Literary Friday, Edition 162

Interview & Chat With Billy Coffey

“Would you know evil if it looked you in the eyes?” Virginia author Billy Coffey asks this question of readers in his new novel The Curse of Crow Hollow. A dissection of fear’s impact on humanity, the book puts town witch Alvaretta Graves and her curse against neighbors and friends and examines whether evil is really supernatural or human. Brittany Wallace interviewed Coffey earlier this summer about his fifth novel, where he learned to tell stories and his thoughts on dealing with good and evil in the world. Coffey says his witch was inspired by a friend’s trip to the mountains, but he ultimately believes there are monsters on the outside and then those that live within us. It’s up to us whether we choose the lightness or the darkness.

We’ll discuss these themes and more when we chat with Billy Coffey via Twitter from 1-2 CST (that’s 11 a.m.-noon PST & 2-3 p.m. EST) today using the hashtag #southernlit. Log into our chat room here to participate or just follow the hashtag on Twitter.

Literary News 

Billy Coffey posts Why I see nothing wrong with a flawed Atticus Finch for Fox News in defense of the literary hero’s recent portrayal in Go Set a Watchman.

Our interview with The Truth According to Us author Annie Barrows is up in which she talks about her new novel set in 1938 West Virginia with a main character working for the Federal Writer’s Project.

Traveling With T is giving away a copy of Julia Heaberlin’s Black-Eyed Susans. Heads up, we chat with Heaberlin next Friday in our final Twitter chat of the season using the hashtag #southernlit.

A new short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald was recently discovered and appears in The Strand magazine’s summer issue.

(Non)Required Viewing

Gillian Flynn’s novel Dark Places hits the screen today starring Charlize Theron and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Literary Events

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

The inaugural Mississippi Book Festival will take place August 22 at the Capitol in Jackson with special guest John Grisham, author panels and signings, live music and more.

In Oxford, Mississippi, Sarahfest pairs art, music, film and literature with guests like Megan Abbott (pictured) and Neko Case September 1-27.

The Decatur Book Festival, scheduled for September 4-6, presents Erica Jong in conversation with Roxane Gay, plus Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Lori Roy and Karen White.

The 27th annual Southern Festival of Books, scheduled for October 9-11, will include Kimberly Belle, Rick Bragg, Pat Conroy, Lauren Groff, Ann Hite and lots more.

Scheduled for October 17-18, the Texas Book Festival in Austin has released its lineup of authors, including Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, Chuck Palahniuk and Attica Locke.

New in Southern Voice 

Josie’s Documented Evidence, a story about a fact-checking hairdresser, by Lisa Johnson Mitchell.

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.