God, did we laugh.

In This Issue

Lady Banks' Commonplace Book | Read This! | The Pat Conroy Prize | Okra Picks | Author 2 Author | Lady Banks' Trailer Park | Book and Author Gossip | One Book, One South | Special to the Southern List | Southern Indie Bestsellers | Event Calendar

Dearest Readers,

Her ladyship, the editor, is writing to you from the balcony of her hotel room in Savannah, Georgia, this morning. The sun is rising  over the river, turning the high arching bridge into town rose gold. The city is surprisingly active so early in the morning, the low hum of traffic in the street below is dominated by delivery trucks, taxi cabs, and shuttle buses. One supposes that the sleepy small southern town air that will settle in as the sun climbs higher and people get up to go walk through the square actually requires some behind-the-scenes work on the part of the small shops and restaurants that line the streets. Best get all of the business of running a business out of the way before sunrise, so that when the people in her ladyship's hotel rise and wander down in search of a cup of coffee, they will find the quiet magic of the place intact.

Her ladyship is in Savannah this weekend to survey the ground, so to speak, in preparation for the annual SIBA Discovery Show, which will be coming to the city in September. And while the show itself is only open to members of the book industry, on the last day they will host #ReadSavannah on September 18-- a day-long event with many of the authors who are coming to the show. Like last year's "Triangle Reads" in Raleigh, North Carolina, #ReadSavannah kicks off with a moveable feast luncheon followed by an afternoon of author panels and book discussion, and finishes with a special evening keynote event. 

It would be a great field trip for a book club or writer's group -- something like twenty different authors, dozens of new books, and the quietly beautiful Savannah streets on a Sunday afternoon. 

https://sibaweb.site-ym.com/mpage/ReadSavannah

Read Independently! And shop local. And get up early once in awhile.

her ladyship, the editor

Lady Banks' Pick of the Week

Lady Banks' Commonplace Book

Noteworthy poetry and prose from her ladyship's bedside reading stack.

Lily Jo is not my name. Yet.

But I'm working on that.

That's why I'm in the closet. Literally in my mom's walk-in closet with Meatball at my heels.

I scratch under Meatball's chin, and his tiny pink tongue pokes out the side of his mouth. He's adorable like that.

"Practice," I tell Meatball. "Only six days until school starts." I have to do this. I can't. Have to. Can't. I almost feel my best friend (okay, my only friend), Dare, push me toward the dresses.

Thinking about my plan for the first day of eighth grade makes my stomach drop, like I plunged over the crest of a roller coaster at Universal Studios. I'm sure not one other person going to Gator Lake Middle is dealing with what I am, probably not one other person in the entire state of Florida. Statistically, I know that's not true, because I looked up a lot of information on the Internet, but it feels that way sometimes.

--Donna Gephart, Lily and Dunkin, (Delacorte Press, 2016)

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Read This!

Recommended reading from Southern Indie Booksellers

From Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama

The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church

“Church deftly traces the life of Meridian Wallace, an intelligent young woman who is searching for who she is and what she wants to become. As America braces for entrance into WWII, Meri falls for the ambitious Alden Whetstone, a much older but brilliant scientist. Aspiring to be a ‘good wife,’ Meri abandons her own academic pursuits in ornithology to follow Alden to Los Alamos, but the years that follow are filled with dashed hopes and compromises. Over the decades of her marriage, Meri attempts to fill the void of unrealized dreams by making a home and reclaiming her sense of self. Filled with sharp, poignant prose, the novel mimics the birds Meri studies, following her as she struggles to find her wings, let go, and take flight. Church gives readers a thoughtful and thought-provoking examination of the sacrifices women make in life and the courage needed for them to soar on their own.” —Anderson McKean, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

From Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

From Sandra: Mon Amie Américaine by Michele Halberstadt (Other Press $14.95). Does friendship last forever? Two colleagues, one in New York and one in Paris, are also close friends who cherish their friendship. However, when one of them suffers a terrible illness, their bond is tested. What will the changes in their relationship be? Can things stay the same when one person is now a shell of her former self? This is a tender story that looks at the the bonds of two best friends as they are tested by the new reality of who they are.

