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![]() Dearest Readers
The power company came by at the beginning of this week to replace the older poles on her ladyship, the editor's street. One of the poles was very, very close to her ladyship's house, so she was grateful for their diligence, but it did have one unexpected effect in that her ladyship was without power for an afternoon. It was a beautiful day for an enforced vacation, so her ladyship spent it working in her garden, and reading on her back deck. (It is terribly, terribly, hard to restrain oneself from planting peas two weeks early when the weather insists on being sunny and in the seventies.) Here's the book pile she's currently trying to make a dent in:
![The TBR stack]()
She's having doubtful success, since for every book she finishes, two or three more seem to appear, each as enticing as the last. She perseveres, nonetheless.
The books in the stack:
![Eveningland]() ![The Hidden Life of Trees]() ![Rooted]() ![The Legend of the Albino Farm]() ![One Good Mama Bone]() ![The Barrowfields]() ![The River of Kings]() ![Sightlines]() ![Memorial]() ![Float]() ![Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook]() ![Victuals]()
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her ladyship, the editor
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Lady Banks' Pick of the Week
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![March Book Three]() "The latest honors for March, a collaboration among Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, include the Coretta Scott King Award for best children's book by an African-American and the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in children's literature."
March: Book Three honored by American Library Association
![Hide]() "The closest thing I've read about this sort of relationship was Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx, but this is so much more intimate. I found it incredibly fresh and deeply moving"
Crook's Corner Book Prize Winner
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Lady Banks' Commonplace Book
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Noteworthy poetry and prose from her ladyship's bedside reading stack.
![Signals]() Julian was living in a sooty apartment building next to an iron foundry in Memphis when he received a letter announcing that his great-grandfather's estate had finally been cleared up. He stood in the doorway of his peeling duplex, his hands shaking as he read the terms. Most of the property had been sold off to satisfy liens and lawyer's fees, but the large country house and six acres remained, along with $28,000. Julian was a thin man of sixty-three, balding, a typewriter repairman who worked out of his spare bedroom and kept to himself. The one time he'd seen the grand old home was when he was eight, riding past it on a gravel road with his mother, back when she could afford a car. The mansion was surrounded on three sides by rows of cracked Doric pillars, its second-floor gallery missing many balusters, its windows patched with cardboard. It had been occupied for many years by a glowering family of squatters who'd slouched on the porches and stared after his mother's black Ford as it crawled past the fence. For all he knew, they were still there.
He went inside, out of the late June heat, and sat in a duct-taped recliner to reread the terms of his good fortune. The only extra money he'd ever had was a hundred-dollar win on a scratch-off ticket. Before his mother died, he'd spent two years at a tiny local college and considered himself at least wealthy in knowledge, more so than the shopkeepers and records clerks he dealt with. Normally, he disparaged people who owned large houses, yet deep in his heart he'd stored the memory of the old mansion as the only grand thing in his family's history. It had shamed him to long for the house, and now he owned it.
Tim Gautreaux, Signals: New and Selected Stories (Knopf Publishing Group, 2017) 9780451493040
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![Conversations with Ron Rash]() "One reason I wanted to do the collection was that Ron always speaks so generously and insightfully about his writing and about writing in general. I hoped the book would provide important information about his writing, but also provide inspiration for other aspiring writer"
Conversations with Ron Rash
"It's a shock. We can't believe it, really," said Mitzi Ware, events coordinator at the bookstore. "The staff is carrying on because we are in the middle of a lot of events that have been scheduled, but it's hard. We have no idea what the future will bring."
Charlottesville, VA bookseller dies unexpectedly
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Recommended reading from Southern Indie Booksellers
![]() This book is full of thrilling mysteries and tension while shedding light on a little known tragedy from WWII.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ($18.99, Philomel Books), recommended by Erica, Lemuia Books, Jackson, MS.
![]() I lived in NY's Hudson Valley when this came out, and know how well Carr (also a Hudson Valley resident) describes it all. I love historical fiction that mixes true and fictional characters. NY police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt sets up an unofficial team to investigate a serial killer, in an era in which such a concept is unknown.
The Alienist by Caleb Carr, ($17, Random House Trade), recommended by Rosemary at Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC.
