Speaker at the Center Spring 2013 Line Up of Authors Announced

The South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book, in cooperation with USC Press and Hub City Press, is pleased to announce its spring 2013 author line up. The Speaker @ the Center program will hold free lunchtime author talks on the following dates:

Thursday, February 28, JONATHAN GREEN, EDWARD MADDEN & CHARLENE SPEAREN, Seeking: Poetry and Prose Inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green. Nearly 30 writers respond to Green’s depiction of his quest toward induction into a spiritual community.

Thursday, March 21, W. ERIC EMERSON, A Confederate Englishman: The Civil War Letters of Henry Wemyss Feilden. The letters chart the eventful career of the British officer turned Confederate captain from the time he arrives in South Carolina.

Thursday, April 18, SUSAN TEKULVE, In the Garden of Stone, The saga of Sicilian immigrants in the coal mines of Appalachia. In the Garden of Stone is harrowing and beautifully told. Winner of the SC First Novel prize.

Thursday, May 16, AÏDA ROGERS, CINDI BOITER, CEILLE BAIRD WELCH & BILLY DEAL, State of the Heart: South Carolina Writers on the Places They Love. This collection of essays offers a personal view of cherished destinations and the emotional connections they inspire.

Thursday, June 20, TOM POLAND & PHIL SAWYER, Save the Last Dance for Me: A Love Story of the Shag and the Society of Stranders. The iconic beach dance became an important part of coastal culture and social change.

Books will be available for purchase and autographing. All programs will take place from noon to 1pm at the SC State Library located at 1500 Senate St., Columbia. Speaker @ the Center is FREE and open to the public. Bring your lunch and enjoy learning more about South Carolina.

The South Carolina Center for the Book is the South Carolina Affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is a cooperative project of the South Carolina State Library, the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, and The Humanities CouncilSC.

Literary Dogs book debuts in Columbia

Janna McMahan to present in Speaker @ the Center series Nov. 15

Columbia author Janna McMahan will introduce the new book Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers Thursday, Nov. 15 from noon to 1 p.m. as part of the State Library’s Speaker @ the Center series. McMahan, one of the writers featured in the new book, will read her essay, “A Name You Can Yell.”

In Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers (Hub City Press, 2012) twenty-five of the Palmetto State’s most beloved authors introduce you to their most memorable dogs. There is Padgett Powell’s “Ode to Spode,” Josephine Humphreys’ paean to a poodle, and Roger Pinckney’s Daufuskie Dog-ageddon. Meet Marshall Chapman’s Impy, Mindy Friddle’s Otto, Beth Webb Hart’s Bo Peep, and more. From bird dogs to bad dogs, wild dogs to café dogs, get to know these canines and their literary companions.

The bag-lunch series is sponsored by the State Library’s Center for the Book. McMahan is the national best-selling author of the novels Calling Home, The Ocean Inside and Decoration.

Copies of Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers will be for sale at this event.

The book, edited by John Lane and Betsy Teter of Spartanburg, is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. It sells for $19.95 at bookstores and online. Other authors featured include: Elise Blackwell, Christopher Dickey, Lou Dishler, Andrew Geyer, Dot Jackson, Dinah Johnson, Drew Lanham, Melinda Long, Kate Salley Palmer, Mark Powell, and Glenis Redmond.

Founded in Spartanburg in 1995, Hub City Press is an ambitious independent publisher that won four IPPY Awards in 2012. It has published more than 60 titles with books recently published or forthcoming by Ron Rash, John Lane, Kwame Dawes, Susan Tekulve and others. Hub City is committed to well-crafted and high-quality works by new and established authors, with an emphasis on the Southern experience.

For more information, contact Betsy Teter at (864) 577-9349 or info@hubcity.com.

Speaker at the Center Fall 2012 Line Up of Authors Announced

The South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book, in cooperation with USC Press and Hub City Press, is pleased to announce its fall 2012 author line up.  The Speaker @ the Center program will hold free lunchtime author talks on the following dates:

Thursday, August 16 – MAUREEN D. LEE, Sissieretta Jones: “The Greatest Singer of Her Race,” 1868–1933. The engaging first biography of this distinguished African American musical pioneer

Thursday, September 20 – MICHEL STONE, The Iguana Tree. Michel Stone’s debut novel, set against the backdrop of illegal immigration, is one family’s story of fateful decisions, risky border crossings, and a struggle for humanity.

Thursday, October 25 – ANNE SINKLER WHALEY LECLERCQ, A Grand Tour of Gardens: Traveling in Beauty through Western Europe and the United States. A travelogue of elegant historic gardens on both sides of the Atlantic as viewed through the lens of Mrs. Emily Whaley’s iconic Charleston garden.

Thursday, November 15 – ELISE BLACKWELL & JANNA
MCMAHAN, Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers. From bird dogs to bad dogs, wild dogs to café dogs, get to know these canines and their 25 South Carolina literary companions.

