Book giveaway: "Paper Covers Rock" by Charlotte's Jenny Hubbard

The reviews for Jenny Hubbard's debut young-adult novel, "Paper Covers Rock," have been stellar. Now, the Association of Booksellers for Children has chosen the novel as one of 10 books on its New Voices YA List.

"Paper Covers Rock" is set at a boy's boarding school. Sixteen-year-old Alex has just begun his junior year when tragedy strikes: He fails to save a friend from drowning in a river on campus.

Hubbard, who lives in Charlotte, taught English before she quit to write full time, and she's hearing from lots of adults who are enjoying her book. This first effort is drawing comparisons to John Knowles' "A Separate Peace." Pat Conroy calls it "one of the best young adult books I've read in years."

Hubbard, by the way, will be signing copies 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 21 at Park Road Books, 3139 Park Road.

Want to win a copy? Leave a comment here with some way to identify you, not just "anonymous." I'll post the winner's name on Wednesday.

"Emperor of All Maladies": We've got a winner

Elliot Bencan has won Siddhartha Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning look at cancer. Bencan says he'll share the book with his son, a doctor.

Elliot, send me an email with your mailing address, and I'll get the book out to you.

Two Charlotte writers win fellowships

Charlotte writers Morri Creech and Rebecca McClanahan are among 18 N.C. artists to receive $10,000 fellowships from the N.C. Arts Council.











Creech, a poet, is author of "Paper Cathedrals" and "Field Knowledge."

McClanahan, who writes poetry and prose, is author of "Deep Light: New and Selected Poems" and "The Riddle Song and Other Rememberings." She teaches in Queens University's MFA creative writing program.

The fellowships support creative development and the creation of new work.

The Book Giveaway: Win "The Emperor of All Maladies"

Cases of cancer doubled globally between 1975 and 2000, and will double again by 2020, nearly tripling by 2030. In America, one in two men and one in three women will get cancer during their lifetime; one in four will die.

Those are some good reasons to read Siddhartha Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning history of cancer. Another reason: It's a beautifully written book.

It's now out in paperback, and I'm giving away a copy. Leave a comment here and tell me why you'd like to read it. Please give me some way to identify you, not just "anonymous." I'll post the winner on Wednesday, Aug. 10.

A summer reading list to inspire you

Looking for a good book to take on your last summer trip to the beach?

Charlotte- based Mothering Across Continents, a nonprofit dedicated to developing responsible citizen-leaders around the world, recommends a list of books focused on inspiring work that addresses global problems.

Among the selections: "It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace," by Charlotte's own Rye Barcott, a former Marine captain who co-founded Carolina for Kibera. The nonprofit works with residents of Kibera, Kenya's largest slum, to develop leaders and alleviate poverty.

Other books featured in the group's "I Care Book Fair" include Tracy Kidder's "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and Margaret Trost's "On That Day, Everybody Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti."

If you order a book through the group's web site, a portion of the money will go to support humanitarian projects in Third World countries.

We've got a winner for "Blood Clay"

Skkorman, you've won a copy of Valerie Nieman's "Blood Clay," a novel about a North Carolina community torn apart by tragedy.
Send me an email with your mailing address, and we'll get the book to you.

And don't forget: You can meet Nieman on Aug. 13. Nieman, who lives in Greensboro, will give a reading at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

Check back here next week for my next giveaway. It's a good one -- a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Win a copy of Valerie Nieman's "Blood Clay"

In her latest novel, "Blood Clay," Valerie Nieman writes of a North Carolina community torn apart by tragedy. Trying to escape the wreckage of her divorce, Tracey Gaines has moved to rural Saul County, NC, and become a teacher at an alternative school. But then a tragic event -- and her testimony about it -- divide the community.

Nieman, who lives in Greensboro, will give a reading at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

And this week, I'm giving away an autographed copy of the book that author Ron Rash calls "profoundly moving and beautifully written." Leave a comment here, and I'll choose a winner on Wednesday. Be sure to give me some way to identify you -- not just "anonymous."