'Byrd' wins Crook's Corner Book Prize: $1,000 and 365 free glasses of wine

Kim Church of Raleigh, author the poignant debut novel, "Byrd," has won $1,000 and a free glass of wine every day for a year at Crook's Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill. She's the winner of the second annual Crook's Corner Book Prize, announced Monday evening at the restaurant.
Novelist, short story writer and biographer Randall Kenan, who teaches English and comparative literature at UNC Chapel Hill, chose "Byrd" from a short list of four novels.
"All the books were beautifully written, interesting to read, and often fun," Kenan emailed today. "Byrd stood out as the most successful artistic expression and the novel with the purest, most daring and moving language.  Plus the story is so very powerful.  I think people will be reading this book for quite some time to come."
The 2014 inaugural winner was Wiley Cash of Wilmington for his novel "A Land More Kind Than Home." The judge was short story writer and novelist Jill McCorkle.
Next year's judge will be novelist Lee Smith.
The contest is open to first-time novelists whose work is set in the American South, though the authors can live outside the South.
Entries are now being accepted for the third annual Crook's Corner Book Prize. For more information: Info@crookscornerbookprize.com.

The Crook's Corner Book Prize Long List

Queen Sugar, by Natalie Baszile / A Pamela Dorman book/Viking
Byrd, by Kim Church / Dzanc Books
The Resurrectionist, by Matthew Guinn / W.W. Norton
Flying Shoes, by Lisa Howorth / Bloomsbury USA
Remember Me Like This, by Bret Anthony Johnston / Random House
I Shall Be Near To You, by Erin Lindsay McCabe / Crown
Heart of Palm, by Laura Lee Smith / Grove Press
In the Garden of Stone, by Susan Tekulve / Hub City Press
Saint Monkey, by Jacinda Townsend / W.W. Norton
The Ways of the Dead, by Neely Tucker / Viking
Mother of Rain, by Karen Spears Zacharias / Mercer University

The eleven books that made the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Long List were published between January 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, and were selected from entries submitted by major publishers, independent publishers and self-publishers. The goal of the Crook’s Corner Book Prize is to encourage new writers.

Dine with these acclaimed novelists at Bibliofeast at Maggiano's on Oct. 13

Wiley Cash

There's a bit of magic when you meet the person who's created the novel or short story you fell in love with. It's like when you were six, and you happened on your first grade teacher in the grocery store. Not until that moment did you get it that she actually existed outside the classroom. And now, as an adult, you see that this writer, whose hand you are shaking, lives in a world as tangible as the one you inhabit.

You'll have the opportunity to enjoy that special magic at a Bibliofest, 6-9 p.m., on Oct. 13, when 10 well-known and highly praised writers join you for dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy at SouthPark in Charlotte.

There's not even the slightest catch. All you need is a ticket.
 
The event is sponsored by the local chapter of the Women's National Book Association, a group that brings together book lovers and book industry professionals who support reading and writing.

The line-up of authors is impressive: Wilmington's acclaimed Wiley Cash, author of the novel, "This Dark Road to Mercy";  Raleigh's Kim Church, author of a stunning first novel, "Byrd"; Charlotte's own Kim Wright, whose novel, "The Unexpected Waltz," swirls with suspense and details about Charlotte.

And a writer I've just discovered, Winston-Salem's Charlie Lovett, author of a brand-new, gorgeous book, "First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love and Jane Austen." And Decatur, Ga.'s Joshilyn Jackson, who wrote a page-turner of a novel about science and miracles, "Someone Else's Love Story."

Charlotte's own Erika Marks will be on hand. She gave us the taut novel, "It Comes In Waves," set on Folly Beach, S.C. And Wilmington's Rebecca Petruck, author of the popular "Steering Toward Normal," a middle school favorite. Also Allegra Jordan of Chapel Hill, whose lyrical war novel, "The End of Innocence," abounds with rich, historical detail. 

N.P. Simpson of Raleigh will be there. She gave us "B.O.Q.: An NCIS Special Agent Fran Setliff Novel," a military mystery set on Camp LeJeune. And Charleston's John Warley, whose novel, "A Southern Girl," is touted by Pat Conroy as the best book he's ever read about Charleston's "mysterious and glittering high society."

To Purchase Tickets:

$45 for members of The Women's National Book Association
$55 for non-members
www.wnba-Charlotte.org or purchase at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road, Park Road Shopping Center.

Deadline for ticket purchase: Oct. 10.
  



 

Debut novels set in the South

Is  your book club looking for excellent novels set in the South? Let me direct you to Crook's Corner Book Prize's longlist of 11 debut novels, published between Jan.1, 2013 and June 30, 2014.

One of my favorites, I'm happy to say, is on the list. It's "Byrd" (Dzanc Books) by Raleigh attorney Kim Church, the coming-of-age tale of Addie Lockwood whose failed abortion leads her to place her infant son with an adoption agency. Lockwood's longing is enduring and palpable, as is the longing of other characters for one another, present or not. "Byrd" is also on the longlist for the Flaherty Dunnan Prize, to be announced in September.

Among the other novels on the Crooks Corner list are "Flying Shoes" (Bloomsbury USA) by Lisa Howarth, a literary mystery set in Oxford, Miss.; "Heart of Palm" (Grove) a tale about loving things to death by Laura Lee Smith, set in the small town of Utina, Fla., between St. Augustine and Jacksonville; "The Ways of the Dead" (Viking), a story of race, crime, the law and the power of the media in Washington, D.C., by long-time Washington Post reporter Neely Tucker; and "In the Garden of Stone" (Hub City Press) by Susan Tekulve about the wave of Scilian immigrants who arrived in Bluefield, Va., in the 19th century.

Wilmington's Wiley Cash won the first annual prize in 2014 for his debut novel, "A Land More Kind That Home."

Modeled on the literary prizes of famous Parisian cafes, the Crook's Corner Book Prize is sponsored by the Crook's Corner Cafe and Bar in Chapel Hill. The shortlist will be announced in November, and the winner, who will receive $1,000 and a free glass of wine on each visit to Crooks Corner, will be announced in January.

The complete Crooks Corner list: http://crookscornerbookprize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CROOKSBOOK_newsrelease_tuesday5th.pdf

N.C. authors longlisted for Crook's Corner Book Prize

A dozen authors, including five with N.C. and Charlotte ties, have been named to a long list of finalists for the Crook's Corner Book Prize, a new award for exceptional debut novels set in the South.
 They include:
  "Leaving Tuscaloosa" by Walter Bennett, a retired Charlotte judge who now lives in Chapel Hill.
"Code of the Forest" by Charlotte attorney Jon Buchan.
"A Land More Kind Than Home" by Gastonia native and UNC Asheville graduate Wiley Cash.
"Green Gospel" by Durham's L.C. Fiore.  
"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" by Ben Fountain, a Chapel Hill native and UNC Chapel Hill graduate.

Other longlisted finalists are Rita Leganski ("The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow"), Lois Leveen ("The Secrets of Mary Bowser"), Ayana Mathis ("The Twelve Tribes of Hattie"), Rhonda Riley ("The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope"), Jessica Maria Tuccelli ("Glow"), Kevin Wilson ("The Family Fang") and Margaret Wrinkle ("Wash").

The new book prize, named for the landmark Chapel Hill restaurant with the pig on the roof,  includes $1,000 and a free glass of wine with every restaurant visit during the award year.

The twelve longlisted finalists were chosen from 68 submissions. In November, judges will announce four finalists. N.C. novelist Jill McCorkle ("Life After Life") will choose the winner in January.