The National “Best Book” Award 2009 named Morgana Press of New Orleans’ offbeat title Hearsay from Heaven and Hades: New Orleans Secrets of Sinners and Saints by author TJ Fisher as this year’s Poetry winner. The unconventional and dark-tinged work received top honors in the “Poetry: General” category.

“I’m stunned,” said Fisher, an award-winning Southern writer, Bourbon Street resident and Faulkner Society patron, who the press previously dubbed as colorful, outrageous and eccentric. Fisher’s idiosyncratic 512-page Hearsay book of “French Quarterisms” (aphorisms) previously received standout recognition from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

Local publisher Pelican Publishing received two NBBA finalist-nod awards in the categories of “Humor” and “History: United States.”

According to the event’s sponsor, USA Book News, this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries. Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Penguin, W.W. Norton, Revell, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Thomas Nelson, American Cancer Society, Greenleaf Book Group, Sourcebooks, and hundreds of independent houses.

Fisher’s Hearsay book is based on the premise of “40 days, 40 nights,” down in New Orleans, beyond the watermark. Artist Jennifer Porter’s in-book New Orleans sketches illustrate and celebrate Fisher’s provocative pre- and post-Katrina musings of “Do you know what it means to live like you’re from New Orleans?”

“NBBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise,” said Keff Keen, President and CEO of USA Books.

Morgana Press novel Ruins of Grandeur by author Donald G. Geddes, III won IPPY Awards Silver 2009 in the “Mystery/Suspense/Thriller” category. The micro publishing house’s critically acclaimed narrative and pictorial debut Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré — a commemorative compendium by authors TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste, Jr. and Louis Sahuc — swept multiple national honors in indepedenent publishing, including a prestigious PMA double-gold Benjamin Franklin Award 2007 win for “Best New Voice Nonfiction” and “The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book Nonfiction.”

USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2009 AWARDS (NBBA) on October 20, 2009. Winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books.

Morgana Press publishes books with unique stories about the people, places, things, powers, passions, visions and voices of New Orleans.

The Maltese Falcon BIG READ will kick off Sunday at 4:30 p.m.,  at The Cabildo Jackson Square.
The very funny and talented Roy Blount, Jr., humorist and the author of 22 books of non-fiction, will be special guest of honor Sunday when the Faulkner Society kicks off its BIG READ project focusing on
Dashiell Hammett’s classic noir novel with the enduring character Sam Spade at its center, The Maltese Falcon. Roy will give his special intellectual twist to the importance of reading for career success and lifelong personal satisfaction.  His latest book, Alphabet Juice, is in fact a primer for readers who want to have fun with books.

The event, made possible by a BIG READ grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and its partners, Arts Midwest and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is co-sponsored by our BIG READ partners: The Jefferson Parish Public Library, The Louisiana State Museum, and The Louisiana State Library. The event will feature light food and beverages and is free to the public with advance reservations. Roy will be available to sign his books at the event.  To reserve a book in advance, call Faulkner House Books, (504) 524-2940.

Copies of The Maltese Falcon also will be available for sale at the event, along with free Readers Guides.  We are starting the event, AFTER, the Saints Game, so come on out and celebrate a classic novel of suspense that is as fresh today as during the Depression when it was written.  Roy will also, once again, appear at Words & Music as leader of our annual Tall Tales Competition, always loads of fun. This year, Tall Tales will be part of After Hours at the Napoleon House, 9:30 p. m., November 20.

Dennis Lehane, Author of Mystic River and Other International Bestsellers
To Be Among The Literary Stars of Words & Music, A Literary Feast in New Orleans
November 19 – 22
The Faulkner Society is very pleased to announce that Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and six other international bestsellers, has accepted our invitation to appear at Words & Music, a Literary Feast in New Orleans, November 19-22.  Lehane will appear with Oscar Penzler, well known mystery editor and owner of the famous Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, and noted author and publisher Richard Layman, the biographer of Dashiell Hammett and author of six books on Hammett, at a gala evening event Friday, November 20, featuring cocktails and buffet dinner at the Hotel Monteleone.

Penzler will interview Lehane during the cocktail hour and then introduce Layman for “Discovering
Dashiell Hammett and Sam Spade” after dinner.  This event is expected to sell out early so reserve now. A flyer on this event, along with a reservation sheet are attached in pdf format.  Tickets, including cocktails and dinner, are $100 per person, general reading public; and $75 each for writers registered for Words & Music, 2009.

