English Prof, Eric Gansworth, Wins Book of the Year

October 4, 2011

BUFFALO, NY - New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) recognized Extra Indians, the most recent novel by Canisius University Professor of English and Lowery Writer-in-Residence Eric Gansworth, with its Book of the Year Award in the category of Trade Paperback Original. Gansworth accepted his award at the NAIBA Fall Conference Awards Banquet on Tuesday, September 20 in Atlantic City, NJ. 

Extra Indians (Milkweed, 2010) tells the story of Tommy Jack McMorsey, a Vietnam veteran and long-haul trucker who, in a moment of kindness, picks up a deluded Japanese tourist. When she dies of exposure in his care, a media storm erupts and evokes a series of memories from McMorsey’s past, including his days in Vietnam, his best friend’s suicide, and the wife he almost lost. The event also brings McMorsey’s surrogate son and an American Indian woman, who may or may not be his daughter, to Texas in search of answers.

The NAIBA Awards recognize an author who was born or lived in the Atlantic region, or whose book takes place in the region. 

Gansworth is a nationally-recognized, award-winning writer, visual artist and playwright whose impressive works range from poetry and painting, to novels and collaborative multimedia theater performances. He is a member of the Onondaga Nation. Extra Indians is Gansworth’s fourth novel and ninth book.

Canisius University is one of 28 Catholic Jesuit colleges in the nation and the premier private college in Western New York. Canisius prepares leaders – intelligent, caring, faithful individuals – able to promote excellence in their professions, their communities