Novelist Jayne Anne Phillips in North Carolina; More Than A Dozen Authors in D.C.

Among the big literary events in North Carolina this weekend is a visit by Jayne Anne Phillips, discussing her highly acclaimed new novel, Lark & Termite, which tells twin stories: the first set in the Korean War; the second in a small West Virginia community. In his review for the Washington Post, critic Ron Charles said, “With her striking mixture of hallucinatory poetry and gritty realism, Phillips is trying to articulate the transcendence of love, the sort of unity among deeply devoted people that reverberates beneath the rational world. As the novel moves toward a crescendo of harrowing revelations and brutal confrontations, Phillips surprises us again with another disorienting touch of mysticism and a finale that mingles despair and triumph, naiveté and spiritual insight, a startling demonstration of ‘how lightning fast things can go right or wrong.'” 

Phillips reads from the new novel tonight (Friday, February 27) at 7:30 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. 

In and Around D.C.

Meanwhile, I’ll be attending two events in the D.C. area over the next few days. 

First, on Saturday, February 28, American Independent Writers and George Mason University’s MFA Program host a Fiction Writing Seminar on Mason’s Fairfax, Virginia campus, with headliners Jeffrey Deaver and Marita Golden and featuring a wide array of writers, including yours truly. A full schedule was published earlier on my website here.

Then, on Monday evening, March 2, PEN/Faulkner is hosting a fundraiser for its Writers in Schools Program. The event, at Comet Ping Pong in Northwest D.C., features George Pelecanos , Matthew Klam, Mary Kay Zuravleff, Helon Habila, and others. A donation of $25 gets you free pizza, beer, and more writers than you can shake a stick at. (Not that I would advise shaking a stick at George Pelecanos, of course.)  

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Lunch with Charles Todd

Caroline and Charles Todd

A quick update here on Charles Todd’s visit to North Carolina on Wednesday, February 25. The mother and son team, Caroline and Charles, will be part of an “author luncheon” at McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village (instead of a reading, as I’d mentioned earlier this week). The event — beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the Old Granary Restaurant — offers a chance for more extensive time with the bestselling authors, who will discuss their new book, A Matter of Justice. (See my interview with Caroline and Charles Todd here.) 

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 per person, but that price does include a signed hardcover copy of the new book. To sign-up, contact McIntyre’s at (919) 542-3030 or at books@fearrington.com. 

The Todds will also appear later that evening at Quail Ridge Books at 7:30 p.m. for a more conventional reading and signing. 

Additional events on the calendar for the coming week include:

• Leonard Todd, author of Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave, on Friday, February 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh.
• The monthly North Carolina Poetry Society Reading with Bill Griffin and Maureen Sherbondy, on Thursday, February 26, at 7 p.m. at McIntyre’s. 
• And Jayne Anne Phillips, author of Lark & Termite, on Friday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books.

In & Around D.C.

A couple of interesting events on the schedule for the coming week in the D.C. area.

First up, on Sunday afternoon, the Writer’s Center in Bethesda is hosting a talk with literary agent Paige Wheeler, founder of Folio Literary Management. The free event begins at 2 p.m. (and comes in the midst of a very, very busy weekend for the Writer’s Center; check out a full schedule of events here.)

On Thursday, February 26, at 8 p.m., the Cheryl’s Gone Reading Series kicks off its first reading of the new year, featuring fiction by Sara Hov, poetry by Ryan Walker and Zein El-Amine, and music by Spoonboy (of the Max Levine Ensemble). It all takes place at Big Bear Cafe in D.C.

And don’t forget, NEXT Saturday, February 28, brings a Fiction Seminar at George Mason University, co-presented by Mason’s MFA program and American Independent Writers.

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McIntyre’s Books & N.C. Poetry Society

M. Scott Douglass

Top on this week’s list of events in the Triangle area of North Carolina is a reading by poets from the N.C. Poetry Society — part of a year-long series hosted by McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village. Jonathan K. Rice, editor of the Iodine Poetry Journal and author most recently of the 2006 collection Ukulele and Other Poems, and M. Scott Douglass, head of Main Street Rag Publishing Company and author of numerous poetry collections including Auditioning for Heaven, will read selections of their work on Thursday evening, January 22, at 7 p.m.

Also of note on this week’s schedule: McSweeney’s contributor Paul Maliszewski discusses his new book, Fakers: Hoaxers, Con Artists, Counterfeiters, and Other Great Pretenders, on Friday, January 23, at 7 p.m. at Durham’s Regulator Bookshop.

Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland

Several events are of note in the D.C. metropolitan area this week. 

First up, Jayne Anne Phillips arrives in the area in the wake of great reviews for her new novel Lark & Termite. She’ll be at Politics and Prose  in D.C. on Friday, January 23, at 7 p.m.

Then on Sunday afternoon, January 25, at 2 p.m., the Writer’s Center in Bethesda kicks off its week-long 32nd birthday celebration with a reading by two alums of the Center’s programs: Alex MacLennan and James Matthews.

And Monday evening brings George Pelecanos to the Central Branch of the Arlington Public Library to discuss his new book, The Turnaround. That reading begins at 7 p.m.

Also that night, Leonard Downie Jr. discusses his new political thriller, The Rules of the Game, at 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose. Downie, of course, is the former executive editor of the Post. If only he were still at the helm of the paper, perhaps we could ask him more about this. (Likely, someone will ask anyway.)

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