This Sunday at the 84th Academy Awards, Omaha’s very own Alexander Payne is nominated for Best Picture, Directing and Writing (adapted screenplay) for his movie, The Descendents.

On a local level, Payne is the narrator of a video about the new book Drawn to Fashion by Mary Mitchell. The video is showing at the Durham Museum in Omaha in conjunction with an exhibit of Mitchell's fashion illustrations.

And earlier this week, UNP author Matthew Gavin Frank was interviewed via email by John Warner from Inside Higher Ed about his new book Pot Farm.

Warner called Pot Farm a ”…simultaneously beautiful, dark and life-affirming story.”

Click here to read Frank’s personal views of what Pot Farm is all about.

Last Sunday, Cincinnati's NPR affiliated featured an interview with Eric Goodman about his new book, Twelfth and Race.  Listen here.

And next Thursday, the poem “Looking Back” from James Crews’ The Book of What Stays will be featured on Poetry Daily.