The Oxford American’s new venue, South on Main, has announced its first event, and if this is the sign of things to come — color us excited. On May 16, the OA will host novelist Nathaniel Rich, who’s promoting his second, widely praised novel “Odd Against Tomorrow.” Written pre-Sandy, it imagines New York beset by a hurricane as destructive as Katrina was to New Orleans (where Rich currently happens to reside). You can read an excerpt and an archive of a chat Rich did with Gawker readers here.
Local writer Jay Jennings will emcee. The John Burnette Duo will play music.
The event starts at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
That there’s an event scheduled for mid-May doesn’t mean the restaurant, also called South on Main, will be open then, I’m told. The restaurant/venue will eventually occupy what once was the venue section of Juanita’s. The south wing of the space, where the Juanita’s dining room used to be, is currently unused space, where the OA has previously hosted events for the Literary and Little Rock Film Festival. So that room is an option if construction on the restaurant/venue isn’t complete.