Topeka, Kan. – Rebekah Taussig, of Kansas City, Kan., won the 2021 Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award in Literary Nonfiction for her memoir “Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.” This award is sponsored by the Thomas Fox Averill Kansas Studies Collection at Washburn University’s Mabee Library and the Friends of Mabee Library.
Rebekah Taussig is a writer and teacher, a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and of the University of Kansas where she received her doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies. Per the award committee, her Instagram platform @sitting_pretty consists of crafted “mini-memoirs” that contribute nuance to the collective narratives being told about disability in our culture.
Louise Krug, the 2018 literary nonfiction award winner, for “Tilted,” served as judge for this year’s competition.
“In a compelling story about growing up as a paralyzed girl and living life as a disabled woman, Rebekah Taussig offers a memoir-in-essays that challenges us to look at the world more closely” said Krug. “’Sitting Pretty’ is at times hilarious and at times heartbreaking, but our hearts are not entirely shattered because a fully-actualized woman, one who is smart, witty, and authentic, is telling her story. Taussig asks questions that our world should be able to answer. She tells us that all of us are, have been, or will be disabled. She challenges us to consider what kindness isn’t, and reminds us how important independence is. “Sitting Pretty” is unforgettable, and teaches us what inclusivity really means.”
The Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award is an annual award that rotates between poetry, fiction and nonfiction (2022 poetry, 2023 fiction and 2024 literary nonfiction). This year's award ceremony, due to pandemic protocol, will be held during the week of September 18, when Washburn University will host the Kansas Book Festival. For more information about the Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award, and to see short videos from award winner Rebekah Taussig and award judge Louise Krug, visit www.washburn.edu/mabee/ksbookaward
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