LINCOLN, NEB. (May 4, 2005)--For more than 100 years, Nebraska's diverse landscape has inspired people to put pen to paper and create award-winning novels and poems. The memory of those talented individuals lives on in museums dedicated to those who have shared their love for the plains with the world through the written word.

Willa Cather, Nebraska's Pulitzer Prize-winning author, spent her childhood years in Red Cloud. Many of the scenes and characters in her writings are based on people and places Cather encountered in her youth. When you visit Red Cloud, you can tour restored landmarks that the author featured in her stories, including her childhood home, the Burlington Depot, the Farmer's and Merchants' Bank Building, and the Pavelka Farmstead, home of Annie Pavelka, the basis for the title character of Cather's most famous novel, My Antonia.

John Neihardt, poet laureate of Nebraska, also was a journalist and teacher, but it was his work with American Indians that made him legendary. The John G. Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft pays tribute to Neihardt and his relationship with Black Elk, one of the last holy men of the Lakota Sioux. The site chronicles Neihardt's life, works, and the times in which he lived. While at the John G. Neihardt Center, visitors may view works found in the research library. Other attractions include the study where he wrote many of his works and the Sacred Hoop Prayer Garden, which was planted under Neihardt's direction. The 39th Annual Neihardt Day occurs in August.

Mari Sandoz, whose writing captured the spirit of both American Indians and early settlers of Nebraska, was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1975. Two locations in Nebraska honor this remarkable author. Sandoz's memorabilia and life story are preserved in the Mari Sandoz Room in Gordon. In addition to the Mari Sandoz Room, visitors can also take tours providing an insight to her best-known book, Old Jules. Down the road in Chadron is the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center at Chadron State College. This impressive building, once a campus library, underwent a more than $2 million renovation to create this tribute to a remarkable author. An annual conference is held in April, drawing enthusiasts from around the country.

Bess Streeter Aldrich wrote more than 100 short stories and nine novels between 1911 and 1945. Her stories centered on family values and life in the pioneering Midwest. It was Aldrich's hope that future generations would read her work and understand the joys, the struggles, and the strengths that were a part of that time.

Today, Aldrich's memory lives on in her 1922 home and library in Elmwood. Visitors will see original Aldrich furnishings and antiques, a flower garden, a lily pond, and a video history of the author.

For information on Nebraskan authors and to receive a free Nebraska travel packet, call 1-877-NEBRASKA, or visit the Nebraska Department of Economic Development Travel and Tourism Division's website at: www.VisitNebraska.org

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Mary Ethel Emanuel at
800-228-4307, 402-471-3797, or
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