Great Plains Literature

Award-winning stories of matter-of-fact cruelty and the hopeful fragility of humanity

Chronicle of a devastating flood in Nebraska on May 31, 1935.

A joyous and personal exploration of the realm of the Kaw River, which stretches from the High Plains of Colorado to the Kansas City metro area

A chronicle of Standing Bear's six-hundred-mile walk to return the body of his only son to their traditional burial ground and the complex relationship between the U.S. Government and the Ponca Indian tribe.

A fast-paced noir novel set in Omaha, Nebraska in 1930

A searing coming-of-age memoir set against the arid landscape of rural North Dakota, where homosexuality “seems akin to a ticking bomb.”

A memoir of Nebraska, and beyond.

A wide-angle look at one of the most significant groups of people in the country

USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight. 

An eloquent tribute to the arduous demands of rural America, and of the tenacity of the human spirit

A gripping history and account of black enslavement in Nebraska

A drama about the complicated relationships connecting the residents of a small-town farming community