The Arkansiana Award is presented biennially by the Arkansas Library Association to the author(s) whose books represent “a significant contribution to Arkansas heritage and culture.”
This year’s recipients are Little Rock writer, journalist, and musician Stephen Koch, for his book From Almeda to Zilphia: Arkansas Women Who Transformed American Popular Song and Clinton writer and journalist Monica Potts for her New York Times bestseller, The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America.
The Award is accompanied by a $300 cash prize, and was presented on October 18 at the Arkansas Library Association’s annual meeting, held at the Hot Springs Convention Center. First bestowed in 1979, past winners include Shirley Abbot, Griff Stockley, John Grisham, and Donald Harington.
To see all past winners of the Arkansiana Award, proceed to the listing on the Arkansas State Library site by clicking here.
On Sunday, the second day of the two-day conference, Koch provided lunchtime musical entertainment during which he performed songs by Brinkley’s Louis Jordan (about whom Koch has written the biography Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B, and Cotton Plant’s Sister Rosetta Tharpe (featured in Koch’s Arkansiana Award winning book From Almeda to Zilphia).
The conference was a reminder of all the hard work our librarians and libraries do. We thank and appreciate our Arkansas librarians and librarians nationwide who work hard every day to serve our communities and guard intellectual freedom.
This summer, From Almeda to Zilphia also won a national award: 2025 Award for Excellence, Best Research in Recorded Popular Music from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.
According to the ARSC, the “work must contribute significantly to the advancement of knowledge and/or appreciation of the role of recorded sound in the establishment and preservation of our cultural heritage.” To see all the finalists, click HERE.
We are so proud of Stephen, Kathy, and the preservation of Arkansas women’s stories made possible through this project!