Books
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Books Charlaine Harris' 'Grave Sight' sells to SyFy
Entertainment Weekly reports that South Arkansas author Charlaine Harris, whose Sookie Stackhouse books have become big bidness after being translated into HBO's "True Blood" television series, has now sold the rights to her Harper Connelly Mysteries series for development into a series called "Grave Sight."
The four book series follows a woman who gains the ability to sense the memories of dead people after being struck by lightning.
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Friday, April 13, 2012
Books / Interviews Q&A with George Dohrmann
On Saturday, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer George Dohrmann will discuss the culture of youth sports as part of the Arkansas Literary Festival. In 2000, the Sports Illustrated investigative reporter started documenting the lives of talented grade-school basketball players in southern California.
For eight years, he followed these players and their fiery coach as they gained national acclaim by becoming the first middle school team to score a shoe deal while producing a player ranked No. 1 nationally among middle schoolers — Demetrius Walker. Dohrmann's work was published in his first book "Play Their Hearts Out," which he will discuss at 2:30 p.m. Saturday during a free appearance on the first floor of the Main Library. Dohrman lives in San Francisco, and finds release from the sports world by building furniture and restoring trolley fareboxes.
Welcome to Arkansas. What brings you to this festival?
Jay Jennings, one of the guys who organizes the festival, is a former Sports Illustrated writer. He reached out to me. I’m happy the logistics worked out and I was able to make it.
Have you been to the state before?
In 2001, I flew into Northwest Arkansas to help report on a guy who burned swastikas and obscenities with acid into the greens at Southern Hills Country Club [in Tulsa], where they had the U.S. Open. It turned out to be this guy who was living up in Eureka Springs. When we found him, he was just playing a guitar.
Wild. Off the top of your head, have you written about any Arkansans?
I was in Las Vegas at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournament, and I met an Arkansan sitting in the stands. He was a really nice guy, and we started talking. He pointed out his son who was playing and was pretty good. He gave me his card. It turns out he was a CEO, and I think his last name was Tyson. I was like ‘Whoa.’... it sort of struck me as a potential storyline somewhere but it never really worked out.
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Books / Coming soon Jane Hankins' novel 'Madge's Mobile Home Park' out May 1
You might be familiar with the paintings and sculptures of Little Rock artist Jane Hankins, but next month she’ll add ‘author’ to her resume, with the publication of “Madge’s Mobile Home Park” on May 1.
"These characters came to me while traveling form Little Rock to New Orleans and seeing roadside signs like ‘AKC Toy Poodles and Dog Outfits’ or ‘Curl Up and Dye Salon,” Hankins said in a press release.
The story is set in the fictional town of Peavine, Ark. – “The Little Town that Grows on You” – and is billed as the first of the Peavine Chronicles Series. The jacket includes glowing blurbs from such Arkansas notables as First Lady Ginger Beebe, The Rep’s Artistic Director Bob Hupp, and Hankins’ husband, TV news anchor Craig O’Neill.
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Monday, April 2, 2012
What's going on / Books Tuesday To-Do: Michael Ondaatje
MICHAEL ONDAATJE
7:30 p.m. Hendrix College's Staples Auditorium. Free.
While Michael Ondaatje is probably best known for his novel "The English Patient," the Canadian author, who has won numerous awards and critical praise, also wrote perhaps the most haunting and musical novel I've ever read.
"Coming Through Slaughter" is a fictionalized account of the lives of jazz originator Buddy Bolden and photographer E.J. Bellocq. The novel's structure mirrors both the improvisatory nature of Bolden's music as well as the schizophrenia that derailed his life at age 30. It's definitely not a straight bio and might frustrate some readers with its impressionistic, lyrical style, shifting narratives and hard left turns.
But it paints an indelible picture of early 20th century New Orleans, specifically the often chaotic lives of the musicians of the nascent jazz scene and the awful despair of the prostitutes of Storyville. Certain scenes and passages from the book continued to percolate in my mind long after I'd finished it, resonating the way a particularly powerful piece of music seems to linger in the room even after it's over.
