Literary Friday

12 Days of Giveaways! 

Our 12 days of giveaways kicked off yesterday with a new biography of folk artist Clementine Hunter. Each day (through December 17), we’ll be announcing a new gift, most of them books, so keep your eyes on our “Giveaways” section.

Literary News & Blogs 

After more than a million votes, the winners of Goodreads’ Best Books of 2012 poll are out. In fiction, Emily Giffin, Joshilyn Jackson, Richard Ford, and Barbara Kingsolver’s “Flight Behavior” made the cut.

We love BookRiot’s 7 Heavenly Holiday Crafts to Make with Books. The pages of your favorite Southern novel could easily become a wreath, tree, menorah or ornament this year.

For the foodies on your list, The Charlotte Observer has a list of cookbooks that make great gifts. “Southern Comfort” by Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing and “Fred Thompson’s Southern Sides” both sound delish.

Speaking of books on food, there’s a new book out that celebrates the Year of Alabama Food. Released last week, “Alabama Food: Classic Dishes, Restaurants & Chefs” includes a region-by-region guide, section on farmers’ markets and mini-profiles of 11 chefs. The best part? It’s only $20.

Kirkus has included Ben Sandmel’s book Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans on its list of the best nonfiction of 2012.

ElizabethBanks.com celebrates the turtleneck this season with a picture of Hemingway in his cozy rollneck.

Publishers Weekly has a new Southern correspondent, Paige Crutcher. A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, she’s written about the book scene in Nashville and will be the point person for news coming out of the South.

(Non)Required Reading

Edited by “Auraria” author Tim Westover, The Old Weird South is a collection of 24 new stories that explore the supernatural side of the American South. It’s available now.

Etiquette expert Patti Davis’s new column about going home for the holidays and keeping your dignity intact.

Hunter Murphy’s birthday tribute to storyteller Joel Chandler Harris in our Arts & Lit section.

Literary Events

Canton, Mississippi’s Lightening Bug Literary Festival kicks off today through Sunday around the old town square with a focus on screenwriting.

The Wren’s Nest, home of storyteller and author Joel Chandler Harris in Atlanta, is holding its free Victorian Holiday Open House on December 9, Harris’s birthday. There will be storytelling, tours, music, hot apple cider, birthday cake and other treats from 1-4 p.m.

The Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities in the author’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida, is scheduled for January 26-February 3.

New in Southern Voice

More “Mama and Meriwether” flash fiction from Kathleen Brewin Lewis. Maturity and Cosmetic Consciousness continue the mother and daughter story Lewis began in “Long Distance,” published in Deep South in May.

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.