IT'S A TWOFER! Award-winning local author and UWEC professor B.J. Hollars announced two forthcoming books to be published in 2024. (Submitted photos)

UW-Eau Claire professor, author, and father B.J. Hollars is coming out with not one but two books in 2024.

Wisconsin for Kennedy, arriving in March from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, delves into the 1960 Wisconsin Democratic primary election that preceded John F. Kennedy’s presidential win. Every day, Wisconsinites believed so much in Kennedy that they helped him in little ways that eventually impacted the nation.

“I hope people can look into politics of the past and see a brighter future,” Hollars said of the forthcoming book, showcasing a somewhat obscure part of Wisconsin’s political past through a novelistic lens. “It’ll provide perspective into our current political moment while also allowing us to see the importance of the everyday individual in furthering democracy.”

Year of Plenty, coming in May from the University of Wisconsin Press, details the grief experienced by Hollars’ family after the loss of his father-in-law to cancer.

“What makes it different than just a memoir about death is that it’s really about a family coming together and the small ways in which the hardships, the darkness, can lend themselves to light as well,” Hollars said.

Two very different books published closely together, the duo displays the versatility of Hollars as an author. His consistent skill as a writer is bringing out the miraculous in the mundane and even melancholy, from the honest grief in Year of Plenty to unveiling the voice of small folk in Wisconsin for Kennedy.

“The one thing that brings (the books) together is trying to shine a light on average, everyday people who impact other people’s lives in a positive way,” Hollars said.

Learn more about Eau Claire-based author B.J. Hollars and his other works at bjhollars.com.