Ron Rash Reads at Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby on Friday

I recently interviewed Ron Rash, and I asked him what three contemporary short stories he would recommend to folks wanting to read the very best in short fiction. (Of course, he was too modest to name his own, but I would say pick any of his recent stories in "Something Rich and Strange.")
Here are his recommendations:

William Trevor's "The Distant Past"
Edna O'Brien's "The Connor Girls"
Alice Munro's "Corrie"

You can ask Rash for recommendations yourself if you attend his reading on Friday at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby where he'll read from this latest collection, "Something Rich and Strange" and autograph your book.

Ron Rash Reads: 5-7 p.m., Friday at the Earl Scruggs Center, 103 S. LaFayette St., Shelby. 
Free program but registration is recommended: 704-487-6233.

Ron Rash belongs in 'pantheon of great American writers'

It thrills me when a reviewer at the New York Times can see beyond a writer's locale and read the new work as if the author were from from New Haven or Poughkeepsie. So it was last week when Patricia Wall reviewed Ron Rash's latest collection, "Something Rich and Strange." Just listen:
   

Ron Rash occupies an odd place in the pantheon of great American writers, and you’d better believe he belongs there. He gets rapturous reviews that don’t mean to condescend but almost always call him a Southern or Appalachian writer, and Mr. Rash has said he can hear the silent, dismissive “just” in those descriptions. He also baffles anyone who thinks that great talent ought to be accompanied by great ambition. Mr. Rash has planted himself at Western Carolina University and eluded the limelight that his work absolutely warrants.

And she goes on:

It’s time for Mr. Rash’s standing to change. And here is the book to do it: “Something Rich and Strange,” a major short-story anthology that can introduce new readers to this author’s haunting talents and reaffirm what his established following already knows. In this case, faithful readers really have an idea what to expect, because “Something Rich and Strange” incorporates two recent smaller Rash anthologies: “Burning Bright” (2010) and “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (2013). But, as with great music, it would be a mistake not to revisit this material because you’ve experienced it once.

Read the entire review: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/books/something-rich-and-strange-a-ron-rash-anthology.html

'Rich with the troubles of love' -- Tommy Hays to read at Quail Ridge

Tommy Hays by Michael Mauney

Tommy Hays will read from his young adult novel, "What I Came to Tell You," just out in paperback, at 7 p.m., Tuesday at Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Ave., in Raleigh.

South Carolina novelist Josephine Humphreys says of the novel: "This is a story rich with the troubles of love and grief, family and community, but there's a surprising aura of innocence over all, lifting the novel and its readers into another realm. A rare accomplishment."

Bestselling North Carolina novelist Ron Rash calls the book "...a great-hearted novel filled with wisdom and truth."

"What I Came to Tell You," set partially in a bamboo forest in Asheville, was recently chosen by the Atlanta Constitution as one of 12 books of 2013 recommended for younger readers.

Hays says he is at work on two more novels set in Asheville: another for young adults and one for adults. He is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and serves as executive director of the Smokies Writing Program at UNC Asheville.
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April in Charlotte brings Ron Rash and a big book sale

The timing couldn’t be better for Ron Rash’s free appearances April 17 at Central Piedmont Community College’s Sensoria arts festival. He’ll speak twice, at 10:30 a.m. in Halton Theater and 7:30 p.m. in Pease Auditorium.

The New York Times’ Janet Maslin recently lauded Rash’s new short story collection, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” as his best book since “Serena,” his 2008 novel. That’s high praise, since Maslin has described “Serena” as “one of the greatest American novels in recent memory.”

And that’s not all. The movie version of “Serena,” starring Bradley Cooper and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence in the title role, comes out this fall. Rash, who teaches at Western Carolina University and hails from Boiling Springs, will have much to discuss. Check out Sensoria’s full schedule of events: sensoria.cpcc.edu.
Big book sale starts next week
What would John Grisham think about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg library’s upcoming used book sale?

Would he be upset when he saw how many copies of his novels people have donated? There are a lot, Nikki Moore tells me. Moore is president of Friends of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

 My guess is that Grisham, bestselling master of the legal thriller would be pleased. The sale is, after all, an excellent cause.

The group has conducted a used book sale for years. But the fundraiser took on new importance when the recession prompted drastic cuts in the library’s materials budget, which went from $3.2 million in 2009 to $1.9 million in 2011. It’s now back up, near pre-recession levels, but with library usage up too, per capita book spending is less than it was in 2001.

This year’s sale, at 1330 Central Ave., next to Bistro la Bon, starts Friday, April 12, and runs through April 20. Check cmlibraryfriends.org for hours and details. If you’re a Friends of the Library member, or if you make a $25 donation to become a member, you can show up 6-9 p.m. Thursday to get first dibs.

There will be thousands of books from which to choose – recent bestsellers, such as Stieg Larsson’s “Dragon Tattoo” novels and Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” lots of children’s books, good beach reads, books on tape and CD, DVDs – you name it. Grisham’s novels are in very good company. And you can’t beat the prices: Most items are less than $5.

Volunteers hope to match or even beat their previous fundraising record of $43,000 set in 2010.

