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“Ordinary Grace” book discussion and author presentation scheduled in Pierre

People will have two opportunities in Pierre to discuss award-winning writer William Kent Krueger’s “Ordinary Grace.”

“Ordinary Grace” is the South Dakota Humanities Council’s 2015 One Book South Dakota selection, a program that encourages South Dakotans to read and discuss the same title.

Humanities scholar Kathy Antonen will lead a discussion of “Ordinary Grace” at 7 p.m. Central on Thursday, June 18, at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Antonen is an English professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.

People will hear from Krueger in person at a program beginning at 7 p.m. Central on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the Capitol Lake Visitors Center in Pierre.

Both programs are free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

“These discussions are an excellent way to gain insight into an award-winning book. We’re pleased to be able to host both a humanities scholar and the author talking about ‘Ordinary Grace,’” said Michael Lewis, president of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. The foundation is the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society.

The foundation, along with As the Pages Turn Book Club, the Lutheran Memorial Book Club and Prairie Pages Bookseller, are hosting the programs. The programs are made possible by grants from the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Krueger lives in Saint Paul, Minn., and writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota featuring protagonist Cork O’Connor. As a stand-alone novel published in 2013, “Ordinary Grace” is a departure from the Cork O’Connor series. It has received the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best Novel. In this mystery, set in southern Minnesota, Krueger explores spirituality and his own childhood, writing about issues that he’s grappled with from a young age. The book is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. “Ordinary Grace” is also about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

The South Dakota Humanities Council has loaned copies of “Ordinary Grace” to the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. These copies are available at the Cultural Heritage Center for people to check out, but must be returned to the CHC. For more information on borrowing a copy, call (605) 773-6006.