If you like books with a Kansas flavor you might have some new reading material.

According to the State of Kansas, State Librarian Eric Norris announced today the 14th annual selection of Kansas Notable Books. The fifteen books feature quality titles with wide public appeal, either written by a Kansan or about a Kansas related topic.

“I am proud to present the 2019 Kansas Notable Book list. Choosing only 15 books is no easy task,” said Eric Norris, State Librarian. “The selection committee began with a pool of nearly 100 submitted titles and worked diligently to identify the year’s best works by Kansas authors and illustrators, as well as those works that highlight our history and heritage. Kansans are encouraged to visit their local public library and celebrate the artists and the artistry of Kansas.”

Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program of the State Library. The Kansas Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Throughout the award year, the State Library promotes and encourages the promotion of all titles on this year’s list at literary events, and among librarians and booksellers.

An awards ceremony will be held at the Kansas Book Festival, Saturday, September 14, 2019, at the State Capitol to recognize the talented Notable Book authors. The public is invited.

For more information about Kansas Notable Books, call 785-296-3296, visit kslib.info/notablebooks or email [email protected] .

2019 Kansas Notable Books

American Heart by Laura Moriarty (Lawrence), HarperTeen

Buried in the Suburbs by Jamie Lynn Heller (Lenexa), Woodley Press

Brown Enough: A Tale of a Mixed-Race Baseball Team Summer of ’56 by Ken Ohm (Topeka), CreateSpace

The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo (Manhattan), HarperTeen

The Diaries of Reuben Smith, Kansas Settler and Civil War Soldier edited by Lana Wirt Myers (Newton), University Press of Kansas

A Girl Stands at the Door: The Generation of Young Women Who Desegregated America’s Schools by Rachel Devlin (Brooklyn, NY), Basic Books

Eisenhower: Becoming the Leader of the Free World by Louis Galambos (Baltimore, MD), Johns Hopkins University Press

Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River by Max McCoy (Emporia), University Press of Kansas

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh (Wichita), Scribner

Night Out by Daniel Miyares (Lenexa), Schwartz & Wade Books

No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas by C.J. Janovy (Kansas City, MO), University Press of Kansas

No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tonya Bolden (New York, NY), illustrations by Don Tate (Austin, TX), Knopf Books for Young Readers

The Pastor Wears a Skirt: Stories of Gender and Ministry by Dorothy Nickel Friesen (Newton), Wipf and Stock Publishers

The Saint of Wolves and Butchers by Alex Grecian (Topeka), G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker (Lawrence), Razorbill

The State Library of Kansas – To learn more, visit kslib.info.