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CONTACT:
Mountain West Center for
Regional Studies
0735 Old Main Hill
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-0735  
phone:  435.797.3630
fax: 435.797.3899
email:  mwc@cc.usu.edu   

2007 Evans Winners Announced

EVANS BIOGRAPHY AND HANDCART AWARDS TO BE GIVEN AT USU CEREMONY

            LOGAN —Winners of the Evans Biography and Handcart Awards will be in Logan Friday, Sept. 26, to receive their awards and to participate in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the annual awards. The awards, and award presentation activities, are administered by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at Utah State University. The public is invited to the ceremony and related activities that begin at 2:30 p.m. in USU's Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge.

                The Evans Awards were established in 1983 by the family of David W. and Beatrice C. Evans to encourage outstanding writing of biographies about people who lived in or significantly influenced the Interior West.

                Frederick H. Swanson, author of the Evans Biography Award winner “Dave Rust: A Life in the Canyons,” (University of Utah Press) and Handcart Award winner Jedediah S. Rogers, editor of “In the President's Office: The Diaries of L. John Nuttall, 1879-1892” (Signature Books), will be on the USU campus for the award presentation. The event, including the reception, book signing and silent auction, is free and open to the public.

                The two winning books shed light on different aspects of Utah history. Swanson's book is about a pioneering backcountry outfitter and guide in southern Utah. Rogers edited the diaries of L. John Nuttall, who was secretary to three early presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — Brigham Young, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff.

                “Both books are important contributions to Utah history,” said Elaine Thatcher, director of the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies.

                Over the past 25 years, the Evans awards have recognized such seminal books as Terry Tempest Williams's “Refuge” and Richard Lyman Bushman's “Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.”

                LeRoy Ashby, co-author of a biography of Idaho Sen. Frank Church that won the Evans Biography Award in 1994, commented on the award and its anniversary.

                “Receiving the Evans Biography Award has been one of the highlights of my career,” Ashby said. “It is always wonderful to have one's scholarship recognized, but the Evans prize offers a particularly prestigious stamp of approval.”

                With the 25th anniversary year, the award ceremony and reception include special events, including a silent auction featuring a complete set of winning books since 1983 and individual winning books from the past quarter century, Thatcher said. Members of the Evans family will also be present.

                The Evans event follows the Leonard J. Arrington Lecture in Mormon History, with activities the previous evening (Sept. 25). The combination of events make a notable weekend of Utah history, Thatcher said.

                The Evans awards are administered in a year-long process. The call for submissions has just gone out for books published in 2008, with a deadline of Jan. 1, 2009. Winners are announced in the spring, with the awards ceremony in September. The books are first reviewed by a regional jury made up of five scholars and book specialists from the Intermountain region. Three finalists are sent on to the national jury, which consists of three biography experts with national and international reputations.

                For information on the Evans awards, contact the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at USU, (435) 797-3630.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

ABOUT THE EVANS BIOGRAPHY AND HANDCART AWARDS:
The Evans Biography Award and the Handcart Award are designed to encourage fine writing about the people who have helped shape the growth and character of an important part of America.  The awards are administered by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at Utah State University.

TOPIC: Judges wil consider books fitting at least one of the following criteria. (Note: Neither the biography's subject nor author need be affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints):

1. A biography, autobiography, or edited memoir of someone who lived a significant portion of his or her life in what might be termed "Mormon Country," that region historically influenced by Mormon institutions and social practices. The region is roughly an expanded Great Basin and Rocky Mountain region, extending south into Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico and north into southern Alberta, Canada.
Examples:
A River Running West: The Life & Times of John Wesley Powell, by Donald Worster (2000 Biography winner)
Sarah Winnemucca, by Sally Zanjani (2002 Biography winner)

2. A history in which the biographical material concerning the principals is estensive and significant. The geographical limits outlined in criterion #1 also apply.
Examples of past books that might have been eligible include:
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, by Terry Tempest Williams (1991 Biography winner)
Blood of the Prophets, by Will Bagley

3. A collection of biographical portraits in which the individuals fit a unifying theme and understanding. The geographical limits outlined in criterion #1 also apply.
Examples:
The Forgotten Founders: Rethinking the History of the Old West by Stewart L. Udall
Differing Visions: Dissenters in Mormon History, Roger Lanius and Linda Thatcher, editors

4. A biography or history with significant biographical content dealing with nineteenth-century Mormon history, including the Palmyra, Kirtland, Nauvoo, and exodus periods.
Examples:
Brigham Young: American Moses, by Leonard J. Arrington (1983 Biography winner)
Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions, Donna Toland Smart, editor (1997 Handcart winner)

DEADLINE. January 1, 2009. Eligible books must be published between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008.

FEE: None

SUBMISSION: Send six (6)* copies of the book and one (1) copy of the author's vita to:
Evans Biography Awards
Mountain West Center for Regional Studies
Utah State University
0735 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-0735

INQUIRIES: Phone 435.797.3630 Fax 435.797.3899
Email mwc@cc.usu.edu

*The Mountain West Center may require additional copies of books forwarded to the national judges.
All books submitted will be considered for both prizes. All books are first screened by local judges. The top three or four submissions as determined by the local judges will be forwarded to a panel of national judges for final selection. Local judges determine the Handcart Award winner. Neither award will be given if the judges determine that no book merits the award.

PREVIOUS BIOGRAPHY AWARD RECIPIENTS:

PREVIOUS HANDCART AWARD RECIPIENTS: