Charlotte author a finalist for L.A.Times Book Prize

 Jeff Jackson's debut novel, "Mira Corpora" (Two Dollar Radio; $16), is a finalist for a prestigious Los Angeles Times Book Prize.


The novel, a coming-of-age story that Publishers Weekly describes as "macabre and experimental," is one of five books vying for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize's Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. It features a colony of feral children, mysterious cassette tapes and an oracle.

Other first-fiction award finalists are NoViolet Bulawayo's "We Need New Names," Fiona McFarlane's "The Night Guest," Jamie Quatro's "I Want to Show You More," and Ethan Rutherford's "The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories." The winner will be announced in April.

Since Jackson moved from New York to Charlotte in 2005, he's become known for his cutting-edge work. (Probably easier to be edgy in Charlotte than New York, but still.) His drama "Botanica," which the New York Times called "one of the most galvanizing theater experiences of 2012," is  a tale of botanists who go mad in a closed-environment terrarium while doing experiments in plant consciousness.

 He'll sign books and give a talk on the creative process and book publishing at 2 p.m. March 9 at Pura Vida, 3202a N. Davidson St.

 Learn more about him on his web site: www.deathofliterature.com.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/09/2995438/charlotte-writer-makes-the-obscure.html#.Uwuma_ldX0Q#storylink=cpy