Something a little different this week. Zachary Mason’s Metamorphica is the Hot Book of the Week at the Poisoned Pen. You can order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2lXml2N

Here’s the summary of Metamorphica.

A brilliant and daring novel that reimagines Ovid’s Metamorphoses

In the tradition of his bestselling debut novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason’s Metamorphica transforms Ovid’s epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas and Atalanta, and strings them together like the stars in constellations—even Ovid becomes a story. It’s as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino; Metamorphica is an archipelago in which to linger for a while; it reflects a little light from the morning of the world.

Have you registered yet for the celebration of Ian Rankin’s thirty years publishing in the U.S.? The September conference is a two-day conference. Check out the details.

Guest of Honor: Ian Rankin
Celebrating 30th Years of Publishing in the U.S.
Hosts: Hank Phillippi Ryan, James Sallis & Dana Stabenow!

Date: Sunday Sept. 2nd & Monday Sept. 3rd
To register, call 480-947-2974 or 888-560-9919

Registration Fee: $125 (includes both days)
**Seats are limited! Prepayment required**

There will be a bit of swag for you. And we are importing Ian’s photographic memoir, Rebus’s Scotland, A Personal Journey (price TBA) for sale.

Here’s what will be happening for the two days.

The Program (so far)

Sunday, September 2 9:00 AM Check In  9:30 -11:15 Panels 11:30-12:15 Dana Stabenow interviews James R. Benn and Francine Mathews 12:15-1:30 Lunch on your own 1:30–4:30 Panels 4:30 PM An Agatha Christie “Hats and Tea” sponsored by William Morrow with Quizmaster and Host Hank Phillippi Ryan Quizzes, Prizes, and a Poirot approved treat! We will have Signed copies of the new Sophie Hannah Poirot for sale Fancy a Fascinator? Wear a period hat, male or female, if you wish Monday, September 3  9:30-10:15 Panel 10:30-11:15 Dana Stabenow and John Straley Talk Alaska Mystery 11:30-12:15 Panel  12:30-2:00 PM (Lunch included) James Sallis interviews Ian Rankin 2:15-3:45 Ian Rankin Talks His Career, Scottish Literature…. 3:45… Catch any of the authors for chat and signing

Are you secretly dreaming about writing? Now is your chance to take some steps toward that dream.

NEW CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS (THE PIPER WRITERS STUDIO | SUMMER AND FALL 2018)

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU is proud to announce new creative writing classes and workshops in fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, poetry, screenwriting, flash, hybrid forms, and more for Summer and Fall 2018:

All classes take place at the Piper Writers House (450 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281). Hours and costs vary. Discounts are available for students and ASU affiliates. To learn more and register, you can download a flier, find classes on facebook, visit our website at https://piper.asu.edu/classes.

Once in a while, it’s time to remind you about the Poisoned Pen’s Book Clubs. July is perfect as the dividing point in the year.

Football player. Activist. Philanthropist. Those are all words that describe Michael Bennett, along with author. He was recently a speaker at Town Hall Seattle. We can share the program with you, however, we’d like to share the book first. You can order Things That Make White People Uncomfortable through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2tAQ9Gy

Here’s the summary.

Michael Bennett is a Super Bowl Champion, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, a fearless activist, a feminist, a grassroots philanthropist, an organizer, and a change maker. He’s also one of the most scathingly humorous athletes on the planet, and he wants to make you uncomfortable.

Bennett adds his unmistakable voice to discussions of racism and police violence, Black athletes and their relationship to powerful institutions like the NCAA and the NFL, the role of protest in history, and the responsibilities of athletes as role models to speak out against injustice. Following in the footsteps of activist-athletes from Muhammad Ali to Colin Kaepernick, Bennett demonstrates his outspoken leadership both on and off the field.

Written with award-winning sportswriter and author Dave Zirin,Things that Make White People Uncomfortable is a sports book for our turbulent times, a memoir, and a manifesto as hilarious and engaging as it is illuminating.

*****

Well, Hollywood may have just caught on that Megan Abbott’s books will make good  movies, but savvy readers have known about her books for a while. You can find them in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2ItIuyB

If you haven’t read one of Abbott’s books before, check them out before they are turned into films. Here’s Daniel Canfield’s article for EW.com. “Is Megan Abbott Hollywood’s next big novelist?” https://bit.ly/2IrFTFi

Here’s an award that isn’t quite as well known as the Edgars, the Agathas, and the Anthonys. According to Wikipedia, “The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by the Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout.” This year’s winner will be presented with the award at the Black Orchid banquet on Dec. 1 in New York City.

