Agate Nesaule, author of the 2009 novel In Love with Jerry Kosinski as well as the award-winning memoir A Woman in Amber, will be this year’s recipient of the Chancellor’s Regional Literary Award at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Nesaule is a professor emerita at UW-Whitewater, where she taught English and women’s studies until her retirement in 1996. She lives in Madison, Wis.

“It is wonderful to honor someone who has given so much to UW-Whitewater,” Chancellor Richard Telfer said in a press release. “Agate’s stories continue to resonate today and we look forward to introducing a new generation of students to her outstanding works.”

Nesaule’s In Love with Jerzy Kosinski deals with the issues of immigration and the aftermath of war.  A Woman in Amber shares Nesaule’s life in war-torn Europe and her arrival in the Midwest at the age of 12.  Translated into six languages, A Woman in Amber received an American Book Award in 1996.

Born in Latvia, Nesaule immigrated to Indiana and earned her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. S

“The previous recipients of this award have all been distinguished writers whose work I admire, and I am honored to be in their company,” Nesaule said in a statement released by the university. “I am especially impressed that, although we live in a non-literary era, the chancellor and UW-Whitewater continue to see out and support serious writers.  And of course this award is especially meaningful to me because UW-Whitewater is close to my heart.

The Chancellor’s Regional Literary award honors a living author who has demonstrated a regional connection to the Upper Midwest in their published works of prose, poetry, nonfiction or drama.
The first award was given in 2006 to C.J. Hribal, a professor at Marquette University, for his novel, The Company Car.

Nesaule will be honored with a reading on the UW-Whitewater campus at 7 p.m. Oct. 11. The event will be held in the Summers Auditorium in the University Center on the UW-Whitewater campus. The event is free and open to the public. A book signing will be held after the reading.