From Cheryl: Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs (Back Bay $18.99) is unlike any book that I have ever read. I was acquainted with Sally Mann the photographer, but did not know she is also a brilliant storyteller. She weaves together stories of family, place, art, and coming of age in the South. I enjoyed her conversational tone and candid writing style as she blended the grittier parts of her family's history--secrets, racial tensions of the time, deceptions, and suspicious deaths--and I appreciated her prolific use of photographs throughout the text

More bookseller recommendations

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Ask Kate

This spring, Kate DiCamillo's new book, Raymie Nightingale, was chosen by Southern Independent Booksellers as their inaugural One Book, One South, Jr pick. For the past month booksellers have been coordinating with teachers and librarians in their communities to read Raymie Nightingale to classes and at storytimes. Then they had kids write down questions they'd like to ask the author. Earlier this month, Kate answered their questions during a Facebook Q&A.

As we all know, kids ask excellent questions, so for the next couple weeks we're going to pass along some of them, along with Kate's answers.

We got some good themes about life from Raymie Nightingale. What was your purpose or theme in writing this book? – Kadence

I never set out with a purpose or a theme.  I just try to tell a story.  And in this case, I was trying to tell the story of three friends and how they learned to rely on each other and themselves.

It seems like in most of your books, a parent is missing. All the girls were missing at least one parent. Why do you do that? – Chase

I do that because I grew up in a single-parent home.  And I know what it is like to miss a parent.

Did you put bunny barrettes in Louisiana's and her granny's hair on purpose to foreshadow the coming of Bunny/Buddy and for Beverly to be happy and not lonely? – Josie

No, I put the bunny barrettes in there because I had bunny barrettes when I was ten years old and I lost them.

Okra Picks

Award-winning author Donna Gephart crafts a compelling dual narrative about two remarkable young people: Lily, a transgender girl, and Dunkin, a boy dealing with bipolar disorder. Their powerful story will shred your heart, then stitch it back together with kindness, humor, bravery, and love.

"LILY AND DUNKIN is a delight. Here’s a book for anyone who’s ever struggled with being different--or anyone who’s ever loved someone who bears the burden of difference.  Donna Gephart’s book is about trans children, and bipolar children, and their parents, of course, but what it’s really about is friendship, and the redeeming power of love.  Crucial, heart-breaking, and inspiring.” —Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She’s Not There, and Stuck in the Middle with You. 

Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade. 

Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse. 

 One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.  

A JLG Selection! 

"Gephart clearly has a lot of heart, and she tells their stories with compassion."--Kirkus 

"A thoughtfully and sensitively written work of character-driven fiction that dramatically addresses two important subjects that deserve more widespread attention."--Booklist, starred

BUY FROM AN INDIE

Pathways, Penguins, and Pink Plastic Flamingoes
The Books that mattered to Donna Gephart

We had three books at home when I was growing up: The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Betty Crocker Cookbook and The Thorn Birds.  Not exactly great options for a curious kid.  Luckily, Mom took my sister and me to the public library, where she allowed us to choose our own books.

I fell in love with Mr. Popper’s Penguins -- a fun story that was a desperately needed window to a fantasy world so different from my impoverished, lonely childhood.

I devoured The Hundred Dresses because I needed a mirror of my own life – a creative girl who was made fun of for wearing the same thing to school day after day. 

Those two books provided me essential windows and mirrors. 

As an adult, I made up for my lack of childhood books in the house by filling the bookshelves in our home to overflowing.  Hubby and I plan our vacations around indie bookstores.  Asheville meant a visit to Malaprops.  New Orleans found us poking around Octavia’s dark wood shelves.  And when we hit Nashville on our next trip, we’ll be purchasing books from Parnassus.

It pretty much takes the Jaws of Life to extract us from indie bookstores.

So, it’s no surprise that when we moved to South Florida twenty years ago, we found our way to all our indies – Classic Bookshop in Palm Beach, Vero Beach Book Center and Books and Books in Coral Gables. 

As an author of books for young people, I create stories that offer both mirrors and windows, heart and humor.  This is truest in my new novel, Lily and Dunkin -- a dual narrative of a big-hearted, word-nerd transgender girl and a boy who harbors a huge secret and deals with bipolar disorder.  Two important topics deserving light shined on them to promote a deep understanding and prevent stigma. 

