Spring Conference

Mark your calendars for the 70th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference!

Kick off the 70th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference with a talk from Ann Lundberg, English professor and longtime interpretive ranger, about Cather at Mesa Verde.

The Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s Art of Imagination program, in collaboration with University of Nebraska Omaha professor and screenwriter Todd Richardson, has created two short films based on excerpts from two Willa Cather novels.

The first film, “Tom Outland's Story,“ is from Cather’s novel The Professor‘s House and is about discovering an ancient cliff city. The other is excerpted from My Ántonia. This film chronicles the difficulties living through Nebraska winters in the 19th century.

We are delighted to welcome Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley! Her talk on "Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer" will mark the conclusion of a year-long celebration of Cather's 1918 novel as a title selected by the National Endowment for the Arts' 2024-2025 Big Read program. Join us in the bookstore following the event for a book signing. 

The talk will be broadcast live on YouTube and a recording will be available for 2 weeks after the event.

Join author and tour guide Garrett Peck as he leads a special star-gazing program at the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie! As you prepare to participate in this nighttime prairie event, please do the following:

Join Peter Cipkowski for a conversation with Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses of The Kilbanes, the acclaimed musical duo currently adapting Willa Cather's My Ántonia into an original stage musical. Commissioned by Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis, their adaptation reimagines Cather's masterpiece through their distinctive blend of storytelling and music. The panel will explore the Kilbanes' creative process, their decision to bring My Ántonia to the stage, and how their musical style shapes the emotional and narrative contours of the work.

Join us for an engaging panel discussion with three scholars that will discuss architectural and interior styles, powerful landscapes, and the domestic scenes that all feature prominently in Cather’s writings as this popular perennial favorite will further explore our annual Spring Conference theme.

This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The Kilbanes (Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses) are a married composing and performing team and recipients of the 2024 Jonathan Larson Grant. Their rock musical Weightless (WP Theater, A.C.T., Public Theater’s Under the Radar) was nominated for Lucille Lortel (Best Musical), Drama Desk (Best Music), and Off-Broadway Alliance (Best New Musical) awards in 2023.