![]() This is my favorite picture book of the year. I really love when authors take a well-known theme and put a spin on it! This charming story is a unique take on the back-to-school theme and just made me feel so much joy while I was reading it. A brand-new school building -- aptly named School -- has to adjust to first day jitters of his own, including lots of children who aren't exactly quiet, neat, or tidy. A few of the children don't even like School! As the children slowly get over their first day fears, the school also learns to enjoy the chaos, with a little help from a compassionate custodian. School is a fully drawn character, both silly and sentimental, that you can enjoy all year round. Amazing illustrations by Christian Robinson wrap up this beautiful package. Readers young and old will have fun reading this sweet story.
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, Christian Robinson (illus.) ($17.99, Roaring Brook Press), recommended by Amanda, Hooray for Books, Alexandria, VA.
![]() Replica tells the dual stories of two girls affected by scientific revolutions in an ambiguous tale that can be read in any order.
Replica by Lauren Oliver ($19.99, HarperCollins), recommended by Erica, Lemuria Books, Jackson, MS.
![]() You don't need to be familiar with Chesnutt's or Hersh's work to appreciate this phenomenal book, but you will undoubtedly want to be once you've finished it. Hersh is a writer of intense and subtle beauty, and she will make you cry and feel a hundred other things with the power of her style alone. Through the tragic story of her close friend and tourmate, Chesnutt, Hersh evokes the torture of all that artistic genius encapsulates and makes that pain sing in a voice both opaque and elegant, grimy and pristine. Ultimately, this is a deeply affecting meditation on one's thrust toward 'important art' and on how music is a necessary expression of sadness and loneliness but also one of intense and inimitable beauty.
Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt by Kristin Hersh ($14.95, University of Texas Press), recommended by Donovan, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL.
A 2016 Southern Book Award Finalist
More bookseller recommendations
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![Mountain Sisters]() “There are certain things you have to do. You’re going to get in trouble, but that’s all right. [Highlander’s co-founder] Myles Horton always said, ‘You’re better known by the enemies you make.’”
Mountain feminist Helen Matthews Lewis
![Princess Pamela's Soul Food Cookbook]() “We've hired private investigators, archivists, and genealogists, and beat the bushes throughout the East Village and all the way back to Spartanburg, S.C. to try to determine where she might have ended up, but with no confirmed sightings since 1997, . . . Our greatest hope is that either way, she'd be proud of this new edition of her landmark cookbook.”
Lee Bros. help bring long lost soul food cookbook back to life
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The List: Union Avenue Books Bestsellers of 2016
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"The Bookshop will send its cats to a good home and mark the end this summer of a 31-year run at 400 W. Franklin St."
Chapel Hill Bookshop building for sale
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![]() A widely celebrated novelist gives us a generous collection of exhilarating short stories, proving that he is a master of this genre as well. Once again, "he reminds us," wrote the Miami Herald, "that great writing is a timeless art."
After the stunning historical novels The Clearing and The Missing, Tim Gautreaux now ranges freely through contemporary life with twelve new stories and eight from previous collections. Most are set in his beloved Louisiana, many hard by or on the Mississippi River, others in North Carolina and even in midwinter Minnesota. But generally it's heat, humidity, and bugs that beset his people as they wrestle with affairs of the heart, matters of faith, and the pros and cons of tight-knit communities--a remarkable cast of characters, primarily of the working class, proud and knowledgeable about the natural or mechanical world, their lives marked by a prized stereo or a magical sewing machine retrieved from a locked safe, boats and card games and casinos, grandparents and grandchildren and those in between, their experiences leading them to the ridiculous or the scarifying or the sublime; most of them striving for what's right and good, others tearing off in the opposite direction.
BUY FROM AN INDIE
![Okra Picks]()
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Lady Banks' {Book} Trailer Park
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Author 2 Author: The Danger, Beauty and Romance of the South.
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Christine Feehan on writing the Ghostwalker series
![Christine Feehan]() I’ve always loved the South and have visited Florida, Kentucky, Texas and my beloved Louisiana many, many times. I have several series that are set in the south, my most recent Dark Series novels being in Texas and of course my Ghostwalkers are currently in the Bayou near New Orleans.
I write romance, but my Ghostwalker series could easily be categorized as romantic suspense or a paranormal thriller. This series is one of my most researched. The series deals with military soldiers who’ve undergone experiments to enhance psychic ability and women who have been genetically altered, so there’s a good deal of science fiction in these stories.
