Buffalo Spirits — Elizabeth Black

Selected from more than one thousand entries, this compelling debut novel begins with the sentence, "Going home is better than being home." Seeking spiritual rejuvenation, a Chicago journalist returns to her vanished childhood farm in Dodge City to reconnect with family, what family is left, and her childhood Familiar, a young Indian girl. In the process, she uncovers an old mystery dating back to the land of the farm before white people wrested it away from Native Americans. She also uncovers painful but necessary truths about her own heritage. Black beautifully and hauntingly depicts the majesty of the Great Plains.

Elizabeth Black is a graphic artist and designer who has also written for every major Chicago newspaper.