Book News

Literary Arts Stamp Series Honors Zora Neale Hurston

Novelist, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, known for her artistry and her celebration of black culture, will be honored by the U.S. Postal Service on a 37-cent postage stamp.

The first day of issue ceremoney will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 24, 2003, at the Fourteenth Annual Zora Neale Hurston Street Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville, Florida.

The Zora Neale Hurston stamp is the 19th stamp in the Literary Arts series.  She was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a flowering of African-American literature, music and the visual and performing arts that took place primarily in the 1920s and early 1930s.  She wrote four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography and more than 50 short stories and essays.

Hill Street Press to publish Guide to King District

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park/District in Atlanta is one of the busiest urban national parks in the country, visited by hundreds of thousands of children and adults annually. It's state-of-the-art new facilities and the ground-breaking relationship with neighboring cultural centers such as the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and Ebenezer Baptist Church are a national treasure. The surrounding Auburn Avenue business district enjoys a rich history as once one of the most commercially successful African American business districts in the nation.

Hill Street Press is pleased to announce it partnership with the National Park Service to publish the first-ever walking guide and short, illustrated history to the M.L. King Jr. Historic District and Auburn Avenue; coming in spring 2004.

Oxford American Returns to Magazine Racks this Month

Oxford American returns with the January 2003 issue and a more sophisticated presentation.  "This is the look I've been dreaming about for ten years," editor Marc Smirnoff says.  "It matches the spirit of the magazine to an uncanny degree.  People are going to be really surprised by how good the magazine is going to look."  

Publication highlights for the coming year include:

• The Sixth Music Issue (April 2003).  A popular issue, which features a free music CD.

• A Best of the South Issue (Summer 2003). An all-star cast of writers, celebrities, and others will celebrate their favorite Southern places, people, and things.

• Southern Food Issue (Fall 2003). This issue will fulfill reader requests for an issue devoted to Southern cuisine.

Oxford American was rescued in 2002 when AtHome Media Group, Inc. purchased majority shares of the publication and moved operations to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy Feud on Broadway

In 1980 on Dick Cavett's talk show, novelist and critic Mary McCarthy called Lillian Hellman a "tremedously overrated...bad...dishonest writer," and to Cavett's inquiry: "What is dishonest about her?" McCarthy followed up with: "Everything...I said once in some interview that every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'"  Hellman sued McCarthy and ABC for libel, but she died before the suit was settled.

The lives of Hellman and McCarthy seem to follow stars at odds.  Hellman was born June 20, 1905 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  McCarthy was born June 21, 1912 in Seattle, Washington. The feud began in the 1940's.  Hellman died in 1985, and McCarthy followed her in 1990.  Mary McCarthy is known for her novel The Group.  Lillian Hellman is known for such works as The Little Foxes and The Children's Hour.

Nora Ephron makes her debut as a playwright with Imaginary Friends, described as a play with music (music by Marvin Hamlish and lyrics by Craig Carnelia).  The play opened in December with Swoosie Kurtz as Lillian Hellman and Cherry Jones as Mary McCarthy.