Thursday, December 6 – MARY WHYTE, Down Bohicket Road: An Artist’s Journey. A collection of vibrant watercolors and poignant tales celebrating the friendships and faith of a sea island community of Gullah women.

Books will be available for purchase and autographing. All programs will take place from noon to 1pm at the South Carolina State Library in Columbia. Speaker @ the Center is FREE and open to the public. Bring your lunch and enjoy learning more about South Carolina.

The South Carolina Center for the Book is the South Carolina Affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is a cooperative project of the South Carolina State Library, the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, and The Humanities CouncilSC.

Speaker at the Center Spring 2012 Line Up of Authors Announced

Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book, in cooperation with USC Press, is pleased to announce its spring 2012 author line up.  The Speaker @ the Center program will hold free lunchtime author talks on the following dates:

Thursday, January 12 – Sara C. Arnold and Stephen G Hoffius, The Life and Art of Alfred Hutty: Woodstock to Charleston – A celebration of paintings and prints by one of the principal artists of the Charleston Renaissance.

Thursday, February 16 – Paul Matheny III and Josephine Humphreys, Palmetto Portraits Project – A rich compendium of portraits from two dozen photographers depicting everyday South Carolinians.

Tuesday, March 13 – Jack Shuler, Blood and Bone: Truth and Reconciliation in a Southern Town – A fresh perspective on the Orangeburg Massacre and its legacy.

Thursday, April 26 – Charlene Spearen, A Book of Exquisite Disasters – Deeply felt verses espousing resilience, belonging, and artistry in the face of the challenges of the everyday.

Tuesday, May 15 – Jim Harrison, The Palmetto and Its South Carolina Home – A beautiful collection of paintings exploring the beauty and strength of South Carolina’s state tree.

Books will be available for purchase and autographing. All programs will take place from noon to 1pm in the Administration Building at the SC State Library located at 1430 Senate St., Columbia. Speaker @ the Center is FREE and open to the public. Bring your lunch and enjoy learning more about South Carolina.

The South Carolina Center for the Book is the South Carolina Affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is a cooperative project of the South Carolina State Library, the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, and The Humanities Council^SC.

Fall 2011 Speaker @ the Center Line Up of Author Talks

The South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book, in cooperation with USC Press, is pleased to announce its fall 2011 author line up.  The Speaker @ the Center program will hold free lunchtime author talks on the following dates:

Thursday, August 25 – Philip G. Grose, Looking for Utopia: The Life and Times of John C. West. The first biography of this visionary South Carolina governor and stalwart ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Thursday, September 8 – Robert M. Weir, Captured at Kings Mountain: The Diary of Uzal Johnson, a Loyalist Surgeon. A Loyalist perspective on social, medical, and military aspects of the American Revolution.

Tuesday, October 25 – Tara Mitchell Mielnik, New Deal, New Landscape: The Civilian Conservation Corps and South Carolina’s State Parks. A history of the New Deal program that led to the creation of South Carolina’s first sixteen state parks.

Thursday, November 3 – Allen H. Stokes, The Kohn-Hennig Library: A Catalog. A guide to a monumental collection of South Caroliniana and a tribute to its devoted collectors.

Thursday, December 8 – Walter Edgar, South Carolina in the Modern Age. A nuanced view of the Palmetto State in the twentieth century as written by the state’s leading historian.

Books will be available for purchase and autographing. All programs will take place from noon to 1pm in the Administration Building at the SC State Library located at 1430 Senate St., Columbia. Speaker @ the Center is FREE and open to the public. Bring your lunch and enjoy learning more about South Carolina.

The South Carolina Center for the Book is the South Carolina Affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is a cooperative project of the South Carolina State Library, the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, and The Humanities Council^SC.

Speaker @ the Center – William W. Starr

Speaker @ the Center – William W. Starr from SC Center for the Book on Vimeo.

Bill Starr discusses his book, Whiskey, Kilts and the Loch Ness Monster: Traveling through Scotland with Boswell and Johnson. http://sc.edu/​uscpress/​books/​2010/​3948.html

Speaker @ the Center – James R. Cothran

Watch James Cothran’s presentation about his USC Press book, Charleston Gardens and the Landscape Legacy of Loutrel Briggs.

Speaker @ the Center – James R. Cothran from SC Center for the Book on Vimeo.

Speaker @ the Center – W. Eric Emerson

If you missed the last Speaker @ the Center which featured W. Eric Emerson discussing Faith, Valor, and Devotion: The Civil War Letters of Williams Porcher DuBose, you can watch an excerpt of his talk here.

Speaker @ the Center – W. Eric Emerson from SC Center for the Book on Vimeo.

Patricia Moore-Pastides, Speaker @ the Center

To kick off the spring Speaker @ the Center program of monthly author talks (co-sponsored by the University of SC Press), Patricia Moore-Pastides discussed her book, Greek Revival: Cooking for life.

Speaker @ the Center – Patricia Moore-Pastides from SC Center for the Book on Vimeo.

Jim Casada – Speaker @ the Center

Speaker @ the Center – Jim Casada from SC Center for the Book on Vimeo.