Richard Layman to Give Talk on Dashiell Hammett and New Orleans born Playwright Lillian Hellman Sunday, November 22
Rick Layman, the leading authority on the life and works of Dashiell Hammett, will also discuss the friendship of Hammett and New Orleans native Lillian Hellman and promises some new material on this long-running relationship between Hammett and Hellman, who helped each other enormously with their work. This event is scheduled for Sunday, November 22 at 11 a. m.

Words & Music, 2009: Where The Mysteries Are!
Because of our Maltese Falcon BIG READ project, the Faulkner Society is focusing on mysteries and those who create them during Words & Music, 2009. Featured mystery writers will include Michael Malone, author of four critically acclaimed mysteries, three of which are now ranked as southern mystery classics; Edgar award winning novelist Julie Smith, creator of the memorable character Skip Langdon, ex-debutante turned New Orleans detective; bestselling mystery authors Erica Spindler and Nevada Barr; the highly acclaimed writer of police procedural novels, including her latest Odds, and rising stars on the mystery scene: Bill Loehfelm, winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, whose new novel, Bloodroot, will be released concurrent with the
festival, and Claire Applewhite, a finalist last year in the Society’s Faulkner – Wisdom Creative
Writing Competition, whose novel, The Wrong Side of Memphis, was published earlier this year.
Plan now to here what they have to say during Words & Music, November 19-22.

Don’t Miss the Magic!

For more information on the line-up for 2009, visit our web site: www.wordsandmusic.org, or
e-mail us: faulkhouse@aol.com.

We look forward to seeing you Sunday and at all of our BIG READ and Words & Music events.

It’s an amazing undertaking to put together a readers and writers conference that brings together the best contemporary authors, agents and editors while honoring classic literature. But Faulkner Society’s Rosemary James and agent Michael Murphy have done just that!

If you haven’t yet made your plans to attend (November 19-22) – get hustling; this is one event in the Big Easy you won’t want to miss! To learn more, visit wordsandmusic.org. To see a schedule of events, CLICK HERE. And to see a sneak preview of this year’s phenomenal faculty, CLICK HERE!

If you’re a writer, you’ve got until October 15th to submit manuscript pages for critique by an editor and an agent – hurry! A feature of this year’s festival will be exploring the noir side of literature, with a look at Big Read selection, The Maltese Falcon.

Words & Music faculty member Pamela Binnings Ewen, author of Pam is a member of the Executive Board of the Pirates Alley Faulkner Society, Northshore Chairman for the Society, and author of two novels, Walk Back The Cat, and The Moon in the Mango Tree has just been selected to receive a Literary Artist of the Year award!

The Tammany Parish Commission on Cultural Affairs notified Ewen that she’ll be the recipient of this year’s President’s Arts Award for Literary Artist of the
Year for St. Tammany Parish! The annual award was created to honor the arts in St. Tammany Parish and are given in each category of arts – visual performing artist, musical, vulinary, and a  lifetime achievement award.

Pamela Binnings Ewen practiced law for 25 years and is a retired partner in the international law firm of Baker Botts, L.L.P. She is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction book Faith On Trial endorsed by her law partner, former Secretary of State, James A. Baker III. She now lives just outside New Orleans in Mandeville, LA and writes full time.

Congratulations, Pam!

This year’s Words & Music festival takes place November 19-22 and show producers promise an exciting and rewarding experience for all who attend! Take a look at what folks are saying about New Orlean’s incredible Words & Music: A Literary Arts Festival:

FROM ATTENDEES
“I wanted to let you know how wonderful it was to attend the Words and Music literary festival was last year. My novel was a finalist in the category of novel-in-progress. Because of the competition, I got an offer from MacAdam/Cage for publication at the end of this year. As I was a finalist and was invited to participate in Words & Music, I met and was signed by my agent, Deborah Grosvenor, and my editor, Pat Walsh, as a result of the writers’ conference last year.  I really owe it all to the Faulkner-Wisdom competition and to Words & Music.” — Caroline Kellems, runner-up BEST NOVEL-IN-PROGRESS, 2008, author of The Coffee Diary, MacAdam/Cage November 2009

