Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
May 6 2007
Taboo topic takes home a Book Award
Judges praise Taner Akçam for his history countering Turkey’s
official denial of an Armenian genocide.
By Sarah T. Williams, Star Tribune
Last update: May 05, 2007 – 10:34 PM
For his take on Turkish history, Taner Akçam has been prosecuted,
jailed, exiled, detained, threatened, maligned, vilified and
harassed. On Saturday, the visiting University of Minnesota professor
won a Minnesota Book Award for "A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide
and the Question of Turkish Responsibility."
Judges for the 19th annual awards called it a "pioneering work" and
"scrupulous account of Turkish responsibility for the killing of
close to 1 million Armenians" and praised Akçam and his publisher,
Metropolitan Books, for "challenging the country’s 90-plus-year
denial of intentional genocide."
It was bittersweet affirmation for Akçam, who fled Turkey in the
1970s and whose close friend, Hrant Dink, paid dearly for his
outspokenness on the issue of genocide: The Turkish Armenian
newspaper editor was gunned down outside his office in Istanbul on
Jan. 19, allegedly by extremist nationalists. Other like-minded
Turkish writers, including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and novelist
Elif Shafak ("The Bastard of Istanbul"), also have been threatened.
"I’m deeply honored to accept this award," he said, dedicating it to
Dink, "in the hope of preventing further genocides."It’s great
gratification to see a colleague win something like this," said
Stephen Feinstein, who teaches with Akçam at the university’s Center
for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
More homespun works also were celebrated Saturday at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel-St. Paul Riverfront, in ceremonies hosted by Minnesota Public
Radio’s Kerri Miller and sponsored by the Friends of the St. Paul
Public Library.
Winners in eight other categories:
Readers’ Choice Award: "Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and
Transcendence," by Matthew Sanford (Rodale). The author tells of his
journey from car-accident victim to wheelchair yoga instructor.
Autobiography, memoir, creative nonfiction: "Spirit Car: Journey to a
Dakota Past," by Diane Wilson (Borealis). Wilson uncovers the hidden
stories of five generations of her Dakota relatives.
Children’s: "Tomorrow, the River," by Dianne E. Gray (Houghton
Mifflin). The adventures of a plucky 14-year-old girl on a
Mississippi riverboat in the 1890s.
Fine press: "What It’s Like Here," by Jim Moore, Regula Russelle and
CB Sherlock (Accordion). Moore’s poems of the sweetness and pain of
living are paired with Sherlock’s line drawings of the city in winter
— all brought together by Russelle.
Genre fiction: "Copper River," by William Kent Krueger (Atria).
Ex-sheriff Cork O’Connor runs for his life — straight into a
murderous conspiracy involving teen runaways.
Novel, short story: "When Charlotte Comes Home," by Maureen Millea
Smith (Alyson). The Vietnam War and a young girl’s serious illness
haunt this novel set in 1960s Omaha.
Poetry: "The Curator of Silence," by Jude Nutter (University of Notre
Dame). A two-month stint in the Antarctic inspired these meditations
on quietude.
Young adult: "The Book of One Hundred Truths," by Julie Schumacher
(Delacorte). A young girl who admits she’s a liar discovers that
she’s not the only one not telling the truth.
Also at Saturday’s ceremonies, Emilie Buchwald, publisher emeritus of
Milkweed Editions and now publisher of Gryphon, won the Kay Sexton
Award for lifelong contributions to Minnesota letters.
For more information, go to
Sarah T. Williams is the Star Tribune Books editor.
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