Congratulations to all of the finalists. Look for their books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Of course, an extra congratulations and hat tip to Warren C. Easley, whose Blood for Wine is published by Poisoned Pen Press.

Here are the nominees.

• The Dime by Kathleen Kent (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown)
• The Lioness is the Hunter by Loren D. Estelman (Forge)
• Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman (Forge)
• August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho)
• Blood for Wine by Warren C. Easley (Poisoned Pen Press)

*****

And, just in case you want to check it out, here’s the summary for Blood for Wine.

Cal Claxton’s old farmhouse sits high in Oregon’s Red Hills, home of scores of wineries and some of the most coveted acreage for growing the pinot noir grape in the world. Former Los Angeles prosecutor Cal settled in this haven to reboot his life as a widower, growing a small practice that includes some pro bono work in nearby Portland. Life is good, filled with food, wine, and friends. But this beautiful area is not the idyllic haven it appears to be.

When Cal’s neighbor, Jim Kavanaugh, the owner and gifted vintner of an up-and-coming winery, is accused of murdering his wife, his freedom-and the grape harvest-is suddenly in jeopardy along with his reputation, and his business begins to slide. No gentleman farmer, this puts the rugged winemaker’s property, his only financial asset, in play. When a blackmail plot is hatched against the owner of adjacent land, it begins to look like a brutal game of real-life Monopoly is underway.

Cal agrees to defend Jim, a good friend, which pulls him reluctantly into the blackmail plot. Emotions are running high over Lori Kavanaugh’s bloody death. There is no shortage of suspects. There may be more than the one game in play. And defending Jim might well make Cal the next target of a vicious, cunning killer.

Join author Paul Doiron at the Poisoned Pen on Sunday, July 1 at 2 PM for a 4th of July celebration, an ice cream social, and a signing of his new book, Stay Hidden. We hope you can attend, however Doiron’s books are available through the Web Store if you miss it. https://bit.ly/2KqPe53

Did you grow up on the Nancy Drew mysteries by “Carolyn Keene”? Although we all know now that the books in the series were written by a number of authors, how much do you know about Mildred Wirt Benson, the woman who wrote the first books? Before I link to a fascinating article by Jennifer Fisher, just a reminder that you can order The Secret of the Old Clock, the first in the series, and the other mysteries, through the Web Store.  https://bit.ly/2MRJfVv

Jennifer Fisher, president of the Nancy Drew fan club, The Nancy Drew Sleuths, recently wrote an essay for Zocalo Public Square, called “The Real Life Adventuress Who Turned Nancy Drew into a Modern Heroine”. It’s part of the series, “What It Means to be an American”, a national conversation hosted by the Smithsonian and Arizona State University. Here’s the story of Mildred Wirt Benson. https://bit.ly/2Mm3tFK

Poisoned Pen Press author Mary Anna Evans writes the Faye Longchamp mysteries. Faye is a mixed-race archaeologist based in Florida on her family’s plantation, although her adventures take her all over the United States. You can find Evans’ mysteries in the Web Store, of course. https://bit.ly/2IrcqLo

Mary Anna Evans is due for congratulations on another front, though. I’m just going to copy the news release from the national chapter of Sisters in Crime.

“Sisters in Crime has chosen a recipient for its 2018 Academic Research Grant, awarded annually to support scholars who are studying gender and diversity in crime fiction. These grants cover up to $500 toward the purchase of books needed for research.

Mary Anna Evans, known for her award-winning Faye Longchamp mystery series, is an Assistant Professor of Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma and is the recipient of this year’s grant.

She is embarking on a study that will center on selected works by Agatha Christie, exploring underlying patterns in her portrayal of justice, with a particular focus on her experiences during the years when women were gaining full access to the British legal system as jurors, prosecutors, and judges. Archival research at the universities of Exeter and Reading in the UK coupled with critical examinations of a number of Christies’ mysteries will lead to several planned scholarly articles and ultimately a book tentatively titled Agatha Christie, Witness to the Evolution: Women, Justice, Crime Fiction, and the Twentieth Century.

In her grant proposal Evans wrote ‘by putting [Christie’s] body of work into historical context with the changes in British law and society, I will show that her writings speak both directly and indirectly to the changing legal status of women in a way that is particularly suited to her genre of choice, crime fiction. I will argue that Christie’s social commentary on the British justice system, perhaps revealing a veiled frustration and anger, is particularly evident when her characters circumvent the legal system in their efforts to shape their world into one that they perceive as just.'”