“This conference is the stuff of dreams. Upon getting out the cab at the Hotel Monteleone, I felt I had entered into a dream landscape. For the next three days, I was e ither eating the best food of my life, listening to one of the most interesting people of my life, drinking the best drink of my life, or getting the best writing advice of my life. By the time the cab hauled my hung-over body to the airport, I had a prize, a host of material for another book, and a terrific agent who soon sold my first one. I love Words & Music. I love Rosemary James and my agent. I love the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society and New Orleans!” — Peter Neofotis,  Winner BEST NOVELLA, 2007, author of Concord, Virginia St. Martin’s, June 2009

“Never mind that Words & Music is held in the grand Hotel Monteleone in one of the most inspiring cities on earth, this conference will fill your fertile mind to the brimming.  Each day the hotel ballrooms bustle with informative, lively panels about various aspects of writing.  Novelists, short story writers, essayists, poets, screenwriters – everyone will come away motivated, enriched.  Networking lunches and cocktail hours in historic restaurants around New Orleans give unpublished writers the chance to hobnob with industry greats and celebrity authors.  Literary chitchats tend to bubble up everywhere – the hotel elevator, glittering lobby, rooftop pool, the famous Carousel Bar.  You’ll be steeped in ideas like a crawfish in etouffee.  The one-on-one agent/editor critiques are a special treat. The gala dinner and dancing on the final night were memorable.  I haven’t had so much fun, learned so much and made so many professional connections and writerly friends since the last time I attended.” – Roz Unruh, runner-up BEST NOVEL, 2008

“Words & Music is by far the most informative and most enjoyable writers’ conference available today. The balance it strikes between the aesthetics of authoring and the practicalities of getting published is perfect pitch. It’s an annual event that, in the end, epitomizes everything to be cherished about the city that hosts it: Words & Music is educational, rollicking good fun, friendly, and rich in history…. A ‘bon temps’ no aspiring writer can afford to miss.” – Kirk Curnutt, winner BEST ESSAY, 2008

“What a wonderful and peculiar weekend in New Orleans. Such a pleasure to meet everyone and realize there are sharp and erudite people on both sides of the publishing divide. I suppose that should be amended to a triangulation of sorts when you include the scriveners in the mix! The panels were extremely helpful to a newcomer like me and I came away from the conference full of ideas and insights on the world of publishing and writing.” – James Claffey, MFA student LSU

FROM AGENTS & EDITORS
“What is remarkable about Words & Music is the level of interaction.  Here you have a mix of attendees who range from National Book Award winners to absolute novices, and–at least from where I sat–there were almost no cliques or class divides.   When I watched people interacting through the conference, and when I looked around at the tables at dinner Saturday night and lunch Sunday,  I was struck by the mix.  In my career I have edited two Faulkner prize-winning novels (Stewart O’Nan’s SNOW ANGELS and Leslie Lehr Spirson’s 66 LAPS)–I can’t think of another writers’ conference that produces better writing.” – Bruce Tracy, Executive Editor – Random House, Editor-in-Chief – Villard/Random House

“At Words & Music, a focus on real feedback, dialogue, and practical, inspiring discussion (as well as uncommonly terrific dining) sets this conference leagues apart.”  – Carole DeSanti, Vice-President, Editor-at-Large, Viking/Penguin

“At no other conference in the country does the city play such an important role in the occasion. After attending rousing lectures, readings, and group and one-and-one sessions, attendees can step right out the doors into the French Quarter and experience it with eyes anew, reminded of all the reasons they are drawn to write, read, and otherwise participate in the literary world. Three days are enough to breathe new life into any writer’s soul. A more lively and interesting group of writers could not be found above or below the Mason-Dixon. Faculty and attendees arrive eager to share their work, and leave transformed by the zing of information, inspiration, and conversation that the conference inspires.” – Brandi Bowles, Agent – Howard Morhaim Literary Agency

“Having attended writers’ conferences in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Oregon, and California, I hope it carries some weight when I assert that the Words & Music conference in New Orleans is far & away the best I’ve ever been to (and now go to every year they’ll have me).  The city alone would have won my heart. But add in the high level of talent assembled in the Grand Hotel Monteleone (built in 1886, haunt for William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, & where Truman Capote said he was born) and the incredible esprit de corps, Words & Music is the event to which I most look forward each Fall (and I’m including Christmas).” — Michael Murphy, Agent – Max & Co. A Literary Agency and Social Club