Ondaatje's reading is part of the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation's series exploring the theme of crime. He'll sign books after the reading.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2012
What's going on / Books / Music Thursday: Historic Baseball Trail, The See, Mark Spitzer and more
Thursday marks the opening of the Historic Baseball Trail, which includes 26 sites in Hot Springs that are associated with the visits, playing and training of more than 300 baseball legends and those associated with them, including Babe Ruth. Brochures and other information will be available at the Downtown Visitor Center in Hill Wheatley Plaza.
LA pop-punkers Cold Forty Three play Juanita's, with 200 West, Last Chance Casanova and Boom the Wheel, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s.
Indie folksters General Ogelthorpe & The Panhandlers play Vino's, 9 p.m., $7.
The See and Grand Serenade play Maxine's, 8 p.m., free.
Mark Spitzer, a UCA professor and author of "Sick in the Head," will read from his work at Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Books Little Rock author on NPR
Yesterday NPR featured New York Times best selling author Trenton Lee Stewart, who happens to live right here in Little Rock, with his wife and kids. Stewart is best known for his children's series, the Mysterious Benedict Society, which he's been cranking away at since 2007. In addition to making the bestseller's list, the first book in the series was a Notable Children's Book in 2008 and made it onto the Booklist Editors' Choice Books for Youth in 2007.
Stewart will make an appearance at the Arkansas Literary Festival on Saturday, April 12, on the fourth floor of the Clinton Library at 10 a.m., discussing the fourth book in the series "The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict," which will be released sometime this spring. All of the Benedict Society books are essentially detective adventures, about a ragtag group of exceptionally talented children who solve puzzles and decipher clues, finding themselves entangled in fantastic situations in their quest to save the world from some latest disaster.
Posted by Cheree Franco on | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Books / Comics Nate Powell's 'Any Empire' one of Booklist's top 10 graphic novels
Well it looks like Nate Powell — Arkansas native, comic artist, musician — has done it again, "it" in this instance referring to the earning of serious critical praise. The Ignatz- and Eisner-Award winning artist's last work, 2011's Any Empire, has earned a big nod from Booklist, landing in its top 10 graphic novels list, alongside such notable doodling storytellers as Art Spiegelman and Daniel Clowes.
"Powell’s exceptional visual-storytelling gift transforms a potentially obvious antiwar parable into a ravishingly beautiful, emotionally resonant, thoughtful, and provocative work of art," wrote Booklist's Ray Olson.
Olson described Powell as "the most prodigiously talented graphic novelist of his late twenties-early thirties cohort."
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012
TV / What's going on / Books Thursday To-Do: Rick Steves
7:30 p.m. University of Central Arkansas. Free.
Rick Steves — author and host of the public television show "Rick Steves' Europe" and the public radio show "Travel with Rick Steves" — has such a calming, soft-spoken style that it will really make you want to take an innocent, wholesome trip to Europe, one with way more museum visits and castle tours and charming, out-of-the way bistros and way not as much strip clubs and excessive consumption of intoxicants and stumbling headlong into fountains as horrified families look on in disgust.
Steves implores us to travel, but to be respectful and generally avoid the sort of boorish behavior often associated with Americans abroad. As anyone who has traveled internationally can testify, it's an admonition that really can't be overstated. Plus, Steves supports a number of righteous causes, including NARAL Pro-Choice and legalization of marijuana, and he established a shelter for homeless women and their children a few years back.
He's on a tour of flyover country right now called "Road Trip USA," which brings him to Conway for a couple of days. He'll be discussing his new book, "Travel as a Political Act," and on Friday, he'll be the featured speaker at the annual Bravo! fundraiser for UCA's College of Fine Arts and Communication, which is $75 and starts at 6:30 p.m.
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Monday, February 27, 2012
Books Submit a story to "Telling Tales"
Hey scribblers: if you're a fan of "Tales from the South" and have ever dreamed of being on the show, now's your chance. TFTS is now accepting submissions for their "Telling Tales" contest. Submissions must be between 1000 - 1200 words, and be on this year's "Telling Tales" topic, which is: a literary memoir based on this quote: "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." — Graham Greene. The three winners will get to read their work during a live taping of TFTS in April. All submissions will be considered for future shows.
Full submission guidelines are available at their website. Deadline is Sunday, March 4, 2012. Best get crackin'.
Press release on the jump...
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Thursday, February 23, 2012
Books Conference on short fiction coming to NLR
The 12th Annual International Conference on the Short Story is coming to North Little Rock June 27-30. Even better, if you've got a short story or a paper you'd like to share, you might be able to be part of it all (if you hurry).
The bi-annual conference, the largest dedicated solely to short fiction, will bring a host of world-renowned authors to NLR, including Bret Anthony Johnston, Katherine Vaz, Robert Olen Butler, Bharati Mukherjee, Velma Pollard, Clark Blaise and over a dozen other writers from around the globe. The conference will also feature performances, dance, art, films and writing workshops. Venues listed on their website include the Clinton Presidential Center, Starving Artist Cafe, Argenta Community Theater and the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel.
The registration fee for the conference, which includes admission to all readings, panels and receptions (but not the workshops... see below), is $275 per person now, but will jump to $300 on May 1 (unless you're a student. Valid student ID saves you $100 bucks).
Eight writing workshops on both poetry and fiction will be held in two sessions at the Wyndham Hotel on Tuesday, Jan. 26: a morning session from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., and an afternoon session from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Enrollment in each workshop is limited to 15, and the cost is $100 per person, per workshop (participants may enroll in both a morning and afternoon workshop if they're willing to pony up).
A full list of writers is available at the conference webpage. The event is presented by the University of Central Arkansas, the Argenta Arts Foundation and the North Little Rock Visitor's Bureau.
If you move lightning fast, you can still make the deadline to submit paper proposals (guidelines here). The submission deadline for paper proposals is March 1. There is also a short story contest being held in conjunction with the conference, with cash prizes for win, place and show, and the winner allowed to present his or her story during the event. The deadline to submit a short story (along with a $30 reading fee) is March 31.
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What's going on / Books / Music Weekend: Cool Shoes, Chili with a Kick!, ASO's 'Ode to Joy' and more
FRIDAY 2/24
Monthly dance party Cool Shoes kicks off at Downtown Music Hall at 9 p.m., with DJs Wolf-E-Wolf, Kichen, Cam Holifield and That Other Guy.
Revolution has a night of Red Dirt rockin' with Wade Bowen, Greg Gardner & Voodoo Cowboy and Dry County, 18-and-older, 8:30 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
The FOCAL book sale kicks off at Main Library, 10 a.m., through Sunday.
Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts presents a one-day performance of "Locomotion," the Kennedy Center's presentation for young audiences, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., $10. Call for reservations or more information, 501-821-7275.
SATURDAY 2/25
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's "Ode to Joy" includes Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46" and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125." Featuring narration by George Takei, soprano Katherine Whyte, alto Christin-Marie Hill, tenor Eric Barry and bass Robert Aaron Taylor, Robinson Center Music Hall, 8 p.m., also 3 p.m. Feb. 26, $14-$52.
Youth Home of Arkansas benefit Chili with a Kick! kicks off at 11 a.m. at Dickey-Stephens Park, with a chili cook-off, jalapeno eating contest and music from Suburban Legend, War Chief, Echo Canyon, Whale Fire, The Year of the Tiger, DNR, Elise Davis Band, Falcon Scott and Booyah! Dad, $5 (more info here).
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Monday, February 20, 2012
Books Toad Suck Review #2 kickoff
Issue #2 from UCA'S Toad Suck Review formally hits the streets with a "Launchapalooza" at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 at UCA's Lewis Science Center, Room 102. The TSR kickoff will be the final event of UCA's ArkaText Literary Festival, which runs from Feb. 20-24.
