Novel by Faculty Author Wins Book Award
Robert Vivian’s latest novel is an award winner.
Vivian, associate professor of English at Alma College, was recently awarded the Nebraska Book Award in the fiction category for his book Lamb Bright Saviors.
“I was very surprised and humbled to hear of this award; I didn’t even know the book had been selected for consideration,” he says. “It’s rather wonderful how these things happen, though a book has its own life once it leaves the author’s hands.”
Lamb Bright Saviors
Lamb Bright Saviors has “grown” ever since Vivian first saw the image that sparked his story.
“It started with a single image, an eccentric preacher declaiming to the air on a dusty road with a girl following behind and pulling a stack of bibles in a little red wagon,” he explains. “That single image has been with me for years and years, and I was finally able to develop a larger framework and story from it.”
Lamb Bright Saviors covers many different themes, such as guilt, failure and redemption, with characters searching for joy in places where that would seem near impossible, Vivian explains.
“The book did teach me in the writing of it that grace can be found anywhere, and I do mean anywhere, even in the midst of death and old sins,” he says.
Receiving this award means a lot to Vivian, as the meaning goes much deeper than what is seen on the surface.
“More than anything, it means that people who read and care about plains literature saw fit to select Lamb Bright Saviors for the award, so this is very gratifying, very humbling,” he says. “Nebraska is the site of all my fiction, so for it to be recognized there and in the midst of such august company, I’m just very grateful.”
Posted: Mon, October 10th, 2011 at 4:24PM