I’ve always believed that it’s important to remain as close to actual science as possible when writing fiction. When I’m writing I contact military personnel, scientists, specialists and other professionals to ensure the accuracy of what I’m writing, or to ask if something I’d like to write is feasible under certain, extraordinary circumstances. I take some liberties, since this is fiction, but I try to be as accurate as possible where I can.
![Resitricted Areas]() It’s a great deal of work that goes into the research and that includes being true to the location I’ve chosen for the books. Louisiana, specifically the New Orleans area, is unique is so many ways. It’s rich history, landscape, architecture, mix of cultures and even language set the area apart from everywhere else in the United States, if not the world. The people are fighters, survivors and they are loyal to each other, especially if they call each other “family”.
![Power Game]() I’ve made many trips to New Orleans over the years and it remains one of my favorite cities on Earth. I’ve always felt a connection to that area and to the people. My latest trip took me back out to the bayou to research the area around the Pearl River Wildlife management area with Captain Neil Benson of Pearl River Eco Swamp Tour. Stennis is a real-life popular area for military training so I wanted my characters to have access to that in the book. I put the family of Ghostwalkers in the swamp area, in a beautiful and secluded home.
The area is full of danger and full of beauty and the people who live there have such a fierce love for it that I knew I wanted my Ghostwalkers to live there and of course, fall in love there.
About the book:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan is "one of the best storytellers around" (RT Book Reviews). Find out why as two lovers surrounded by greed and corruption discover there's no telling whom you can trust--or who will come out on top. . .
When members of a United Nations joint security force are taken hostage by radical terrorists in Indonesia, Captain Ezekiel Fortunes is called to lead the rescue team. Part of a classified government experiment, Zeke is a supersoldier with enhanced abilities. He can see better and run faster than the enemy, disappear when necessary and hunt along any terrain. There are those in the world willing to do anything for power like that...
A formidable spy genetically engineered to hide in plain sight, Bellisia rarely meets a man who doesn't want to control her or kill her. But Zeke is different. His gaze, his touch--they awaken feelings inside her that she never thought possible. He's the kind of man she could settle down with--if she can keep him alive. . .
About the author
Christine Feehan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the Carpathian series, the GhostWalker series, the Leopard series, the Sea Haven series, and the Shadow series.
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Southern Indie Bestsellers
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For the week ending January 15. Books on the Southern Indie Bestseller List that are southern in nature or have been recently recommended by southern indie booksellers.
![]( "stars authors") - The Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize | ![Okra Pick!]() - A SIBA Okra Pick
See the full list here
Printable versions: Hardcover | Paperback | Children.
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HARDCOVER
FICTION
1. The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $26.95, 9780385542364
2. A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles, Viking, $27, 9780670026197
3. The Whistler
John Grisham, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385541190
4. Commonwealth
Ann Patchett, Harper, $27.99, 9780062491794
5. Small Great Things
Jodi Picoult, Ballantine, $28.99, 9780345544957
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HARDCOVER
NONFICTION
1. Hillbilly Elegy
J.D. Vance, Harper, $27.99, 9780062300546
2. The Great Equalizer: How Main Street Capitalism Can Create an Economy for Everyone
David M. Smick, PublicAffairs, $27.99, 9781610397841
3. The Princess Diarist
Carrie Fisher, Blue Rider, $26, 9780399173592
4. When Breath Becomes Air
Paul Kalanithi, Random House, $25, 9780812988406
5. The Book of Joy
The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Avery, $26, 9780399185045
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Also of note: Okra Picks
![]() 11. The Second Mrs. Hockaday
Susan Rivers, Algonquin, $25.95, 9781616205812
![]() 9. A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life
Pat Conroy, Nan A. Talese, $25, 9780385530866
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Special to the Southern List
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Click on a book to purchase from a great indie bookstore! See the full Southern Indie Bestseller list and the books that are Special to the Southern List here.