It’s my hope that Lily and Dunkin creates pathways from heart to heart -- pathways of understanding, empathy and kindness.  We could all use a little more of that in this world.

And Lily and Dunkin is also my love letter to the luscious landscape that is my South Florida home.  So, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t include flamingoes.  Yes, there’s a pink, plastic lawn flamingo mystery throughout the book, because even the most serious of topics deserve a sprinkling of humor and fun.  Every book deserves its penguin (or flamingo).

Because you never know when a young reader will desperately need them.

So, thank you wonderful indie bookseller for putting Lily and Dunkin into the hands of young readers and those young at heart and contributing to making this world a kinder, gentler, more accepting place . . . one beautiful book at a time.

Donna Gephart’s award-winning novels are packed with humor and heart. They include Death by Toilet Paper; Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen; How to Survive Middle-School; and As if Being 12-3/4 Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President! Donna is a popular speaker at schools, conferences, and book festivals. For reading guides, resources, writing tips, and more, visit donnagephart.com.

Lady Banks' Book Trailer Park

Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, a breathtaking elegy to the waning days of human spaceflight as we have known it

In the 1960s, humans took their first steps away from Earth, and for a time our possibilities in space seemed endless. But in a time of austerity and in the wake of high-profile disasters like "Challenger," that dream has ended. In early 2011, Margaret Lazarus Dean traveled to Cape Canaveral for NASA's last three space shuttle launches in order to bear witness to the end of an era. With Dean as our guide to Florida's Space Coast and to the history of NASA, "Leaving Orbit" takes the measure of what American spaceflight has achieved while reckoning with its earlier witnesses, such as Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci. Along the way, Dean meets NASA workers, astronauts, and space fans, gathering possible answers to the question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore?

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The Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize:
The Short List

The 2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize Finalists Announced

(Columbia, SC) – The votes are in! Southern indie booksellers have chosen the finalists for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize. Formerly known as the SIBA Book Award, the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize features an expanded list of categories – adding Mystery, Thriller, Literary, and History & Life Stories to the traditional categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Cooking, Children’s and Young Adult.

Finalists were chosen by southern independent booksellers from the long list ballot. The finalist titles will be sent to juried panels of booksellers, who will then decide on the winners in each category. Winners will be announced on July 4, “Independents Day.”

2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize Finalists

   
ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN | Will Walton | Push | 9780545709545
THE ODDS OF GETTING EVEN | Sheila Turnage | Kathy Dawson Books | 9780803739611
MOSQUITOLAND | David Arnold | Viking Books for Young Readers | 9780451470775
THE WRATH AND THE DAWN | Renee Ahdieh | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780399171611

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Book & Author Gossip

NOLA bookstores win injunction against age verification law

In a clear-cut verification of First Amendment rights, New Orleans bookstores and others won an injunction on April 29 from Judge Brian Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana in a case strongly supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Jackson’s decision in Garden District Book Shop Inc. v. Stewart struck down a bill signed into law on June 23, 2015 by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal that attempted to control content distributed to minors online by imposing mandatory electronic age verification among internet booksellers.

How Julia Reed learned to cook

She credits design and entertaining expert Lee Bailey and his first volume, “Lee Baily’s Country Weekends,” however for freeing her to celebrate her Southern roots. “It was my Bible,” says Reed. “I was a kid journalist living in D.C. I was trying to impress my colleagues. Everything was nouvelle cuisine.” Reed says Bailey’s book showed her she could serve Southern fare, such as grits soufflé or butter beans and cobbler along with or instead of the, as she calls it “overwrought" cuisine trending at the time. “When you’ve got New Yorkers chasing after trays of pimento cheese sandwiches, you’ve done something right.”

Pat Conroy Memorial

Hundreds turned out Saturday for a public memorial at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort honoring best-selling author and Beaufort’s adopted son Pat Conroy. They brought lawn chairs and lined both sides of the wide green space overlooking the park’s concrete and brick-covered stage as speakers read excerpts from his work and recounted a few “Pat” stories along the way. “God did we laugh,” said longtime Conroy friend Bernie Schein.

