Literary Friday, Edition 128
Chat With Natalie Baszile & Lalita Tademy
When we interviewed author Natalie Baszile about her debut novel Queen Sugar, she mentioned that she’d admired Lalita Tademy from a distance for years until the two finally met. Now, Tademy (best known for her debut Cane River) has become Baszile’s mentor and that’s not the only thing linking these two writers. They both live in northern California and write about the South from afar, both have written about their own family’s roots and they’ve both had their books approved by Oprah. We couldn’t think of a reason not to pair them up for a Twitter chat, so get ready for a double bill today! We’ll be chatting with these two authors via Twitter from 1-2 CST (2-3 EST) using the hashtag #southernlit.
Brenda Currin on Filming “In Cold Blood” and Meeting Truman Capote
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, that led to Truman Capote’s publishing of In Cold Blood. North Carolina-born actress Brenda Currin played Nancy in the movie version and talks to Cerith Mathias about her experience during the filming — which took place in the Clutters’ actual house — her relationship with Capote and why the black-and-white film deserves a spot in the National Film Registry.
Literary News
Speaking of In Cold Blood, The Huffington Post has a graphic of Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read. Capote’s true crime novel is front and center.
Cerith Mathias’s new blog Mockingbird Media has a post on Illustrating Flannery about artwork inspired by the writer’s grotesque characters and stories.
It’s time for the semifinal round of Goodreads’ Best Books of 2014, and Laura Lane McNeal’s Dollbaby and Greg Iles’ Natchez are still in the running.
Rice University’s student newspaper The Rice Thresher has as list of Haunting fiction for every American Horror Story fanatic.
Literary Events
Sundress Academy for the Arts will host a table reading of “Widows of Whitechaple,” an original play by Amy Sayre Baptista, which tells the infamous story of the Jack the Ripper murders from the perspective of his victims, tomorrow at Firefly Farms in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Signings at Square Books in Oxford this month include Rick Bragg on November 17 and Ron Rash on November 20.
Wiley Cash visits Foxtale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Georgia, November 17 for the paperback release ofThis Dark Road to Mercy.
Floyd County Moonshine will host an evening of stories and poetry from contributing authors November 19 at the library in Floyd, Virginia.
The annual Ernest Gaines Lecture at the Gaines Center on the UL Lafayette campus will be held November 21 with Dr. John Lowe speaking about “The Achievement of Catherine Carmier.”
November 21 has been designated as a Day of Giving to Andalusia, Flannery O’Connor’s farm in Milledgeville, Georgia. Multimedia campaign Fund Flannery’s Farm asks the public to raise awareness and financially support her home.
The Gulf Coast Writer’s Association will have a workshop November 22 at the Long Beach Library on the topic of how to produce a professional novel with Michael Garrett, who was Stephen King’s first editor.
New in Southern Voice
Penny Ante Girl by Deborah Bernard and The Punch He Throws by Keenan Walsh, a pair of stories about women trying to leave their husbands.
To find out more about your favorite Southern authors’ haunts and hangouts, download the Deep South Literary Trail App, available direct from iTunes and for Android and perfect for those fall road trips.