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Events at Southern Indie Bookstores
See the full calendar | Find a Southern Indie Bookstore near you
![]() Susan Rivers (author appearance)
Susan Rivers | 01/26/2017, 12:00 pm | Page & Palette | Fairhope, AL
Tim Dorsey Returns! (author appearance)
Tim Dorsey | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Inkwood Books | Tampa, FL
Heather Graham & Jon Land sign The Rising (author appearance)
Heather Graham | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore | Delray Beach, FL
Writers @ The Wrecking Bar | THE PORTABLE VEBLEN by Elizabeth McKenzie (author appearance)
Elizabeth McKenzie | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | A Cappella Books | Atlanta, GA
Melissa Range - SCRIPTORIUM (author appearance)
01/26/2017, 06:30 pm | A Cappella Books | Atlanta, GA
Author Dale Wiley: Southern Gothic (author appearance)
Dale Wiley | 01/26/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
Hospital Land USA: Adventures in Medicalization (author appearance)
Wendy Simonds | 01/26/2017, 07:30 pm | Charis Books & More | Atlanta, GA
![]() Tim Gautreaux with SIGNALS (author appearance)
Tim Gautreaux | 01/26/2017, 06:00 pm | Square Books | Oxford, MS
Diane Williams with MISSISSIPPI FOLK AND THE TALES THEY TELL (author appearance)
Diane Williams | 01/26/2017, 06:00 am | Square Books | Oxford, MS
David Billings discusses his book Deep Denial:The Persistence of White Supremacy in United States History and Life (author appearance)
David Billings | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Flyleaf Books | Chapel Hill, NC
Joseph Bathanti, poetry reading (author appearance)
Joseph Bathanti | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Main Street Books | Davidson, NC
Author Event: Devyn Spence Benson - Antiracism in Cuba (author appearance)
Devyn Spence Benson | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Park Road Books | Charlotte, NC
Dmitry Orlov - Shrinking the Technosphere (author appearance)
Dmitry Orlov | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Quail Ridge Books & Music | Raleigh, NC
David Mitchell - We Hold These Truths - with Ken Lewis and Tim Tyson (author appearance)
David S. Mitchell | 01/26/2017, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC
Meet the Author: Nancy Peacock (author appearance)
Nancy Peacock![]( "stars authors") | 01/26/2017, 05:00 pm | The Country Bookshop | Southern Pines, NC
Timothy J. Boyce (author appearance)
Timothy J. Boyce | 01/26/2017, 05:30 pm | Hub City Bookshop | Spartanburg, SC
Author event with Kevin Wilson author of Perfect Little World (author appearance)
Kevin Wilson | 01/26/2017, 06:30 pm | Parnassus Books | Nashville, TN
Tim Dorsey Booksigning (author appearance)
Tim Dorsey | 01/27/2017, 05:00 pm | Book Swap of Carrollwood | Tampa, FL
Carmelo Mesa Lago - Voces de cambio en el sector no estatal cubano - Gables (author appearance)
Carmelo Mesa | 01/27/2017, 06:30 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
Florida History Panel Moderated by Eliot Kleinberg (author appearance)
James Clark | 01/27/2017, 07:00 pm | Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore | Delray Beach, FL
Heather Graham & Jon Land present The Rising (author appearance)
Heather Graham | 01/27/2017, 06:00 pm | Vero Beach Book Center | Vero Beach, FL
Author Elizabeth McKenzie: The Portable Veblen (author appearance)
Elizabeth McKenzie | 01/27/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
The Crunk Feminist Collection Atlanta Book Release Party (author appearance)
Susana M. Morris | 01/27/2017, 07:30 pm | Charis Books & More | Atlanta, GA
Deanna Raybourn Author of Perilous Undertaking (author appearance)
Deanna Raybourn | 01/27/2017, 11:00 am | Litchfield Books | Pawleys Island, SC
Rose Senehi Author of Carolina Belle (author appearance)
Rose Senehi![]( "stars authors") | 01/27/2017, 11:00 am | Litchfield Books | Pawleys Island, SC
![]() Book & Beer with Taylor Brown and Lindsay Jones - Fallen Land (author appearance)
Taylor Brown | 01/27/2017, 07:00 pm | M. Judson, booksellers and storytellers | Simpsonville, SC