Lee Smith explores her mother's recipe box

My mother’s recipe box sits on the windowsill in our North Carolina kitchen where my eye falls on it twenty, maybe thirty times a day. I will never move it. Hillsborough writer Lee Smith writes about her mother’s battered recipe box in an essay excerpted from her latest book, “Dimestore.” An anachronism in my own modern kitchen, the battered box contains my mother’s whole life story, in a way, with all its places and phases, all her hopes and the accommodations she made in the name of love, as I have done, as we all do.

Louisiana author has her cake and it is published

Living all her life in the small town of Aloha, between Natchitoches and Alexandria, McHale knew little about becoming an author. She just knew writing had always come easily for her, and she wanted to capture this story of a trio of friends, and especially the character of Laine, who loses her 18-month fight with ovarian cancer.  “I just didn’t want to forget anything about her,” McHale said Wednesday from a book event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 

Redemption Road needs no redemption

Set in rural North Carolina, this is a deeply disturbing story with a serial killer, a sadistic prison warden, unmoored police, a string of dead women, a neglected child and two young women who were raped. Elizabeth Black is our hero. Like many of the other characters, she is of this small city."It was still rich in places, but ten years into the downturn the cracks were starting to show. Storefronts were shuttered where none had ever been shuttered before. Broken windows went unfixed, buildings unpainted."

John Hart Interview

Finding the right story is always a challenge, and I never know, when I begin writing, exactly what the story will evolve to be. I usually have one or two characters in mind and, perhaps, a handful of thematic elements. I know the story will involve family, community and the aftermath of some violent act. The violence matters because it strips away pretense and, at times, rationality.

Harry Crews's Sense of Menace in Writing and in Life

Harry Crews had a look. There was some "Deliverance"-era Burt Reynolds in his bearing. He had a bit of Lee Marvin's darkly appraising gaze. Behind Mr. Crews's blue eyes, you sensed voltage. It was a look this Southern writer cultivated. He wore a Fu Manchu mustache and a skull earring. There was his Elvis sideburns phase, and his Mohawk haircut period. Of tattoos, he was an early  adopter. 

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Southern Indie Bestsellers

For the week ending May 15. Books on the Southern Indie Bestseller List that are southern in nature or have been recently recommended by southern indie booksellers.

- The Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize | - A SIBA Okra Pick 
Printable versions: Hardcover | Paperback | Children.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Everybody's Fool
Richard Russo, Knopf, $27.95, 9780307270641
2. Redemption Road
John Hart, Thomas Dunne Books, $27.99, 9780312380366
3. The Last Mile
David Baldacci, Grand Central, $29, 9781455586455
4. Zero K
Don DeLillo, Scribner, $27, 9781501135392
5. The Nest
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Ecco, $26.99, 9780062414212
6. LaRose
Louise Erdrich, Harper, $27.99, 9780062277022
7. The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's, $27.99, 9780312577223
8. The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins, Riverhead, $26.95, 9781594633669
9. The Summer Before the War
Helen Simonson, Random House, $28, 9780812993103
10. Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
Chris Cleave, S&S, $26.99, 9781501124372
11. The Noise of Time
Julian Barnes, Knopf, $25.95, 9781101947241
12. Extreme Prey
John Sandford, Putnam, $29, 9780399176050
13. The Swans of Fifth Avenue
Melanie Benjamin, Delacorte, $28, 9780345528698
14. All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $27, 9781476746586
15. Eligible
Curtis Sittenfeld, Random House, $28, 9781400068326

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. When Breath Becomes Air
Paul Kalanithi, Random House, $25, 9780812988406
2. The Rainbow Comes and Goes
Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt, Harper, $27.99, 9780062454942
3. The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
Vishen Lakhiani, Rodale, $26.99, 9781623367084
4. Dimestore: A Writer's Life
Lee Smith, Algonquin, $24.95, 9781616205027
5. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Marie Kondo, Ten Speed Press, $16.99, 9781607747307
6. Valiant Ambition
Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking, $30, 9780525426783
7. Being Mortal
Atul Gawande, Metropolitan, $26, 9780805095159
8. Lab Girl
Hope Jahren, Knopf, $26.95, 9781101874936
9. Hamilton: The Revolution
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter, Grand Central, $40, 9781455539741
10. The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945
Max Hastings, Harper, $35, 9780062259271
11. The Romanovs: 1613-1918
Simon Sebag Montefiore, Knopf, $35, 9780307266521
12. Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Spiegel & Grau, $24, 9780812993547
13. First Women
Kate Andersen Brower, Harper, $28.99, 9780062439659
14. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Carlo Rovelli, Riverhead, $18, 9780399184413
15. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight, Scribner, $29, 9781501135910

