Literary Friday, Edition 157

Interview, Chat & Giveaway With Patti Callahan Henry

Love is a many splendored thing, and Patti Callahan Henry dives into all the nuances in her new book The Idea of Love. Screenwriter Blake arrives in Watersend, South Carolina, in search of a woman with a love story beautiful enough to translate into his next big screen hit. Enter the lovely Ella, whose story goes that she lost her husband in a tragic sailing accident where he drowned saving her life. As both Blake and Ella get tangled in the lies they’ve told, they grapple with their understanding of love. The inevitable unraveling of their stories and illusions will end as neither imagined. Henry discusses her own ideas about love and stealing other people’s stories in our interview.

We chat with Patti Callahan Henry via Twitter today from 1-2 CST (that’s 11 a.m.-noon PST & 2-3 p.m. EST) using the hashtag #southernlit. You can log into our chat room here to participate or just follow the hashtag on Twitter. We also have one copy of The Idea of Love to give away. Enter to win by commenting on Patti’s interview here.

View our full Summer Reading List here and the complete Twitter chat schedule here. 

Lonely Hunter Readalong Notes

Get part two of Cerith Mathias’s notes for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Readalong here. We’re currently finishing up the novel with part three through June 30, when we’ll chat via Twitter from 1-2 CST about its relevance today using the hashtag #DSMLonelyHunter.

Literary News 

Big news literary TV news this week as actress Christina Ricci announces she is starring in and executive producing a new pilot for Amazon about Zelda Fitzgerald’s life. Based on Therese Ann Fowler’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, the series has a working title of “Z.”

Speaking of TV, last week’s #southernlit chat with Pretty Ugly author Kirker Butler revealed details about his family comedy for CBS premiering this fall.

Abilene was named the official Storybook Capital of Texas earlier this month due to its National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Storybook Sculpture Project and the annual Children’s Art & Literacy Festival.

Ernest Hemingway’s Cuban home is getting a $900,000 makeover to preserve his books, letters and photos in what will be the first major export of construction materials since the trade embargo was loosened.

Greenville, South Carolina, gets a new bookstore this summer: M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers.

Literary Events

The Welty Biennial in Jackson, Mississippi, is happening now through July 3 with exhibits, concerts, a dance party and snapshot contest.

The annual Tennessee Williams Tribute in Columbus, Mississippi, will holds auditions for its production of “Suddenly Last Summer” June 27-28. All actors are welcome to try out Saturday at the Columbus Arts Council and Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 2 p.m. For more information, call Brenda Caradine at 662-328-5413.

Save the Date for Hemingway Days in Key West, Florida, July 21-26.

And mystery writers will stage a celebration of sleuthing in Key West August 14-16 titled Murder & Mayhem in Paradise.

The Decatur Book Festival, scheduled for September 4-6, announced its keynote speaker and full author list recently. Book lovers can look forward to Erica Jong in conversation with Roxane Gay, plus Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Lori Roy and Karen White.

New in Southern Voice

The Lesson of the Five Lilys, a story about an Austin B&B owner who keeps encountering little girls named Lily, by Patricia Abbott (mother of novelist Megan Abbott).

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 summer road trips.