“The Far Away Brothers,” a book that chronicles the story of identical twin brothers from El Salvador who escape violence to build new lives in California, has been selected for the 2019 One Book–One Lincoln community reading program.
The book, which is the debut effort by author Lauren Markham, was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, was the winner of the Ridenhour Book Prize, was a Silver Winner of the California Book Award, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Markham, a writer based in Berkeley, California, focuses on issues related to youth, migration and the environment. Her reporting and essays have appeared in publications such as Harper's, The Guardian, The New Republic and The Atlantic.
“The Far Away Brothers” beat out runners-up “The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai, and “There” by Tommy Orange for One Book-One Lincoln.
People are also reading…
The three finalists were chosen by a 15-member selection team of community readers in a process that began in January with 112 nominated titles.
“The Far Away Brothers” can be checked out from Lincoln City Libraries in print, large type and compact disc, as well as downloadable audio and e-book formats.
Lincoln City Libraries will host three programs based on the One Book winner and runners-up:
* "There," 2 p.m. Sept. 29 at Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14th St.: Storytelling Executive Director Shirley Sneve will discuss her role at Vision Maker Media, a nonprofit that empowers and engages Native people to share stories.
* "The Far Away Brothers," 2 p.m. Oct. 6, at Gere Branch Library, 2400 S. 56th St. Kate Damgaard, Lincoln Public Schools language curriculum specialist, and Dr. Laura Salem, LPS English language learner program supervisor, will lead a discussion on how LPS supports the educational and emotional needs of ELL students.
* "The Great Believers," 2 p.m. Oct. 13 at Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 S. 14th St. The Nebraska AIDS Project will host a panel discussion on the impact of HIV/AIDS on our nation and community from the 1980s through today.
Lincoln City Libraries has sponsored the One Book-One Lincoln program since 2002. For more information about One Book-One Lincoln, including previous winners, go to .