SRSU Writer-In-Residence Sidney Balman Jr. Nominated for Prestigious Award
By Dawson Beard, Skyline Desk Chief
ALPINE - Sul Ross State University’s writer-in-residence, Sidney Balman Jr., was nominated for the fiction category of the 34th annual Reading the West Book award for the final installment in his “Seventh Flag” trilogy, “Algorithms.”
“Algorithms” is one of 37 titles on a long list of nominees that are currently under review by independent booksellers across the region. Upon review, these booksellers will curate a short list of select titles from the 37 nominees. The winner will be decided in a public vote that will take place throughout the month of May.
Previous winners of the Reading the West Book award such as “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann and “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr are a testament to the prestige of the award.
"Such an honor to walk in the footsteps of such previous winners as Wallace Stagner, Barbara Kingsolver and Peter Heller. One always hopes to win, which will be decided by industry and reader votes over the next 60 days, but just to have ‘Algorithms’ among the handful of deserving nominees is enough," said Balman on his nomination.
Before coming to Sul Ross, Balman was a Pulitzer-nominated national security correspondent traveling the world with prominent political figures, including two presidents and several secretaries of state, on overseas diplomatic missions. Balman is now SRSU’s writer-in-residence, the faculty advisor of the Skyline and a critically acclaimed author of three novels.
The winners of the Reading the West Book awards will be announced on June 13.