Staff member wins award for novel

Office of Admissions senior systems analyst Mary Clare has been named the winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Violet Crown Book Awards for her historical novel, “To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark.” Clare co-authored the book with her sister Liz Clare under the pen name Frances Hunter. The Writers’ League of Texas sponsors the annual award to honor outstanding published books written by its members. The award ceremony will be held Nov. 3 during the Texas Book Festival. “To the Ends of the Earth” won a silver medal in the 2007 Independent Publisher book awards, received a “highly recommended” rating from Library Journal and won praise from the Western Writers of America, who called it “superb.”