Events

Sarah Susanka will be the guest author for the Lilly Colloquium at Catawba College for both a noon and an evening event.  Literary Bookpost will be present with books by the author, which include, among others, The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life.  Additional information about this event may be found at www.catawba.edu/images/newsphotos/susanka.pdf.

The annual Brady Author’s Symposium host author Elizabeth Berg.  The author of many novels, including most recently Home Safe and the forthcoming The Last Time I Saw You, Berg is well-known nationally.  Literary Bookpost will be on hand selling her works as well as taking pre-orders for her forthcoming title which will be released on April 20^th.

Gardening writer Pam Beck visits Literary Bookpost to sign copies of her gardening guide, Best Garden Plants for North Carolina.  This beautiful full-color guide offers 544 plants perfect for North Carolina gardens divided into eight easy to use sections. 

The RiverRun Film Festival Road Show comes to Literary Bookpost with shorts and previews of the larger festival held in Winston-Salem in April.  Sponsor United Beverage will be set up to provide beverages for those in attendance at the screening.

 

 

Literary Bookpost is pleased to host a return engagement from author Wayne Caldwell and his new novel set in the North Carolina mountains, Requiem by Fire.  Requiem is the direct follow-up to Cataloochee, which was a book club and shop favorite in 2007/8.  Caldwell will have a reading beginning at 6 p.m., preceded and followed by a reception and book signing.

Historian Clint Johnson will speak and sign copies of his new book, A Vast and Fiendish Plot:  The Confederate Attack on New York City, Saturday, March 27^th, beginning at 4 p.m.  Johnson is the author of ten books, eight of which has focused on the American Civil War.

 

Born in Florida, Johnson and his wife now live in the mountains of North Carolina.  His ancestors include Civil War soldiers from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.  He is active as a civil war re-enactor, portraying both Confederate and Union soldiers.  In researching A Vast and Fiendish Plot, Johnson spent days poring through old newspapers and 1864 maps of New York City tracking down the details of the plot to burn down the city.

 

On November 25, 1864, eight confederate officers attempted to destroy New York City with a series of lethal fires.  The officers were fueled by rage due to the Union’s killing of their beloved General John Hunt Morgan and the burning of the Shenandoah Valley.  That the plot did not succeed is somewhat of a miracle despite the audaciousness of the scheme.  A Vast and Fiendish Plot reveals shocking facts about the treacherous alliances and rivalries that threatened nineteenth-century America and brings out the truth about this little-known and stunning event.

 

 Dan Barefoot, popular North Carolina author and frequent visitor to Literary Bookpost, say of A Vast and Fiendish Plot:  “Clint Johnson meticulously details a long-neglected chapter of Civil War history.  His well-researched volume yields a vivid, fast-paced account of the intriguing Confederate attempt to cause mayhem, confusion, and destruction.  Johnson weaves a fascinating story that is sure to captivate readers.”

 

At Literary Bookpost Johnson will give a brief reading and hold a short discussion of his new book, followed by a book signing and reception. 

Literary Bookpost is pleased to host the first Black Cat Reading of the 2010 season in conjunction with the English Department at Catawba College.  Authors to be announced.  The featured poets are Scott Owens and Celisa Steele.

Author of five collections of poetry and over 600 poems, Scott Owens is editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review.  His most recent book Paternity was published in 2010 by Main Street Rag Publishing Company. He is also author of “Musings” (a weekly column on poetry), founder of Poetry Hickory, Vice President of the Poetry Council of North Carolina, and a writer of reviews of contemporary poetry.  His work has received awards from the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the Academy of American Poets, the NC Writers’ Network, the NC Poetry Society, and the Poetry Society of SC.  Born in Greenwood, South Carolina, he has lived in North Carolina for the past 25 years.  He holds an MFA from UNC Greensboro and currently teaches at Catawba Valley Community College.  

A native of Arkansas, Celisa Steele lives in Carrboro.  Her poems have appeared in Tar River Poetry, the Anglican Theological Review, Kakalak, Pinesong, Bay Leaves, Always on Friday, and others. She serves on the Poetry Council of North Carolina and the Board of the North Carolina Poetry Society as first vice president. She graduated in English and French from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and, through a Sturgis Fellowship, studied abroad in Costa Rica, Jordan, France, and Korea.  She holds a master’s degree in comparative literature from UNC Chapel Hill.  She is managing director at Tagoras, where she has led the development of online education sites with numerous nonprofit organizations including the American Red Cross and the Society for Human Resource Management. 

The Saturday Salon hosts John Hartness with his new collection of poetry and short stories, Returning the Favor.