Literary Friday
Interview With Erika Robuck & a Hemingway Giveaway
Erika Robuck’s novel, “Hemingway’s Girl,” is out this month and starting to make the review circuit. We had a chance to interview the author about how a visit to Ernest Hemingway’s house inspired her book and how she channeled Papa to write a fictional account of his life in Key West. We’re also giving away a copy of the book and four tickets to the Hemingway House. Read our full interview with Robuck here, and comment on the interview or this post with your own Hemingway inspiration (whether it be from one of his works, a visit to Key West, Paris, etc.) to be entered to win. Winners will be announced on September 28, the day of our Twitter chat with Erika Robuck. We’ll be chatting from 1-2 CST using the hashtag #southernlit, so mark your calendar.
Literary News
Short story giant O. Henry’s birthday was on Tuesday. Read our post about his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina’s life-sized tribute to him.
The Southern Review‘s reading period started September 1 for unsolicited work. To submit a previously unpublished work of fiction, poetry or essay, send your manuscript to The Southern Review, 3990 W. Lakeshore Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808. For their full guidelines, click here.
Southern Spines has an interview with “Stranger In The Room” author Amanda Kyle Williams at The Georgian Terrace Hotel, home of the main character in her series of crime fiction novels.
The Oxford American has a new editor. Former Harper‘s editor Roger Hodge has replaced Marc Smirnoff and says he plans to bring more literary journalism to the magazine.
According to the Poe Museum in Richmond, Edgar Allan Poe’s last love will finally have her grave marked in Shockoe Hill Cemetery. An unveiling is planned for October 7 at 1 p.m.
(Non)Required Reading
Dig into 25 fall books from USA Today, including a few set in the South, like Barbara Kingsolver’s latest about a young Tennessee mother who gets into trouble after she stumbles on a field of misguided Monarch butterflies.
Michael Morris’s latest book “Man in the Blue Moon” is out and getting rave reviews. Read “The River Witch” author Kimberly Brock’s interview with Morris this week.
Making headlines this week from South Carolina was the story of a woman who found her ex-boyfriend living in her attic. She’d broken up with him 12 years earlier, but we all know sometimes it takes a while to get the hint. Beware, ladies, he’s still on the run.
Upcoming Literary Events
“The Last Flapper,” a day in the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, is being performed in Charleston this weekend. Read our story about the one-woman show here.
In Lafayette, Louisiana, the Friends of the Library hold their annual Fall Book Sale September 18-20 inside the Heymann Convention Center Ballroom. The Friends have also announced that Rick Bragg will be the featured speaker at their annual Author Dinner October 25.
100,000 Poets for Change events take place worldwide September 29. Activities include a blues festival in New Orleans, concert in Nashville’s Centennial Park and much more around the South. (More details coming soon.)
The Grand Festival of Art & Books will take place October 5-6 in Fairhope, Alabama, with more than 150 authors and exhibitors will be participating.
Scheduled for October 12-14, the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville will include Gillian Flynn, Lauren Groff, Kimberly Brock, Lydia Netzer, Ron Rash and Bobbie Ann Mason.
The Louisiana Book Festival will be held October 27 in Baton Rouge at the State Capitol. This festival hasn’t announced their lineup yet, but we’ve heard Cory MacLauchlin, Rick Bragg (pictured), Ron Rash and Wiley Cash will be there. See their banner ad at the top for more info.
A Flannery O’Connor Symposium, co-sponsored by Deep South, is scheduled for November 9-10 in Lafayette, Louisiana, on the UL Lafayette campus. We’ll be releasing more details as it gets closer to the event.
Also the weekend of November 9-10 is the Georgia Literary Festival at the new Jekyll Island Convention Center, which will include Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, Chef Hugh Acheson, Mary Kay Andrews and Steve Berry.
The Dahlonega Literary Festival will take place in historic Dahlonega, Georgia, November 10-11. So far, guest authors include K.M. Deal, Tim Westover and Regina Jeffers.
New in Southern Voice
Where to Go From Here, an essay about the power of a Southern accent, by Kayla Smith, Deep South‘s newest intern, and Road to Caledonia, a story about finding your true calling by Georgian Howard Reeves.
To find out more about Southern authors haunts and hangouts, download the Deep South Literary Trail App, now available direct from iTunes and for Android.
Check out the Literary Friday Pinterest board here!