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. Me Before You
Jojo Moyes, Penguin, $16, 9780143109464
2. A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, $16, 9781476738024
3. The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen, Grove Press, $16, 9780802124944
4. The Little Paris Bookshop
Nina George, Broadway, $16, 9780553418798
5. Go Set a Watchman
Harper Lee, Harper Perennial, $15.99, 9780062409867
6. My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante, Europa Editions, $17, 9781609450786
7. A Spool of Blue Thread
Anne Tyler, Ballantine, $16, 9780553394399
8. A Lowcountry Wedding
Mary Alice Monroe, Gallery, $16, 9781501125430
9. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, $16, 9781501115073
10. A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara, Anchor, $17, 9780804172707
11. In the Unlikely Event
Judy Blume, Vintage, $15.95, 9781101873984
12. The Guilty
David Baldacci, Grand Central, $15.99, 9781455586431
13. My Sunshine Away
M.O. Walsh, Putnam, $16, 9780425278109
14. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
Elena Ferrante, Europa Editions, $18, 9781609452339
15. A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole, Grove/Atlantic, $16, 9780802130204

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. The Wright Brothers
David McCullough, S&S, $17, 9781476728759
2. Dead Wake
Erik Larson, Broadway, $17, 9780307408877
3. Alexander Hamilton
Ron Chernow, Penguin, $20, 9780143034759
4. H Is for Hawk
Helen Macdonald, Grove Press, $16, 9780802124739
5. The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson, Vintage, $16, 9780375725609
6. Hold Still
Sally Mann, Back Bay, $18.99, 9780316247757
7. Barbarian Days
William Finnegan, Penguin, $17, 9780143109396
8. We Should All Be Feminists
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Anchor, $7.95, 9781101911761
9. The Boys in the Boat
Daniel James Brown, Penguin, $17, 9780143125471
10. I Am Malala
Malala Yousafzai, Back Bay, $16, 9780316322423
11. The 5 Love Languages
Gary Chapman, Northfield, $15.99, 9780802412706
12. Bettyville
George Hodgman, Penguin, $17, 9780143107880
13. NC 12: Gateway to the Outer Banks
Dawson Carr, University of North Carolina Press, $14, 9781469628141
14. Elephant Company
Vicki Croke, Random House, $17, 9780812981650
15. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
David Sibley, Knopf, $19.95, 9780307957917

MASS MARKET

1. A Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin, Bantam, $9.99, 9780553593716
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee, Grand Central, $9.99, 9781455538966
3. Me Before You
Jojo Moyes, Penguin, $9.99, 9780143130154
4. The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $8.99, 9780756404741
5. Make Me
Lee Child, Dell, $9.99, 9780804178792
6. The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank, Bantam, $7.99, 9780553577129
7. Lord of the Flies
William Golding, Perigee, $9.99, 9780399501487
8. A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry, Vintage, $7.5, 9780679755333
9. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, Little Brown, $8.99, 9780316769488
10. Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99, 9780441172719

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED

1. Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Dr. Seuss, Random House, $17.99, 9780679805274
2. Our Great Big Backyard
Laura Bush, Jenna Bush Hager, Jaqueline Rogers (Illus.), Harper, $18.99, 9780062468352
3. The Day the Crayons Quit
Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illus.), Philomel, $17.99, 9780399255373
4. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780694003617
5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle, Putnam, $10.99, 9780399226908
6. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bill Martin, Eric Carle (Illus.), Holt, $7.95, 9780805047905
7. On the Night You Were Born
Nancy Tillman, Feiwel & Friends, $7.99, 9780312601553
8. Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak, Harper, $18.99, 9780060254926
9. Little Blue Truck
Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), HMH Books for Young Readers, $6.99, 9780547248288
10. There Is a Tribe of Kids
Lane Smith, Roaring Brook Press, $18.99, 9781626720565