Christmas stories from N.C. writers

New stories from seven of North Carolina's best fiction writers star in Our State magazine's December issue.

This is the first time Our State, the magazine of N.C. culture, food and travel, has produced a Christmas fiction issue. And it's an all-star author lineup -- Allan Gurganus, Jill McCorkle, Clyde Edgerton, Margaret Maron, Ron Rash, Elizabeth Spencer and Daniel Wallace.

If you've read these authors, you'll notice some familiar settings. Edgerton's story takes place in fictional Listre, North Carolina. In Rash's piece, a veterinarian heads out under a starry night sky in Madison County to attend to "a calf that ain't of a mind to get born."

McCorkle's story, "Holiday," unfolds at Pine Haven Estates, a retirement village and assisted living in the fictional N.C. town of Fulton. It's adapted from her forthcoming novel, "Life After Life," out in March.

Want to read more from these authors? Check out Our State's handy reading list.

Dogs and the writers who love them

Maybe you’re one of Ron Rash’s biggest fans. You’ve read all his books, from his debut short-story collection, “The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth,” to his latest novel, “The Cove.”

You know a lot about the man, but I bet you didn’t know this: He owns one of the orneriest, ugliest dogs you’ve ever seen.

I say this after reading Rash’s essay about his dog, Pepper, in a new book from Spartanburg’s Hub City Press, “Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers.” 

The book includes 25 pieces by authors with S.C. ties, including Dorthea Benton Frank, Josephine Humphreys and Mary Alice Monroe, who introduce us to canines they have known and mostly loved. Some, such as a feral dog that novelist Dot Jackson refers to as “Yellow Dog,” were passing acquaintances. Others, such as Humphrey’s white poodle, Archie, are part of the family.

Then there’s Pepper (pictured at right). “Pepper was and is an amalgam of not only breeds,” Rash writes, “but also seemingly species: pointed bat ears, bulging salamander eyes, and a mouthful of small sharp teeth as you would find on a piranha.”

Pepper uses his piranha teeth to bite people. Lots of people. And yet, Rash feels a fondness for this unlovable mutt. I’ll bet readers will feel that fondness, too.

The book is $19.95. Its editors are Hub City Press Executive Director Betsy Wakefield Teter and John Lane, one of its founders. Some book proceeds go to an animal charity.

A book about bookstores

Once you finish reading about writers’ favorite dogs, you can learn about writers’ favorite bookstores.
In “My Bookstore” (Black Dog & Leventhal; $23.95), authors write about bookshops across the nation where they browse, read and shop.

Carolinas stores and writers are well represented. There’s Jill McCorkle on Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books, Laurent Dubois on Durham’s Regulator, Lee Smith on Hillsborough’s Purple Crow Books and Angela Davis-Gardner on Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh.

Bestselling young-adult author Carrie Ryan writes about Charlotte’s Park Road Books, and Ron Rash (again!) writes about Sylva’s City Lights Bookstore. In South Carolina, Mindy Friddle writes about Greenville’s Fiction Addiction store.
Ryan will do a signing at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

'The Cove' author Ron Rash at Wingate University

Prize-winning author Ron Rash will discuss his soon-to-be-released novel, "The Cove," at 7 p.m. Friday, March 30, as part of a Wingate University fund-raising event.

Tickets for the event, at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Monroe, are $50. That includes a dinner buffet and book signing. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Ethel K. Smith Library. More information: c.inge@wingate.edu or 704-233-8091.

Rash's newest novel is set in and around Mars Hill during World War I. It explores a community's prejudices as it tells the story Laurel Shelton, ostracized and lonely until a mute stranger appears near her isolated farm.

"The Cove," isn't out until April 10, but it's already winning high praise, including four starred reviews -- in the Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.

Ron Rash's 'Serena' headed to big screen

Filming is supposed to begin soon on a movie adaption of Ron Rash's bestselling novel, "Serena," according to multiple reports.

In "Serena," Rash, an award-winning novelist, poet and professor at Cullowhee's Western Carolina University, tells the Depression-era story of Serena Pemberton, whose timber-baron husband runs a logging operation in western North Carolina.

In this riveting novel, Serena is cold, calculating, larger than life. Reviewers have compared her to Lady Macbeth. I think Serena makes Lady Macbeth look soft.

So who'll play Serena in the movie?

Western Carolina University reports that it's Jennifer Lawrence, best known for her stunning portrayal of Ree Dolly in "Winter's Bone."
She's also starring in "The Hunger Games," out in March.

Playing Serena's husband, George, will be Bradley Cooper of "The Hangover."

The movie is scheduled for a 2014 release. The filming location hasn't been announced.

Ron Rash at Park Road Books next week

Ron Rash will sign copies of his newest award-winning short story collection, "Burning Bright," 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Charlotte's Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

The collection, winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, is now available in paperback for $12.99.

Rash, a Boiling Springs native who teaches at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, has won international acclaim for his poetry, short stories and novels. The 12 stories in "Burning Bright," set in Appalachia, include tales of meth addicts, poverty and hard luck. "Burning Bright finds a narrow sweet spot between Raymond Carver's minimalism and William Faulkner's Gothic," says The Washington Post.