Lori Tobias's Blog

July 25, 2017

Lori Tobias’ Wander Wins PNWA Best Book Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26th, 2017
On Saturday, July 22nd, Red Hen author Lori Tobias received the Nancy Pearl Book Award for Best Book (Literary/Mainstream) from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association for her latest novel, Wander.

The Nancy Pearl Book Award was established in 2014 and was designed to recognize recently published books by PNWA members. Lori Tobias’ Wander joins the ranks of Kelli Estes’ The Girl Who Wrote In Silk, and Jennifer Murphy’s I Love You More, who won in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Beyond the Nancy Pearl Book Award, Wander was also a Best New Fiction Finalist at the International Book Awards in 2017, sponsored by American Book Fest.
Set in 1980s rural Alaska, Wander tells the tale of Patrice “Pete” Nash, who finds herself spending the frigid Alaskan winter alone after her husband decides to accept a job working on “the slope.” In her solitude, she fosters a new friendship with the new guy in town, Ren, and begins to learn about the other paths her life could have followed, had she not ended up with her country-raised husband. The new friendship with Ivy-League educated Ren ends up taking a surprising turn when she learns that he came to town with one goal in mind: to end his life. By the time her husband returns from the slope, everything has changed. Wander was published by Red Hen Press in August of 2016 under the Boreal Books imprint, which focuses on producing literature and fine art from Alaska and is edited by Peggy Shumaker.

Lori Tobias discovered the beauty of Alaska that inspired Wander when she visited at eighteen, and ended up staying eight years. She attended the University of Alaska studying journalism, and married her husband in a small church overlooking Denali. Since, she and her husband have lived in Oregon, Washington and Colorado, among other places, where she worked as a columnist and features writer at Rocky Mountain News. In her career she has also worked as a stringer for The New York Times, and as a freelance writer for multiple publications including The Seattle Times and The Oregonian. She was a recipient of an Oregon Literary Fellowship, and now freelances from home and writes a bi-weekly column for Oregon Coast Today.
1 like ·   •  2 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 25, 2017 18:16

July 24, 2017

Celebrating!

Wander is the 2017 Nancy Pearl Book Book Award Winner in literary fiction.
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 24, 2017 13:35

May 23, 2017

September 28, 2016

Big city: small world

My reading in New York City had just ended and I was signing books at the sidewalk tables out front. A young man approached: “Are...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 28, 2016 10:00

September 1, 2016

Back to the Big Apple

“Start spreading the news. I’m leaving today. I want to be a part of it New York, New York ….”   OK, so I’m not...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 01, 2016 12:36

Author and Journalist Lori Tobias is ready to Wander

“Wander,” the debut novel by Oregon Coast Today columnist and former Oregonian staff writer Lori Tobias, opens with a tantalizing hint of what is to...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 01, 2016 12:19

August 22, 2016

Review by The Oregonian

Alaska provides setting for Oregon author’s tale of love and loss (Author photo: Chan Christiansen; book cover, Red Hen Press) PrintEmail By Amy Wang |...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on August 22, 2016 13:42

August 18, 2016

A new chapter

As I write this, I am on the cusp of my birthday. A big year for me. My book is to ship on that day,...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on August 18, 2016 12:18

November 21, 2015

Giving Thanks

The plea was posted on a Facebook page where members post items they wish to sell. I don’t recall the exact wording, only that the...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 21, 2015 11:16

November 11, 2015

Echoes of silent valor

The medals came in early January, about one month after my brother Jerry’s death. He was 64 years young, a passive suicide by alcohol, as...

Read More

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 11, 2015 09:00