CHILDREN'S INTEREST

1. The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle
Rick Riordan, Hyperion, $19.99, 9781484732748
2. Keep Curious and Carry a Banana: Words of Wisdom From the World of Curious George
H.A. Rey, Justin Martin, HMH Books for Young Readers, $12.99, 9780544656482
3. The BFG
Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illus.), Puffin, $6.99, 9780142410387
4. Raymie Nightingale
Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $16.99, 9780763681173
5. Lady Midnight
Cassandra Clare, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $24.99, 9781442468351
6. Rad American Women A-Z
Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (Illus.), City Lights Books, $14.95, 9780872866836
7. Misty of Chincoteague
Marguerite Henry, Wesley Dennis (Illus.), Aladdin, $6.99, 9781416927839
8. The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton, Puffin, $9.99, 9780140385724
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illus.), Puffin, $6.99, 9780142414552
10. Smile
Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99, 9780545132060

CHILDREN'S FICTION SERIES TITLES

1. The Thank You Book (Elephant & Piggie)
Mo Willems, Disney/Hyperion, $9.99, 9781423178286
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K.Rowling, Scholastic, $10.99, 9780590353427
3. The Crown (The Selection, Book 5)
Kiera Cass, HarperTeen, $19.99, 9780062392176
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School
Jeff Kinney, Amulet, $13.95, 9781419717017
5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs, Quirk, $10.99, 9781594746031
6. The Heir (The Selection, #4)
Kiera Cass, HarperTeen, $9.99, 9780062349866
7. The 5th Wave
Rick Yancey, Speak, $10.99, 9780147519085
8. The Scandal (Theodore Boone, #6)
John Grisham, Dutton Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 9780525426394
9. The Name of This Book Is Secret (The Secret Series)
Pseudonymous Bosch, Little Brown, $8.99, 9780316113694
10. Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen (Illus.), Candlewick, $5.99, 9780763645045

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Special to the Southern List

Click on a book to purchase from a great indie bookstore! See the full Southern Indie Bestseller list here.

Events

Events at Southern Indie Bookstores

Stephanie Danler – SWEETBITTER  (author appearance)
Stephanie Danler | 05/27/2016, 06:00 pm | Octavia Books | New Orleans, LA

RICK YANCEY presents THE LAST STAR **Ticketed Event**  (author appearance)
Rick Yancey | 05/27/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Rien Fertel - The One True Barbecue  (author appearance)
Rien Fertel | 05/27/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Buddy Story Time: Kathy McGougan & Buddy the Dog  (author appearance)
Kathy McGougan | 05/27/2016, 10:30 am | The Country Bookshop | Southern Pines, NC

Facts & Fiction: Literary Trivia Night  (other event)
05/27/2016, 07:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Mary Kay Andrews Author of The Weekenders  (author appearance)
Mary Kay Andrews | 05/27/2016, 02:00 pm | Litchfield Books | Pawleys Island, SC

Author event with Damien Durr author of Journey to Greatness  (author appearance)
Damien Durr | 05/27/2016, 06:30 pm | Parnassus Books | Nashville, TN

Robert Bailey  (author appearance)
Robert Bailey | 05/28/2016, 01:00 pm | Page & Palette | Fairhope, AL

HARRISON SCOTT KEY presents THE WORLD'S LARGEST MAN  (author appearance)
Harrison Scott Key | 05/28/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Reflexology Session with Carlos O’Neal  (other event)
05/28/2016, 11:00 am | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Singer/Songwriter Al Watson  (other event)
05/28/2016, 06:30 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Book Signing with Guy S. Fasciana  (author appearance)
Guy S. Fasciana | 05/28/2016, 02:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Fred Leebron - Christiania  (author appearance)
Fred Leebron | 05/29/2016, 03:00 pm | Scuppernong Books | Greensboro, NC

Karen White  (author appearance)
Karen White | 05/29/2016, 02:00 pm | The Country Bookshop | Southern Pines, NC

Singer/Songwriter Robert Bertinelli  (other event)
05/29/2016, 02:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Meet Mary Kay Andrews!  (author appearance)
Mary Kay Andrews | 05/30/2016, 09:00 am | Duck's Cottage | Manteo, NC

Grand Re-Opening  (other event)
05/31/2016, 06:00 pm | Page & Palette | Fairhope, AL