Louis K. Lowy - To Dream: Anatomy of a Humachine - Gables (author appearance)
Louis K. Lowy | 01/28/2017, 05:00 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
Crissa Chappell - Snowbirds - Gables (author appearance)
Crissa Chappell | 01/28/2017, 07:00 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
![]() Susan Crawford signs The Other Widow (author appearance)
Susan Crawford | 01/28/2017, 06:00 pm | Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore | Delray Beach, FL
Avid Poetry Series: Rosalie Moffett and Mario Chard (author appearance)
Rosalie Moffett | 01/28/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
Deanna Raybourn - A Perilous Undertaking (author appearance)
Deanna Raybourn | 01/28/2017, 02:00 pm | FoxTale Book Shoppe | Woodstock, GA
Author Event: Liz Hilliard - Be Powerful (author appearance)
Liz Hilliard | 01/28/2017, 02:00 pm | Park Road Books | Charlotte, NC
![]() Acree Macam & Natalie Nelson - The King of the Birds (author appearance)
Acree Macam | 01/28/2017, 10:00 am | Quail Ridge Books & Music | Raleigh, NC
Steph Post, Lightwood, & James Tate Hill, Academy Gothic (author appearance)
Steph Post | 01/28/2017, 07:00 pm | Scuppernong Books | Greensboro, NC
STEVEN A. FROWINE presents ORCHIDS FOR DUMMIES (author appearance)
Steven A. Frowine | 01/29/2017, 03:00 pm | Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe | Asheville, NC
David Pearson - JFK and BOBBY, ARNIE and JACK...and Daivd: The Unusual PR Career of David Pearson - Gables (author appearance)
David Pearson | 01/30/2017, 08:00 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
Tim Dorsey presents Clownfish Blues (author appearance)
Tim Dorsey | 01/30/2017, 06:00 pm | Vero Beach Book Center | Vero Beach, FL
Marc E. Agronin, M.D. - The Dementia Caregiver - Gables (author appearance)
Marc E. | 01/31/2017, 08:00 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
![]() Jonathan Rabb - Among the Living (author appearance)
Jonathan Rabb | 01/31/2017, 07:15 pm | Eagle Eye Book Shop | Atlanta, GA
Marion Bataille Author Event!!! (author appearance)
Marion Bataille | 01/31/2017, 06:30 pm | Little Shop of Stories | Decatur, GA
Steph Post and Beth Gilstrap (author appearance)
Steph Post | 01/31/2017, 07:00 pm | Main Street Books | Davidson, NC
Author Event: The Marriage Lie (author appearance)
Kimberly Belle | 01/31/2017, 06:00 pm | Page 158 Books | Wake Forest, NC
Dale Wiley signs Southern Gothic (author appearance)
Dale Wiley | 01/31/2017, 06:30 pm | Booksellers at Laurelwood | Memphis, TN
Dave Barry (author appearance)
Dave Barry | 02/01/2017, 11:30 am | Bookstore 1 Sarasota | Sarasota, FL
Bernie Swain presents What Made Me Who I Am (author appearance)
Bernie Swain | 02/01/2017, 04:00 pm | Vero Beach Book Center | Vero Beach, FL
Thomas Friedman THANK YOU FOR BEING LATE (author appearance)
Thomas Friedman | 02/01/2017, 07:30 pm | A Cappella Books | Atlanta, GA
Kendal Weaver - Ten Stars: The African American Journey of Gary Cooper (author appearance)
Kendal Weaver | 02/01/2017, 07:00 pm | A Cappella Books | Atlanta, GA
![]() Jonathan Rabb: AMONG THE LIVING (author appearance)
Jonathan Rabb | 02/01/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
Lisa Gardner - Right Behind You (author appearance)
Lisa Gardner | 02/01/2017, 07:00 pm | Eagle Eye Book Shop | Atlanta, GA
![]() Susan Rivers - THE SECOND MRS. HOCKADAY (author appearance)
Susan Rivers | 02/01/2017, 06:00 pm | Octavia Books | New Orleans, LA
TIMOTHY TYSON, The Blood of Emmett Till (author appearance)
Timothy Tyson | 02/01/2017, 07:00 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC
Beatriz Williams (author appearance)
Beatriz Williams | 02/02/2017, 12:00 pm | Page & Palette | Fairhope, AL
TACKLING DUMMIES - Bobby Vernon - Gables (author appearance)
Bobby Vernon | 02/02/2017, 06:30 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
WOOZIE WISDOM - Lynn Hubschman - Gables (author appearance)
Lynn Hubschman | 02/02/2017, 08:00 pm | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
Grafton Tanner - Babbling Corpse: Vaporwave and the Commodification of Ghosts (author appearance)
