Two years before recent Hoosier mania about the Chicago Bears possibly making Northwest Indiana their new home, Valparaiso teacher and author Shifa Saltagi Safadi was already writing a book that included her son’s obsession with the Windy City team.
“I describe my book as, in some ways, very much a football book, due to the obsession the title character has with the Chicago Bears being absolutely inspired by my own kid,” said Safadi, whose book “Kareem Between” (2024 G.P. Putnam’s Sons $18.99) was released one year ago this month.
“But even more so, the book is inspired by my own life growing up Syrian American, and so I had a lot of personal experience to draw on in illustrating what I describe as ‘the between-ness’ of growing up multicultural, and my hope in inspiring kids to feel confident in who they are and to confidently belong in that middle space.”
Safadi’s 336-page hardcover, recently released in paperback, is among the nine titles by Indiana authors announced this month as winners of the 2026 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards.
Selected from nominated works published in the last two years across nine categories, the winning titles represent a diverse collection of authors, most currently still living in Indiana, with Safadi being the only distinguished author from Northwest Indiana. Award categories include poetry, fiction, nonfiction, debut, genre, children’s, drama, young adult and middle grade, the latter being the category Safadi’s book earned its accolade.
The other winners this year are “Martyr!” the debut novel by Kaveh Akbar, who attended Purdue and Butler universities and now lives in Iowa City, honored for fiction; “Death Styles” by Notre Dame faculty member Joyelle McSweeney, who lives in South Bend and won the poetry category; “What a Building Does: The Hoosier Modernisms of Evans Woollen” as best nonfiction by Phillip Cox and Niall Cronin, formerly of Indianapolis and now both living in New York City; Mary Ardery of West Lafayette penned her first work titled “Level Watch,” winning the debut category; Michael Koryta of Bloomington as penname Scott Carson, winning best genre for “Departure 37”; Kenneth Kraegel, formerly of Mishawaka now living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, winning best children’s book for “Something Good”; Arriel Vinson of Indianapolis winning young adult title honors for “Under the Neon Lights”; and for the drama category, Bennett Ayres of Indianapolis winning for his play “And I Will Follow.”
Supported by Glick Philanthropies and powered by Indiana Humanities, the Indiana Authors Awards are given every other year, and author honorees have the opportunity to participate in an annual statewide speaker program to connect with readers, teachers and students. Each winner receives $5,000, a handcrafted limestone-and-steel award, and a $500 donation made to an Indiana library of their choice.
Safadi lived in Fishers before moving in 2010 to Valparaiso, hometown of her husband of 17 years, dentist Dr. Tarek Safadi, who was born and raised in Valparaiso. The couple has four children.
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“I don’t teach anymore, except through sharing my books and written work in my invited school visits,” she said.
“I was a middle school English language arts teacher for a number of years at a local private school, but I decided to step away to focus on my writing full time. It’s been with the help of my wonderful editor now at the Penguin Random House division who has helped me get my books published and onto shelves.”
Her other works include the “Amina Banana” chapter series of four works, also published by Penguin, with two of the books released in 2025 and two more published earlier this year.
Her first picture book titled “The Gift of Eid” was released in early 2025 with Holiday House Publishing, and her upcoming releases include “Sisters Alone” (Penguin $18.95), set for release Sept. 8, detailing a survival story of two sisters trapped in a blizzard in what she says is “a heart-pounding” story of sisterhood and survival.
“I also have another picture book coming out in January 2027 titled ‘The Kaabah Cat’ published by HarperCollins,” Safadi said.
“I’m so pleased and honored by this state award and recognition, which has a long history encouraging all writers.”
Marianne Glick, chair of the Glick Family Foundation, whose family fortune came from real estate investments, said the book awards began in 2009 and continue as a cherished tradition, started by her late parents.
“My parents, Gene and Marilyn Glick, understood a vibrant community of readers and writers makes Indiana a stronger, more thoughtful, and more connected place,” Marianne Glick said when announcing this year’s award recipients.
“The Indiana Authors Awards honor the remarkable writers who enrich our state while inspiring future generations to read, write, and imagine what is possible. Their legacy is not simply about celebrating authors; it is about investing in the power of stories to shape lives and build community.”
Safadi is excited about a noon book signing and discussion on Sunday, Sept. 6, at the new Barnes & Noble, which opened Aug. 19 on State Street in downtown Chicago. At 6 p.m. on Sept. 8, she will sign copies of all her books at Valpo Press bookstore in downtown Valparaiso, and the event will include a reading from her new second novel “Sisters Alone.” At 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, she’ll be back in Chicago at Printer’s Row Fest signing all of her books.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.