Nevada Barr - BOAR ISLAND  (author appearance)
Nevada Barr | 05/31/2016, 06:00 pm | Octavia Books | New Orleans, LA

ELIZABETH CARLSON presents NORTH CAROLINA STRING MUSIC MASTERS  (author appearance)
Elizabeth Carlson | 05/31/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Dorothea Benton Frank Author of All Summer Long  (author appearance)
Dorothea Benton Frank | 05/31/2016, 02:00 pm | Litchfield Books | Pawleys Island, SC

Salon@615 with Richard Russo author of Everybody's Fool  (author appearance)
Richard Russo | 05/31/2016, 06:15 pm | Parnassus Books | Nashville, TN

Author event with Ansley T. Erickson author of Making the Unequal Metropolis  (author appearance)
Ansley T. Erickson | 05/31/2016, 06:30 pm | Parnassus Books | Nashville, TN

ALISON STEWART presents JUNK  (author appearance)
Alison Stewart | 06/01/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

AUTISM BOOK CLUB discusses WITH THE LIGHT, VOL. 2  (book club)
06/01/2016, 01:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

MALAPROP'S BOOK CLUB discusses THE CELLIST OF SARAJEVO  (book club)
06/01/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Dorothea Benton Frank  (author appearance)
Dorothea Benton Frank | 06/01/2016, 07:00 pm | Hub City Bookshop | Spartanburg, SC

Story Time - with Pirates! @ 10:30 AM & 3:30 PM  (other event)
06/01/2016, 10:30 am | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Book Club Night  (book club)
06/02/2016, 06:00 pm | Page & Palette | Fairhope, AL

Bronwen Dickey, Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon with John Lane, Coyote Settles in the South  (author appearance)
Bronwen Dickey | 06/02/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Meet the Author: K Stone  (author appearance)
K Stone | 06/04/2016, 10:00 am | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

YA Author Panel: Amy Reed, Megan Shepherd, Robin Constantine, and Amber Smith  (author appearance)
Robin Constantine | 06/04/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

MATTHEW QUICK presents EVERY EXQUISITE THING  (author appearance)
Matthew Quick | 06/04/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Young Readers' Book Club: SUMMERLOST by Ally Condie  (book club)
06/05/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Pamela Skjolsvik: Death Becomes Us  (author appearance)
Pamela Skjolsvik | 06/05/2016, 02:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

POETRIO  (other event)
06/05/2016, 03:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Brandon & the Books: Live Band  (other event)
06/05/2016, 02:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Graphic Novel Book Club: PAPER GIRLS by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang  (book club)
06/06/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

LGBTQ BOOK CLUB  (book club)
06/06/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Howard T. Weir, III Native American History Talk: A Paradise of Blood - The Creek War of 1813-14  (author appearance)
Howard T. Weir | 06/06/2016, 06:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Susan Tucker: City of Remembering: A History of Genealogy in New Orleans  (author appearance)
Susan Tucker | 06/07/2016, 06:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

WILD BOOK CLUB discusses THE SUMMER BOOK  (book club)
06/07/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

CURRENT EVENTS BOOK CLUB discusses THE DEEP STATE  (book club)
06/07/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Luncheon with Dorothea Benton Frank  (author appearance)
Dorothea Benton Frank | 06/07/2016, 12:00 pm | Books on Broad | Camden, SC

Book Signing with Donna Rhodes  (author appearance)
Donna Rhodes | 06/07/2016, 06:00 am | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

New York Times Bestselling author of Zita the Spacegirl Ben Hatke!!!!  (author appearance)
Ben Hatke | 06/07/2016, 04:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

John Hart: Redemption Road  (author appearance)
John Hart | 06/08/2016, 06:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

Garden District Book Shop Book Club reads The Sellout by Paul Beatty  (book club)
06/08/2016, 06:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

ANTON DISCLAFANI presents THE AFTER PARTY  (author appearance)
Anton DiSclafani | 06/08/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Women's History/Music History Author Quincy Whitney Presents American Luthier: Carleen Hutchins  (author appearance)
Quincy Whitney | 06/08/2016, 06:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Judge Edward Butler, Sr.: Galvez/Spain - Our Forgotten Ally in the American Revolutionary War: A Concise Summary Of Spanish Assistance  (author appearance)
Judge Edward Butler Sr. | 06/09/2016, 06:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