FROM AUTHORS
In every way—the delight and historical resonance of the venue, the savvy and charm of the organizers, the variety and quality of the attendees, the motivating intensity of the arstistic inspiration, the career-changing potential of the professional contacts, the joy of literary collegiality for everyone in attendance—in every way possible, Words & Music is one of the finest conferences in the world.  It is a permanent part of my life as a writer, and I am deeply grateful for that.” – Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of Alleys of Eden,  A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Fair Warning, Severance, among others

“No one knows how to throw a party like New Orleanians, and no one knows how to convene a meeting of literary minds like the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society. Rejuvenating to seasoned authors and tremendously nurturing to those who are just starting out, Words & Music is a festival, an homage, a think tank, a celebration of books all rolled into one. It is a touchstone in my life as a writer.” — Julia Glass, Winner 2002 National Book Award for Three Junes

“When Jill McCorkle chose Snow Angels for the novel prize, it changed my life.  I went from being an unemployed aspiring writer tapping away in my unheated attic to drinking champagne in a limousine and bowing my head to receive a gold medal from Richard Ford in a cathedral.  I’ve gotten a lot of breaks, but this was one of the biggest.  Now going to Words & Music is a highlight of my year, a chance to reunite and meet new friends and talk books and writing in one of my favorite cities.  Thank you, Joe and Rosemary.” — Stewart O’Nan, author of Snow Angels, Everyday People, Songs of the Missing, among others (Winner BEST NOVEL 1994)

“What New Orleans is to jazz and cuisine, the Words & Music Festival is to literary bons temps in America.  You talk, you read, you learn, you laugh and eat and drink and dance, you discover books and writers, you make friends.  They’ve ‘got heaven right here on earth….way down yonder in New Orleans.’  It’s the best of the best and I wouldn’t miss it.” – Michael Malone, author of Handling Sin, The Killing Club, The Last Noel, Four Corners of the Sky, among others

We all look forward to seeing YOU in New Orleans this November!

NOVEL PITCH and 1st FIVE (5) PAGES of a NOVEL CONTEST
http://www.janicewiley-dorn.com/smokecitynarrators/pitch1st5contest.html

$8 ENTRY FEE — DEADLINE: Sept. 9, 2009
1st – $150 | 2nd – $75 | 3rd – $40 | 6 Honorable Mentions.

Sponsored by Smoke City Narrators. Open to USA residents. Entries must be original & unpublished (includes Internet). Multiple entries OK but only 1 prize awarded to any winner. Submit 2 copies of the first 5 pages of a novel, 1,500 words max. & a one-sentence pitch (mini-synopsis), 20 words max.
Optional: The 9 finalists will have their pitch and website link posted on SCN’s website & blog.
Novel pages not published. Authors retain all rights. See website for complete rules.
Thanks,
Janice Wiley-Dorn
Smoke City Narrators Contest Director
scnarrators@janicewiley-dorn.com
http://www.janicewiley-dorn.com
http://www.southernartistry.org/Janice_WileyDorn
http://www.published-novelist.blogspot.com/

WYLD-FM’s Sunday Journal with Hal Clark named “Best Radio Talk Show” at the 51st Annual Press Club of New Orleans Awards. Hal Clark is an esteemed member of our Advisory Council – Congratulations, Hal!

WYLD-FM’s Sunday Journal with Hal Clark was honored with the award for “Best Radio Talk Show” at the 51st Annual Press Club of New Orleans Awards held Saturday, July 18 th at Harrah’s Hotel.  The show was one of four nominees in the category.

The sold-out affair was hosted by CNN anchor Kyra Phillips.  Hal Clark, host and producer of Sunday Journal, didn’t attend the affair.  He learned of the show’s honor from former WDSU-TV sportscaster Ro Brown during the July 19th edition of Sunday Journal.

“Ro actually called during a commercial break around 7:45 a.m. and told me.  I certainly wanted to attend the affair, but the tickets were sold out more than a=2 0month away from the ceremony, which was great for the Press Club,” said Hal, who has hosted and produced the show for nearly eight years.  “What s special about these awards is that the nominees are judged by journalism professionals outside of the New Orleans market, greatly increasing the probability that work submissions are based solely on their own merit.  We are truly appreciative of the honor.”

