2013 Southern Voices Festival: Author Conference
Hoover Public Library, Saturday, February 23 at 09am
The Hoover Public Library is presenting an Authors Conference. The following authors will be present. After the afternoon conference sessions, the authors will be available for book signings.
Wiley Cash
Wiley Cash is a native of western North Carolina, a region that plays a critical role in his debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home. A literary mystery surrounding the death of a young autistic boy during a church healing service, the book has garnered much critical acclaim and was listed as a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Southern Indie Booksellers Allliance Pick. The Washington Post calls Wiley Cash a “promising new voice to Southern fiction.”
Dorothea Benton Frank
Dorothea Benton Frank is The New York Times best-selling author of 13 novels including Lowcountry Summer, Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. Born and raised on Sullivan’s Island, Mrs. Frank is known for her eloquent descriptions of the South Carolina lowcountry. Her latest novel, Porch Lights, is the story of a woman who returns to her childhood home for healing when her husband, a fireman, is killed in the line of duty. Filled with pluff mud, palmetto fronds and ocean breeze, the novel combines themes of love, loss, grief, motherhood and friendship.
Ron Rash
Ron Rash is a novelist, poet, short story writer and Southern Voices alumnus. In 2008, Rash’s fourth novel Serena received wide accolades and was named as Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008, listed to The New York Times’ 10 Favorite Books of 2008 and was a finalist for the 2009 Pen/Faulkner Award. According to Pat Conroy, Serena catapulted Rash to “the front ranks of the best American novelists.” In 2013, Serena will make its debut on the silver screen starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper as Serena and George Pemberton.
Grant Jerkins
Grant Jerkins has published three novels, including the Southern gothic coming of age story, At the End of the Road and The Ninth Step. Each of these novels primarily focus on the dark side of humanity—prompting The Washington Post to remark, “You have to admire the purity of Jerkins’s writing: He’s determined to peer into the darkness and tell us exactly what he sees.” Pegged by The New York Times as a “well-fashioned study in abnormal psychology,” his debut novel A Very Simple Crime has been optioned for a film.
Tayari Jones
Tayari Jones is the author of three novels including Leaving Atlanta, The Untelling and most recently, The Silver Sparrow, which follows two daughters, one public and one secret, who meet and become friends. The powerful, explosive novel has received overwhelming praise from the media, readers and booksellers alike. Named to O, The Oprah Magazine’s Favorite Books of 2011 and Library Journal’s Top Ten Best Books of 2011, Michele Norris described the book as “a complicated, heartbreaking and very rich story” on NPR’s All Things Considered.
Michel Stone
Michel Stone’s debut novel The Iguana Tree is the suspenseful saga of Lilia and Hector, who separately make their way from Mexico into the United States, seeking work in the Carolinas and a home for their infant daughter. Kirkus Review compared the novel to the work of John Steinbeck, and it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a 2012 “Okra Pick” from the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association.
Wendy Wax
Wendy Wax has written eight novels, including Ocean Beach, Single in Suburbia, Magnolia Wednesdays, and the Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, The Accidental Bestseller. Her latest novel, Ocean Beach is the sequel to Ten Beach Road, the story of three strangers who form a unique friendship when they are forced to unite with a common purpose: restore an aged Florida vacation home and regain their stolen fortune. (clong)… (more)
Wiley Cash
Wiley Cash is a native of western North Carolina, a region that plays a critical role in his debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home. A literary mystery surrounding the death of a young autistic boy during a church healing service, the book has garnered much critical acclaim and was listed as a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Southern Indie Booksellers Allliance Pick. The Washington Post calls Wiley Cash a “promising new voice to Southern fiction.”
Dorothea Benton Frank
Dorothea Benton Frank is The New York Times best-selling author of 13 novels including Lowcountry Summer, Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. Born and raised on Sullivan’s Island, Mrs. Frank is known for her eloquent descriptions of the South Carolina lowcountry. Her latest novel, Porch Lights, is the story of a woman who returns to her childhood home for healing when her husband, a fireman, is killed in the line of duty. Filled with pluff mud, palmetto fronds and ocean breeze, the novel combines themes of love, loss, grief, motherhood and friendship.
Ron Rash
Ron Rash is a novelist, poet, short story writer and Southern Voices alumnus. In 2008, Rash’s fourth novel Serena received wide accolades and was named as Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008, listed to The New York Times’ 10 Favorite Books of 2008 and was a finalist for the 2009 Pen/Faulkner Award. According to Pat Conroy, Serena catapulted Rash to “the front ranks of the best American novelists.” In 2013, Serena will make its debut on the silver screen starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper as Serena and George Pemberton.
Grant Jerkins
Grant Jerkins has published three novels, including the Southern gothic coming of age story, At the End of the Road and The Ninth Step. Each of these novels primarily focus on the dark side of humanity—prompting The Washington Post to remark, “You have to admire the purity of Jerkins’s writing: He’s determined to peer into the darkness and tell us exactly what he sees.” Pegged by The New York Times as a “well-fashioned study in abnormal psychology,” his debut novel A Very Simple Crime has been optioned for a film.
Tayari Jones
Tayari Jones is the author of three novels including Leaving Atlanta, The Untelling and most recently, The Silver Sparrow, which follows two daughters, one public and one secret, who meet and become friends. The powerful, explosive novel has received overwhelming praise from the media, readers and booksellers alike. Named to O, The Oprah Magazine’s Favorite Books of 2011 and Library Journal’s Top Ten Best Books of 2011, Michele Norris described the book as “a complicated, heartbreaking and very rich story” on NPR’s All Things Considered.
Michel Stone
Michel Stone’s debut novel The Iguana Tree is the suspenseful saga of Lilia and Hector, who separately make their way from Mexico into the United States, seeking work in the Carolinas and a home for their infant daughter. Kirkus Review compared the novel to the work of John Steinbeck, and it received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a 2012 “Okra Pick” from the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association.
Wendy Wax
Wendy Wax has written eight novels, including Ocean Beach, Single in Suburbia, Magnolia Wednesdays, and the Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, The Accidental Bestseller. Her latest novel, Ocean Beach is the sequel to Ten Beach Road, the story of three strangers who form a unique friendship when they are forced to unite with a common purpose: restore an aged Florida vacation home and regain their stolen fortune. (clong)… (more)
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