Each day as we count down to the April 18 announcement of the Minnesota Book Awards, we highlight one of the thirty-two finalists. Today we feature 2015 Novel and Short Story finalist Pamela Carter Joern.
Stories of Struggle and Yearning for Connection
In Reach by Pamela Carter Joern
Published by: University of Nebraska Press
Category Sponsor: Education Minnesota
Full of yearning, redemption, and surprises, this collection of short stories is set in the town of Reach, Nebraska, named by a British homesteader who said the waving prairie grass reminded him of the reach of the ocean. Ranging from the 1950s to present day, within the limits of the town to as far away as Spain, the stories all feature characters who have ties to the rural community that shaped them. Sensitively told, these stories openly display the hope and hardship the characters experience. Two janitors at the town hospital witness the death of a patient with cancer; a couple’s relationship is changed when one of them commits herself to religion; a volunteer fireman is haunted by the lives he could not save. Joern’s expertly crafted characters will remind you of people you have known, flawed yet resilient, and touchingly human.
About the author:
Pamela Carter Joern holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and has completed two other master’s degrees: communications and secondary education from University of Nebraska at Omaha and religious studies from United Theological Seminary. Her debut novel, The Floor of the Sky (Nebraska, 2006), was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and winner of the Alex Award and the Nebraska Book Award. She is an instructor at The Loft Literary Center and lives in Minneapolis.
The reviews are in:
“Pamela Carter Joern’s fictional village of Reach, Nebraska is populated by people you have known, or known of, all your life. In these glimpses of life as it is really lived, you will encounter your aunt Ella, your grandfather Leland, even the uncle no one mentions…Each character is doing ‘the best he can do’ to harvest satisfaction from their lives. Searching for connections, you will find these folks in the reach of your heart.” – Linda M. Hasselstrom, author of No Place Like Home and Dirt Songs.
“Joern’s talent is in creating fully realized, interesting characters and unambiguous stories that weave together several threads.” — Mary Ann Grossman, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Join us at the Awards Gala!
Award winners will be announced at the 27th Annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala on Saturday, April 18 at the historic St. Paul Union Depot. The opening reception begins at 7 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 and are available by visiting www.thefriends.org/gala.
Have you read In Reach? What are your thoughts? We welcome your comments!