Karen Russell Named Featured Author for the 2026 Nebraska Celebration of Books
The Nebraska Center for the Book is proud to announce Karen Russell as the featured author for the 2026 Nebraska Celebration of Books literary festival. Russell, an acclaimed novelist, short story writer, and recipient of major national literary honors, will headline the annual statewide event held November 14, 2026, at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s City Campus Union and Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center.
As the festival’s featured author, Russell will deliver the One Book One Nebraska Author Talk during the afternoon program, including a discussion of The Antidote: A Novel, her research travels across Nebraska, and the role of memory, resilience, and community in her work. Russell will be joined by guest speaker Judi gaiashkibos, Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. Russell will also participate in the Authors Reception directly after her talk, where she will be available for book signings.
About Karen Russell
Russell is the author of six books, including The Antidote, Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Her work has earned a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize finalist recognition, and multiple national awards. The Antidote is a National Book Award finalist, and has received the National Book Critics' Circle Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Russell is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Stanford University.
About the Nebraska Celebration of Books
The Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) is a free, public literary festival honoring Nebraska authors, readers, and the statewide literary community. The event features author panels, book award presentations, vendor markets, and programming for both authors and readers.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit the NCOB website at www.bookfestival.nebraska.gov
The event will feature 2026 Book Awards winners, author panels and signings, book vendors, publishers, and presentation of the Nebraska Book Awards, Mildred Bennett Award and Jane Geske Award, and 2027 One Book One Nebraska announcement.
The Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) sponsors include Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, University of Nebraska Press, Omaha Public Libraries, Lincoln City Libraries, Francie and Finch Bookshop, and Flatwater Free Press. Humanities Nebraska provides support for One Book One Nebraska program.
The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Nebraska Library Commission.