid and a pair of hedgehogs.
Each adds a new sound – and a phrase ending with an -um sound – to their collective jam as they join.
Q: Who do you most hope reads “Here We Come!”?
A: The main idea of the book is that everybody is invited into music. Adults sometimes get to the place where they think, “Oh, I can’t sing in public or clap my hands or dance.” Kids, especially the age that this book is written for, are often much freer than adults. But the encouragement is for anyone who is hesitant.
Q: What are you reading?
A: My favorite genre is historical fiction. I often land in World War II. Right now, I’m reading “The Lost Book of Bonn” by Brianna Labuskes.
I’ve read several books about the Monuments Men, who tried to recover plundered art, art that was taken from people who were killed or otherwise separated from their possessions. So this one is about a librarian and a member of the military who are dealing with books, trying to return them to their owners or at least get them back to the proper country or city.
Q: What famous Hoosier, past or present, would you like to see reading your book?
A: Cole Porter (American composer and songwriter). Because this is a musical book about the joy of bringing others along and about listening to or making music, it would be fun to think of Cole Porter reading this book to some kids.
Q: Do you have a tip for making reading a part of children’s lives?
A: I think a big thing is not to force what you love on a child. When children are really little, they’re open to anything. But as they start to develop their own will and taste, they’re going to gravitate to what they love.
So, introducing kids to a wide spectrum of books – fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, rhyming, not rhyming, illustrated or not – and letting them pick their own books is the best tip I have.
Rebecca McKanna juggles true crime, female friendship and aging millennial vibes
University of Indianapolis professor Rebecca McKanna’s novel “Don’t Forget the Girl” is nominated in the debut category. The book features dueling timelines and multiple narrative voices, including the perspective of the girl in the title, whose death is central to the story.
Her novel has been celebrated in crime-writing circles, because it includes the tension of how podcasts can both help highlight cold cases and turn pain into entertainment.
But “Don’t Forget the Girl” is more than a literary thriller. It mines the territory of 21st-century womanhood, social media facades and the nuances of friendship, all set in very midwestern environments.
Q: Who do you most hope gets their hands on this novel?
A: I sort of wrote it for myself as somebody who enjoyed true crime and was fascinated by it, but then started to have complicated feelings about the ethical aspects.
I also think that, in general, there’s a lot in it about female friendship and being a millennial and aging, so it’s also for people who are looking back to their girlhood and the different aspects of trying to be a woman in the world – and the dangers we face.
Q: Is there a favorite aspect of your book that you really appreciate?
A: It was fun to do the scenes with the three friends when they were younger, indulging in some nostalgia. But it’s also the hard parts when you look back. The timeline is written in 2003 and there’s nostalgia, but there’s also a lot of things we were really weird about, like diet culture and expectations on women and sexuality. I enjoyed dipping back into that, though it was kind of like a double-edged sword.
Q: What advice do you have about handling rejection as a writer?
A: Rejection is like any skill – you have to practice it. So the more that you get rejected, the more desensitized and stubborn you become. Those early rejection were so much more painful. Now, it’s not as bad. But there’s no way to develop that thick skin that just having to go through it and endure it.
Q: If you could pick a famous Hoosier to read your book, who would it be?
A: Leah Johnson. I really adore her. I know we write very different stuff, that her books are for younger readers, but I particularly liked “You Should See Me in a Crown,” with its representation of the queer midwest. I’m also a really huge fan of her because her bookstore in Indy, Loudmouth Books, is just so cool.
Q: How are you celebrating being on the shortlist?
A: I’m not, really. I should, but I’ve been working on the next book and tying up loose ends before the fall semester starts.
Q: O.K., if you were giving yourself advice on how to celebrate, what would it be?
A: It is important to celebrate, because rejection is so common. And maybe a gift to your writer self, like a pen.
Q: Do you have a favorite pen?
A: Lately, yes. The Sharpie roller. There’s something about the quality of the ink.
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