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Book fair to feature 50 regional authors
By Lynn Hotaling
The Great Smoky Mountains Book Fair is coming to Sylva on Saturday, Nov. 20, and more than 50 authors from around the region will be in Sylva for the day-long gathering that will feature readings, autographings and other meet-the-author events.
Set for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the literary event will be held in the Jackson County Justice Center, located on Grindstaff Cove Road. The fair is a joint project of the Friends of the Jackson County Library, Western Carolina University's Honors College and City Lights Bookstore. Twenty percent of the proceeds will go toward the building fund for the new Jackson County Library.
Several special presentations are scheduled, including author and naturalist Ila Hatter of Robbinsville at 10 a.m.; author and storyteller George Singleton of Easley, S.C., at 11 a.m.; and Marshall Chapman, a musician and writer from Nashville, Tenn., who will read and perform at 1 p.m.
Hatter, a staff instructor for the University of Tennessee's Smoky Mountain Field School, has more than 25 years of experience in teaching others about the cultural heritage of native plants. Her work has been featured most recently in Plants of the Cherokee.
Singleton
Singleton, a South Carolina writer and storyteller, is author of a new collection of short stories, Why Dogs Chase Cars. Set in the fictional backwater town of Forty-Five, S.C., these stories tell the tale of how the only son of the town "weirdo" learns what a wizard his father really was – after it's too late. With humor and a cynical eye, Singleton creates unforgettable characters. He lives in Dacusville, S.C., and teaches writing. His short stories regularly appear in national magazines such as Atlantic Monthly and Harper's.
Chapman, author of the memoir Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller. Raised a debutante in Spartanburg, S.C., the daughter of a mill owner and firmly part of proper society, she became a rocker at a time when women weren't yet picking up electric guitars. Chapman is "a living example of the triumph of rock and roll over good breeding," according to one reviewer.
Former debutante Marshall Chapman, now a Nashville, Tenn., musician, will perform and read from her memoir, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller during the inaugural Great Smoky Mountains Book Fair Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Justice Center. More than 50 regional authors will participate in the daylong event, which is a fund-raiser for the new Jackson County library building fund. Chapman will read at 1 p.m. Fair hours are from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Cullowhee poet Kay Byer will join other poets in attendance in a group poetry reading at 2 p.m. Byer's latest collection is Wake, published locally by Spring Street Editions.
For the younger set, famous pig friends Toot and Puddle will also be at the Fair. They will read from their books, tell stories and play games at 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m.
City Lights owner Joyce Moore said the fair was conceived both to raise money for the new library's building fund and as a way to bring people together in a positive way.
"I feel this is an important step to unite the community behind the plans for a new library, and I encourage everyone to come out and support it," she said.
Not only will the late-November event offer attendees an opportuntiy to buy books as Christmas presents, it also should be fun, Moore said.
"We have a lot of interesting people, and it should be very entertaining," she said. "It's another way to celebrate our local literary community and encourage reading – I think it's going to be a very exciting event."
Brian Railsback, interim dean of Western's Honors College and one of the published authors who will be featured at the fair, called the book fair "a super book store with all the authors" and said it will include writers representing the many genres of literature, including children's books, cook books, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, travel, history, biography and Westerns.
"This is an exciting partnership," Railsback said. "I hope we can all build on this fair for years to come."
Railsback said organizers hope the book fair will become an annual event. About 50 Honors College students are involved in the project, led by students Tyler Melton, Brittany McManus and Amber Rhodes.
"We also saw the fair as a way for university students to become more involved in the community," Moore said. "The students are a tremendous asset in terms of energy and skills, and we really need them. We wouldn't have enough 'people power' otherwise."
In addition to those already named, authors scheduled to appear include: Mart Baldwin, Sallie Bissell, Sue Ellen Bridgers, Bill Brooks, Skip Brooks, Doreyl Cain, William Clotsworthy, Thomas Crowe, Mike Denike, Julia Duncan, Wayne Erbsen, Amy Garza, Bonnie Habel, Raven Hail, Wanda Henderson, Winn Henderson, John Henderson, Schuyler Kaufman, Mary Ellen Klatte, Yvonne Lehman, Eva McCall, Eileen McCullough, Doug McGuinn, Joan Medlicott, Walter Middleton, Celia Miles, Mona Miracle, Marijo Moore, Cherrie Ann Moses, Frances Payne, Nora Percival, Jack Pyle, Taylor Reese, Jane Wright Roberts, Sheryl Rudd, Robert and Lynn Ruskin, Frankie Schelly, David Schulman, Michal Strutin, Barbara Swell, Ann Tatlock, Linda Vinson, Nan Watkins, Steve Willows, Linda Young and Isabel Zuber.
For more information about the Great Smoky Mountains Book Fair, contact the Honors College at 227-7383 or City Lights Bookstore at 586-9499.
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