Of the Toad Suck Review — which features works this go-round from Charles Bukowski, Amiri Baraka, Shepard Fairey and others — contributor, poet and UCA prof Terry Wright said: “The Toad Suck Review is a golden ticket that gets one beyond candied wonkification. It's a bullet train that buzzes by the usual moral morasses and pulls up instead to your final destination: cultural evolution. A TSR live event is the meteor the dinosaurs of mainstream art and literature see before settling in for a well-deserved, multi-millennial hibernation in oozy bogs until one finally apprehends what these reptiles have become: polluting contaminants.” Who are we to try to say it any better than that?
Copies of the new issue will be on sale at the event for $15. For more information about the event or the Toad Suck Review, visit their website, or email toadsuckreview@gmail.com
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Film / Books Depp options Echols' forthcoming prison memoir
- Brian Chilson
- Depp at a Little Rock WM3 benefit in 2010
Johnny Depp, one of the most vocal celebrity supporters of the West Memphis Three, has optioned Damien Echols' forthcoming prison memoir for possible development into a feature film. Depp and his Hollywood partner Christi Dembrowski bought the rights for their Infinitum Nihil production company. Echols' book is scheduled to be published this September by Blue Rider Press, an imprint of Penguin.
It's the latest in a star-studded series of film projects surrounding the release of the WM3 last August, including HBO Films' "Paradise Lost 3" (nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature), the Peter Jackson-produced doc "West of Memphis," and an in-development adaption of Mara Leveritt's "Devil's Knot" starring Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth and Best Actress Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What's going on / Books / Music Thursday: Alize, Ben Stone, Victor Villareal and more
Ben Stone, the president and CEO of Indego Africa, presents "The Rise of Social Enterprise: Challenges and Opportunities," Clinton School of Public Service, noon, free.
Local rockers Alize play a free show at Denton's Trotline, 8 p.m.
Victor Villareal's pedigree alone will be enough to get a lot of folks out to Maxine's. The former guitarist for the legendary Chicago proto-emo outfit Cap'n Jazz embarks on his very first solo tour in support of his new album, "Invisible Cinema." The opener is quiet-core act Meryll, 8 p.m., free.
The Mark Morris Dance Group comes to Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $10.
Writers Mara Leveritt and Gene Lyons lead a panel discussion, "The Art of True Crime Writing," at Hendrix College, 7:30 p.m.
Posted by Robert Bell on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Books / Coming soon Arkansas Literary Festival announces 2012 lineup
The Arkansas Literary Festival announced its 2012 lineup today.
Among the more than 90 participating authors are familiar names like Roy Blount Jr., David Margolick, Ian Frazier and Greil Marcus, as well as locals Kevin Brockmeier, Mara Leveritt and Ernest Dumas, up-and-comer (and fourth sexiest man of 2011, according to Salon) Justin Torres, food writers Diana Southwood Kennedy, John T. Edge and Roland Mesnier, Heidi Julavits (novelist and co-founding editor of "The Believer"), cartoonists Barbara Slate and David Rees and many, many more poets, critics, essayists, humorists, sports writers, journalists and assorted other scribes.
In addition to the author talks and panel discussions and workshops and whatnot, there will be a cocktail reception with the authors, a book fiesta for kiddos, cooking workshops, films and a street fair with musicians, including The Salty Dogs and Montgomery Trucking.
The festival is April 12-15, and most events are free and open to the public.
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Event Calendar
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Lonoke Co. recounts votes after 200+ votes missed
May 25, 2012The Lonoke County Election Commission says between 200 and 300 votes from one of their precincts were never counted Tuesday night and as a result, they're conducting a full recount... fox16.com /more/ -
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May 25, 2012Police say a man walked into the Centennial Bank at 4514 Camp Robinson Friday evening and handed a teller a note demanding money. fox16.com /more/
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