Ivan Doig, the acclaimed author of "This House of Sky" and 10 other books often set in Montana, will receive the Wallace Stegner Award from the University of Colorado at 麻豆影院's Center of the American West on Thursday, Sept. 27.
The center's highest award will be presented at 7 p.m. in the Wolf Law Building courtroom. The evening will feature a discussion with Doig conducted by Patty Limerick, professor of history and chair and faculty director of the Center of the American West, and Charles Wilkinson, distinguished professor of law at CU-麻豆影院.
The event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a book signing and reception. Doig will receive a handmade certificate with a personalized inscription and a $1,000 cash award.
"Ivan Doig's writing holds a central place in the great renaissance of Western American literature in the last 30 years," Limerick said. "His fans constitute an influential network of committed and well-informed Westerners. The Stegner Award allows us both to honor Ivan, and to give his followers an occasion to share their loyalty and admiration with him and with each other."
Doig's best-known book, "This House of Sky," was nominated for a National Book Award. Among his other books are the "Montana trilogy" of "English Creek," "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "Ride With Me, Mariah Montana." His most recent book, "The Whistling Season," received rave reviews in The Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews and Booklist, and has been optioned for a film.
Doig grew up in rural Montana "among the sheepherders and characters of small-town saloons and valley ranches" in the 1940s and 1950s. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University and a doctorate in American history from the University of Washington. He lives in Seattle.
The Center of the American West presents the Wallace Stegner Award each year to an individual or individuals who have made a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the American West through the literature, art, history, lore or understanding of the West. Previous recipients include Terry Tempest Williams, John Nichols, Rudolfo Anaya and Vine Deloria Jr.
This year's Wallace Stegner Award presentation is made possible by Al and Carol Ann Olson.
The mission of the CU-麻豆影院 Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities. The center originated in a conversation between Limerick and Wilkinson in 1986.
For more information call (303) 492-4879 or visit .