History of the Indiana Authors Awards

A Vision of Eugene and Marilyn Glick

The Indiana Authors Awards were established in 2009 through the vision and generosity of Eugene and Marilyn Glick as a way to honor the contributions of Hoosier authors to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation. The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation put that vision into action, working over the first decade to build a successful program that has annually recognized many authors.

In October 2018, Glick Philanthropies announced its desire to partner with a statewide organization to expand the reach of the awards, inspire even more Hoosiers to read and write, help springboard emerging authors’ careers, and further promote Indiana as a great place to be a writer or a reader.

In 2019, Glick Philanthropies invited Indiana Humanities, with its rich history of literary programming across the state, to power that vision. The Indiana Authors Awards resumed in 2020 as a biennial honor that awards the best books written by Hoosier authors in multiple categories. The Indiana Authors Awards encompass not just the prizes, but also a dynamic set of programs and communications initiatives to celebrate Indiana writers, shine a spotlight on the state’s literary community, and deepen connections between Hoosier readers and writers.

About the Glicks

Eugene Glick

Eugene Glick — along with his wife, Marilyn — was one of the most generous philanthropists in Indiana. In addition to establishing the Indiana Authors Awards with the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, Glick Philanthropies has invested substantially in the areas of affordable housing, arts and creative expression, basic needs, economic mobility, education, healthy democracy, and Jewish cultural life.

Born in 1921, Mr. Gene Glick showed early entrepreneurial instincts as an advertising salesman on the Daily Echo at Indianapolis’s Shortridge High School and later as the operator of a charter bus service at Indiana University, where he earned a business degree. As described in Tom Brokaw’s bestseller The Greatest Generation, Mr. Glick served in World War II immediately after the Normandy invasion, and as part of U.S. troops in Germany, he was one of the liberators of the Dachau concentration camp.

Returning to Indianapolis after the war, Mr. Glick developed the GI loan program for a downtown bank, where he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life building homes for families. He and Marilyn married in 1947, and that year they started Indianapolis Homes, a builder of affordable homes. They built four houses the first year and went on to build hundreds more, customizing them with their own formulas for comfort and decorative details.

Indianapolis Homes evolved into the Gene B. Glick Company, one of the country’s leading apartment developers and operators. The company has built more than 30,000 residential units and now manages more than 21,000 units in 13 states. Mr. Glick’s emphasis on business integrity, sound management, scrupulous property supervision, and excellence in all aspects of business won him numerous awards. He was a member of the National Housing Hall of Fame and was a Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame laureate. He held an honorary doctorate of law degree from Butler University. Mr. Glick was chosen as an Indiana Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society.

His story is told in his autobiography, Born to Build. Mr. Glick died in October 2013.

Marilyn Koffman Glick

Mrs. Glick began collecting glass art in the 1970s and was one of the nation’s most noted collectors. Part of her collection is on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Her artistic interests were reflected in Glick Philanthropies’ donations to the Indianapolis Art Center and its Marilyn K. Glick School of Art. Her contribution to the arts community was recognized by Gov. Evan Bayh, who appointed her to the Indiana Arts Commission, where she served for eight years. She and her husband were also honored with the Indiana Governor’s Arts Award.