Indiana Humanities

It's International Cat Day, which seemed like a great excuse to shine a spotlight on the real bosses around here!

Shoutout to Ophelia, Bette, Nick, Beatrice, Bitsy, Pip, Shakespeare, Clara, Oliver, Mulder, and Scully.

Can you tell by their names that we work in the humanities?

And now please welcome to the stage, our debut authors!

Our final shortlist, Debut, is full of insightful, heartfelt, and surprising stories spread across many genres.

"Level Watch" by Mary Ardery (June Road Press)

"Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland" by Áine Cain & Kevin Greenlee (Pegasus Books)

"Controlled Conversations" by Karol Lagodzki (Milford House Press)

"American Ghoul" by Michelle McGill-Vargas (Blackstone Publishing)

"Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds" by Christian Moody (Dzanc Books)

"Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About" by Isabelle Popp (Harlequin)

We'll announce the winners in each category on Aug. 19. On Aug. 17 and 18, you'll learn who we're honoring as the 2026 Literary Champion and Lifetime Achievement honoree.

Join Indiana Humanities, the Pekin Community Betterment Organization, and the John Hay Center for a premiere screening of "The Fourth of July in Pekin, IN," a new short documentary about Pekin’s annual Independence Day celebration.

The documentary, directed by local filmmaker Erik Thein, captures the spirit of Pekin’s Fourth of July festivities, a yearly tradition at which generations of residents come together to celebrate the oldest consecutively-celebrated Fourth of July festival in the nation.

After the screening, there will be a brief Q&A with the filmmakers and with community members who have had a hand in organizing the festival.

This event is free and open to the public.

RSVP: https://events.humanitix.com/premiere-pekin-fourth-of-july-parade-documentary

*Adds to TBR pile

From faraway landscapes to small towns in Indiana, the books on our 2026 Fiction shortlist describe uniquely human experiences that will leave you wanting more.

"Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar (Alfred A. Knopf)
"Bad Foundations" by Brian Allen Carr (Clash Books)
"Flashlight" by Susan Choi (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
"The Continental Divide" by Bob Johnson (Cornerstone Press)
"Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds" by Christian Moody (Dzanc Books)
"S*x of the Midwest" by Robyn Ryle (Galiot Press)
"Darkmotherland" by Samrat Upadhyay (Soho Press)

https://indianaauthorsawards.org

Do you have an idea for a program that will help Hoosiers explore the role of religion in their lives and engage with how the idea of religious liberty influences the breadth of human experience in Indiana?

We have a new grant of up to $5,000 that will support organizations throughout the state to develop and implement local programs that contribute to the Matters of Religion project.

Applications are due Oct. 31 for the first quarterly application cycle. The first awards will be made in November, with subsequent deadlines expected in January, April, July, and October 2027.

You can find the application details and a link to register for our informational webinar on the topic on Sept. 1 here: https://indianahumanities.org/grant/matters-of-religion-grant/

Lots of great titles to choose from on the Indiana Authors Awards' Genre shortlist!

The time has come to announce our Genre shortlist!

Whether you're into interplanetary empires, historical fiction about the Titanic, or buried family secrets, you'll want to dig into the following titles:

"Breath of Oblivion" by Maurice Broaddus (Tor Books)
"Departure 37" by Michael Koryta, writing as Scott Carson (Atria Books)
"Sisters of Fortune" by Anna Lee Huber (Kensington Publishing Corp.)
"Veil" by Jonathan Janz (Blackstone Publishing)
"The Lost Heiress" by Elizabeth Klehfoth (Lake Union Authors)

Tomorrow: Fiction.

https://indianaauthorsawards.org

Read great prose and learn something at the same time with the books on this shortlist!

Into real stories?

The authors behind these shortlisted nonfiction titles cover everything from America's first high profile Black heiress to environmental injustice to global healthcare inequities.

"Lead Babies and Poisoned Housing: Environmental Injustice, Systemic Racism, and Governmental Failure" by Carolyn R. Boiarsky (Purdue University Press)

"Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance" by A’Lelia Bundles (Simon & Schuster)

"What a Building Does: The Hoosier Modernisms of Evans Woollen" by Phillip Cox and Niall Cronin (Indiana University Press)

"Daddy's Little Stranger" by Acamea Deadwiler (Riddle Brook)

"The Perils of Girlhood" by Melissa Fraterrigo (University of Nebraska Press)

"Architecture in Indianapolis: 1820–1900 / Architecture in Indianapolis: 1900–1920" by James A. Glass (Indiana University Press)

"Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection" by John Green (Crash Course Books)

"The Remarkable Life, Death, and Afterlife of an Ordinary Roman" by Jeremy Hartnett (Cambridge University Press)

"When Once Destroyed: A Historical Memoir of the Life and Death of a Small Town" by Sid Shroyer (Wise Ink Media)

Until noon, when we'll announce our Genre shortlist!

https://indianaauthorsawards.org

It's poetry time, Hoosiers. Which one will you be reading next?

Congratulations to these poets, whose collections center on themes like memory, grief, and the joys of domesticity.

"come from" by janan alexandra (BOA Editions)
"The Sweating Sickness" by Rebecca Lehmann (University of Pittsburgh Press)
"Wish Ave" by Alessandra Lynch (Alice James Books)
"Death Styles" by Joyelle McSweeney (Nightboat Books)
"When the Earth Flies Into the Sun" by Derek Mong (Saturnalia Books)
"Blood Harmony" by Bruce Snider ( University of Wisconsin Press )

Check back in tomorrow, when we'll announce the Genre and Nonfiction shortlists!

https://indianaauthorsawards.org

Mark your calendars for this free event on Aug. 20 in Indianapolis!

Freetown Village: A Living Experience in Black History’s monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators to discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage will return with the great-niece of legendary race car driver Charlie Wiggins. Angi Rogers will guide the audience through her family's remarkable history and her uncle's enduring impact on motorsports.

The event will end with a Q&A for both in-person and virtual attendees.

Learn more: https://indianahumanities.org/event/conversations-in-indianas-african-american-history/