Randy Johnson, Grandfather Mountain: The History and Guide to an Appalachian Icon  (author appearance)
Randy Johnson | 06/09/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Open Mic Night  (other event)
06/10/2016, 07:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Meet the Author: Shay Goodman  (author appearance)
Shay Goodman | 06/11/2016, 10:00 am | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

Ten-Minute Tarot  (other event)
06/11/2016, 06:00 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

T. John Hughes: Talk on Architecture and Preservation  (author appearance)
T. John Hughes | 06/11/2016, 06:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Mark Cooper Book Launch for Mapping Your Adventure at St. James’ Episcopal  (author appearance)
D. Mark Cooper | 06/12/2016, 11:30 am | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Musician/Author David J: WHO KILLED MISTER MOONLIGHT? BAUHAUS, BLACK MAGICK, AND BENEDICTION  (author appearance)
David J | 06/13/2016, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Sloane Crosley: The Clasp  (author appearance)
Sloane Crosley | 06/13/2016, 06:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

Morgan Guyton, How Jesus Saved the World from Us: 12 Antidotes to Toxic Christianity  (author appearance)
Morgan Guyton | 06/13/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

DAWN TRIPP presents GEORGIA  (author appearance)
Dawn Tripp | 06/14/2016, 07:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC

Jeffrey & Carole Boston Weatherford You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen  (author appearance)
Jeffrey and Carole Boston Weatherford | 06/15/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Harper Lee Theme Dinner with The Author of Mockingbird, Charles Shields at Camden’s Dogtown Market  (author appearance)
Charles Shields | 06/15/2016, 06:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Meet Author Alison Umminger: AMERICAN GIRLS  (author appearance)
Alison Umminger | 06/16/2016, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Stephen Jurovics -Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action, and Climate Change  (author appearance)
Stephen Jurovics | 06/16/2016, 07:00 am | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Meet Author Sally Kilpatrick  (author appearance)
Sally Kilpatrick | 06/17/2016, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Have Lunch with Elin Hilderbrand!   (author appearance)
Elin Hilderbrand | 06/17/2016, 12:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Paperback Fiction Book Club: IN BETWEEN DAYS by Andrew Porter  (book club)
06/19/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Social Justice Book Club: BLACK GIRL DANGEROUS by Mia McKenzie  (book club)
06/20/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Books & Beyond: Book Club  (book club)
Bryan Robinson | 06/21/2016, 06:30 pm | Joe's Place | Greenville, SC

Waldo 5K  (other event)
06/25/2016, 08:00 am | Horton's Books & Gifts | Carrollton, GA

New & Notable Book Club: THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT by Alexander Chee  (book club)
06/26/2016, 06:15 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA

Patrick Hemstreet: The God Wave  (author appearance)
Patrick Hemstreet | 06/26/2016, 02:00 pm | Garden District Book Shop | New Orleans, LA

Debut Mystery Novelist Heather Weidner Launch Party for Secret Lives and Private Eyes at Uptown Alley  (author appearance)
Heather Weidner | 06/26/2016, 02:00 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Duke Young Writers' Camp, Readings at The Regulator  (writers group)
06/28/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

We Welcome Back Timber Hawkeye, Author of Buddhist Boot Camp and Faithfully Religionless  (author appearance)
Timber Hawkeye | 06/28/2016, 06:30 pm | Fountain Bookstore | Richmond, VA

Jason Morgan Ward- Hanging Bridge  (author appearance)
Jason Morgan Ward | 06/29/2016, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC

Meet the Author: Carol Willett  (author appearance)
Carol Willett | 07/01/2016, 05:00 pm | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

Meet the Author: Carol Willett  (author appearance)
Carol Willett | 07/02/2016, 10:00 am | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

Meet the Author: Ashley Terrell  (author appearance)
Ashley Terrell | 07/08/2016, 05:00 pm | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

Meet the Author: Chris Kohler  (author appearance)
Chris Kohler | 07/09/2016, 10:00 am | Page After Page Bookstore | Elizabeth City

Harry Potter Ministry Ball  (other event)
07/30/2016, 10:00 am | Horton's Books & Gifts | Carrollton, GA

Authors Round the South
www.authorsroundthesouth.com