The John H. Ames Reading Series Presents John Janovy, Jr. at Sunday, February 20th Reading

John Janovy Jr. has lived in Nebraska since 1966. He holds the Paula and D.B. Varner Distinguished Professorship in Biological Sciences at UNL. He has been Director of UNL's Cedar Point Biological Station, Interim Director of the Nebraska State Museum and secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Parasitologists. He is a distinguished scientist, with a research interest in parasitology, and the author of over 90 scientific papers and book chapters.

In addition to his scientific career, Janovy has also pursued a literary career writing natural history and social and cultural commentary informed by the practice of the scientist. Janovy's 1978 Keith County Journal put him in the front rank of America's natural history writers, with reviewers comparing his work to writing by Loren Eiseley and by the pioneer ecologist Aldo Leopold.
Janovy's publications span a wide range of topics, and include, besides natural history titles, Fields of Friendly Strife: The Relationship of a Father, Daughter, and Sport, and Conversations between God and Satan: Held during October, 2004 at the Crescent Moon Coffee House in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, Earth, Milky Way, a work of science fiction.

Janovy's literary career spans enormous changes in publishing. Janovy endured rejections by 22 publishers before St. Martin's took Keith County Journal, and a newspaper reviewer noted that a later book garnered 42 rejection slips before reaching a more perceptive editor. A local publisher who knew the writer and wanted him to write freely on Nebraska related themes solicited the manuscript for Janovy's 2009 Pieces of the Plains: Memories and Predictions from the Heart of America. Janovy has used CreateSpace.com and Amazon's Kindle to self-publish his novel, The Ginkgo, in both paper and electronic formats. Janovy is a writer who is interested in his audience, especially young people, and is willing to take chances and say what he wants.

Heritage Room collections, by the way, include Janovy's artwork as well as his books.

The program begins at 2:00 PM Sunday, February 20th in the Heritage Room on the 3rd floor of Bennett Martin Public Library in downtown Lincoln. Please join us. We look forward to a fascinating program.