Sunday Journal staffers include co-producer Eddie Francis, who hosts the show’s monthly education segment and a new feature called the Sunday Journal Success Series which highlights20unknown persons from metro New Orleans who have overcome tremendous odds en route to success, and co-producer/recorded segments editor Jonathan Nichols.

Contributors to the program includ e journalist, minister and activist Kojo Livingston; Las Vegas, Nevada-based personal money management consultant and author L isa Frye; licensed clinical social worker Victor Sims; motivational speaker Lloyd “The Love Doctor” Dennis; veteran political strategist Vincent Sylvain, who publishes The New Orleans Agenda e-newsletter; political analyst Dr. Gary Clark, chair of the political science department at Dillard University; certified personal fitness practitioner Diana Beasley; and herbalist Shirley Smith.

“ Their expertise, preparation, passion and ability to connect with an audience are second to none.  We’re happy to have had such a long association with each of our contributors,” said Hal.

Sunday Journal with Hal Clark airs live from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Central=2 0on 98.5, WYLD (FM) and live on the web at www.wyldfm.com.  For more details about the show or to hear previous interview segments, visit the Sunday Journal webpage: http://www.wyldfm.com/pages/sundayjournal.html.  Due to the live format of Sunday Journal, topics and guests are subject to change without prior notice.

Robin Black won the Faulkner Wisdom Creative Writing competition’s Short Story prize in 2005.  Her new collection, BARE ROOTS, is now due out in 2010 from Random House, as well as publishing deals in six other countries!

According to Robin, “All the deals were for 2 books, the stories and a novel to be completed. I am absolutely thrilled and honestly, I don’t think I would have
gotten here without the boost I had from you all!”

Our congrats and best wishes for continued success to Robin…

Congratulations to former runner-up in the 2007 short story category (and a finalist in the poetry category many times)! Maureen’s first short story collection, THE SLOW VANISHING, will be published by Main Street Rag Publishing Company in the fall.

THE SLOW VANISHING (ISBN 13: 978-1-59948-186-9) contains both flash fiction and longer stories. Some of the stories first appeared in literary journals, such as Stone Canoe, the North Carolina Literary Review, the Knoxville Writers’ Guild Anthology, Low Explosions: Writings on the Body, and the Sierra Nevada College Review.

To receive an advance order discount ($9.00), please order the book now online at the publisher’s website: http://www.mainstreetrag.com/store/ComingSoon.php
Advance order discounts only apply to online orders. The cover price will be $13.95 – so take advantage of the discount by ordering today.

Off-beat stories with unexpected endings. Life’s ordinary problems intruded on by the bizarre. The Slow Vanishing has a mesmerizing, magical effect.
— Joanna Catherine Scott, author of The Road From Chapel Hill

What a wonderful collection this is. Maureen Sherbondy’s The Slow Vanishing is remarkable for its abundance, its variety, its range, and its sheer imagination. There are long, serious stories… There are comic stories, very short stories (flash fictions), and in all of them Sherbondy’s gift for vivid, sharp imagery and telling detail shines forth. Everything seems to vanish–children, mothers, houses, comedians, body parts, husbands, even punctuation–and all this vanishing asks us to think about life without that which has vanished. And we do think. We laugh, we worry, we think, and we read on, because we want more.”
–– Anthony S. Abbott, author of The Three Great Secret Things

For more info, visit www.maureensherbondy.com

Last week we sent out the first notice for Juleps in June, 2009.  We made a mistake in the flyer.  The correct date is Friday, June 5, not Friday, June 7.

The party, the Faulkner Society’s annual overture to the summer season, will take place at the lovely residence of Judith “Jude” Swenson, at 426 Vincent Avenue in old Metairie starting at 7 p.m. The event will feature food, wine, music, and, of course,mint juleps served in silver cups.

Tickets are $125 per person and the ticket price includes one silver julep cup.  Extra julep cups may be purchased for $35 if ordered in advance.  Orders for extra cups must be placed by May 15.

Funds raised for the event will benefit the Faulkner Society’s projects for aspiring authors and literary programming for the general reading public. We hope to see all of you there.

Sincerely,
Rosemary James, Faulkner Society