John Nichols, author of "The Milagro Beanfield War" and several other critically acclaimed books and screenplays, will be honored at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center of the American West.
The center will present Nichols with its highest honor, the Wallace Stegner Award, during the event in the Old Main Chapel on the CU-Boulder campus.
The Stegner Award presentation will feature an interview and discussion of Nichols' career conducted by Patricia Limerick, professor of history and environmental studies and chair of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West; Charles Wilkinson, distinguished professor of law at CU-Boulder; and CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Kenneth Orona of ethnic studies.
The event is free and open to the public and no reservations are required. CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard Byyny will deliver opening remarks and a reception in the Heritage Center will follow.
Nichols is the author of 10 novels and eight works of nonfiction. He is most noted for his novels "The Sterile Cuckoo" and "The Milagro Beanfield War." Nichols has long been active in land and water issues in northern New Mexico and has lived in Taos, N.M., since 1969.
"John Nichols represents one of the best-case scenarios of a person moving to the West and putting everything he has, heart and soul, mind and body, into living here," said Limerick. She added that he has given a new intensity to the concept, "paying attention to a place," and has used his gift with words to express his ever-growing understanding of the people, animals and plants with whom he shares the landscape he considers home.
"When you read his books on the Southwest, you know how an engine feels when the jumper cables deliver the jolt that gets the battery up and running again," she said.
Each year, the CU-Boulder Center of the American West presents the Wallace Stegner Award to an individual who has made a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West through literature, art, history, lore or understanding of the West. The handmade certificate features a personalized inscription to reflect the recipient's distinguished accomplishments and includes a $1,000 cash award.
The mission of the 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.
For more information call (303) 492-4879 or visit .