Grafton Tanner | 02/02/2017, 06:00 pm | A Cappella Books | Atlanta, GA
Local Author Pamela Spahr: CAREGIVER'S SURVIVAL TOOLKIT: GO FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING (author appearance)
Pamela Spahr | 02/02/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
Chanelle Benz with THE MAN WHO SHOT OUT MY EYE IS DEAD (author appearance)
Chanelle Benz | 02/02/2017, 06:00 pm | Square Books | Oxford, MS
John Semonche - Pick Nick: The Political Odyssey of Nick Galifianakis (author appearance)
John Semonche | 02/02/2017, 07:00 pm | Quail Ridge Books & Music | Raleigh, NC
Bettye Kronstad, Perfect Day: An Intimate Portrait of Life with Lou Reed (author appearance)
Bettye Kronstad | 02/02/2017, 02:15 pm | Regulator Bookshop | Durham, NC
REST IN POWER: THE ENDURING LIFE OF TRAYVON MARTIN - Sybrina Fulton & Tracy Martin - Florida Atlantic University (author appearance)
Sybrina Fulton | 02/03/2017, 07:00 am | Books & Books Inc | Coral Gables, FL
M.C.V. Egan will speak and sign Death of a Sculptor (author appearance)
M.C.V. Egan | 02/03/2017, 07:00 pm | Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore | Delray Beach, FL
Lisa Gardner presents Right Behind You (author appearance)
Lisa Gardner | 02/03/2017, 05:00 pm | Vero Beach Book Center | Vero Beach, FL
Author Patricia Bell-Scott: THE FIREBRAND AND THE FIRST LADY (author appearance)
Patricia Bell-Scott | 02/03/2017, 06:30 pm | Avid Bookshop | Athens, GA
Timothy Tyson with THE BLOOD OF EMMETT TILL (author appearance)
Timothy Tyson | 02/03/2017, 05:00 pm | Square Books | Oxford, MS
Meet the Author: Frank Stephenson Jr. (author appearance)
Frank Stephenson | 02/03/2017, 05:00 pm | Page After Page | Elizabeth City, NC
Ali Standish - The Ethan I Was Before (author appearance)
Ali Standish | 02/03/2017, 07:00 pm | Quail Ridge Books & Music | Raleigh, NC
Beatriz Williams Author of The Wicked City (author appearance)
Beatriz Williams | 02/03/2017, 11:00 am | Litchfield Books | Pawleys Island, SC
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Authors Round the South
www.authorsroundthesouth.com
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This is my favorite picture book of the year. I really love when authors take a well-known theme and put a spin on it! This charming story is a unique take on the back-to-school theme and just made me feel so much joy while I was reading it. A brand-new school building -- aptly named School -- has to adjust to first day jitters of his own, including lots of children who aren't exactly quiet, neat, or tidy. A few of the children don't even like School! As the children slowly get over their first day fears, the school also learns to enjoy the chaos, with a little help from a compassionate custodian. School is a fully drawn character, both silly and sentimental, that you can enjoy all year round. Amazing illustrations by Christian Robinson wrap up this beautiful package. Readers young and old will have fun reading this sweet story.
A widely celebrated novelist gives us a generous collection of exhilarating short stories, proving that he is a master of this genre as well. Once again, "he reminds us," wrote the Miami Herald, "that great writing is a timeless art."
I’ve always loved the South and have visited Florida, Kentucky, Texas and my beloved Louisiana many, many times. I have several series that are set in the south, my most recent Dark Series novels being in Texas and of course my Ghostwalkers are currently in the Bayou near New Orleans. 
It’s a great deal of work that goes into the research and that includes being true to the location I’ve chosen for the books. Louisiana, specifically the New Orleans area, is unique is so many ways. It’s rich history, landscape, architecture, mix of cultures and even language set the area apart from everywhere else in the United States, if not the world. The people are fighters, survivors and they are loyal to each other, especially if they call each other “family”.
- The Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize | 
- A SIBA 
11. The Second Mrs. Hockaday
