Authors and their Cats: Stephen King

Happy Caturday! Love this photo of Stephen King and his Cat.

Stephen King returning to character Holly Gibney in new novel

Stephen King is returning to the character of Holly Gibney in a new novel titled Holly. 

Gibney, a private investigator with OCD, previously appeared in King's Bill Hodges trilogy of novels (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch) and his 2018 book The Outsider. 

 

King made the announcement on the new episode of the The Kingcast podcast. "I could never let Holly Gibney go from the Mr. Mercedes books," King told hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler. "I mean, she was supposed to be a walk-on character and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart and so I just finished a novel that's called Holly and it's all her, man."

Read more here. 

MYSTERY BYTES: Interesting and Quirky Mystery-Related Links

Here's my weekly Round-Up of interesting and quirky mystery-related articles and postings on the Internet. Just wanted to share in case you missed these. Click on the link to read the entire story.

Ms Fisher MODern set to Swing onto TV screens. Screen Australia.

The Seven Network, Screen Australia and Every Cloud Productions today announced that Ms Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries, a glamorous new television series set in swinging 60’s Melbourne, will go into production in October. Ms Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries is the spin-off from one of Australia’s most loved and successful television series, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Set in 1964, audiences will meet the gorgeously reckless Peregrine Fisher who inherits a windfall when the famous aunt she never knew goes missing over the highlands of New Guinea. Peregrine must prove herself brilliant enough to become a world class private detective in her own right. Read more HERE.

Stephen  King's Joyland being adapted for TV. Deadline
Stephen King’s Joyland is in the works for the small screen. Freeform has put into development Joyland, a series based on the King novel, from writers Chris Peña (Jane the Virgin) and Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Stoning of Soraya M.) and Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions (Valor). Read more HERE.

9 Great Medical Thrillers Chosen by a Physician. CrimeReads. 
Pandemics, Epidemics, Viruses and Medical Mysteries.   Read More Here.

The Capture: Holliday Grainger to lead new BBC crime Drama. Cultbox. 
The BBC have announced a new crime drama, The Capture, which is set to star Holliday Grainger and Fantastic Beasts‘ Callum Turner.
Grainger, known for her role on Strike, will play Rachel Carey, a detective inspector sent in to investigate the case of ex-British soldier, Shaun Emery (played by Turner) recently accused of murder in Afghanistan. After the initial investigation is abandoned due to flawed evidence, CCTV footage regarding an incident with Emery in London causes the case to be reopened. Read more Here.

Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming Talk Thrillers. CrimeReads
The world of mysteries and thrillers has produced some memorable friendship but perhaps none quite so distinguished as the one struck up later in life between between Raymond Chandler, the laureate of American hardboiled fiction, and Ian Fleming, the legendary English author of the James Bond novels. The relationship began when Fleming wrote to Chandler asking for an endorsement that would be used to help market the Bond novels in America. Chandler ultimately reviewed two books from the 007 series—Diamonds Are Forever and Dr. No—for The Sunday Times, and the two authors, both on their way to legendary status, struck up a warm personal relationship. In 1958, celebrating Chandler’s 70th birthday, the BBC asked Fleming to “interview” his eminent friend. The result was a rollicking, far-ranging conversation in which the authors discussed the state of the thriller, heroes and villains, the struggle for literary credibility, and how a murder is planned and executed. Read more HERE. 

THE BEST PLACES TO FIND INDIE Mysteries. BookRiot.
There is no mistaking the popularity of mystery novels. But scan the New York Times bestseller list and you will find little diversity. However, if instead of looking at bestsellers, we explore one of the awards focused on mystery books, we find a very different picture. Take the Anthony Awards. Examining the fiction winners, we find two women of color, three other women, and an anthology filled with diverse writers. And in the list of nominees, indie presses outnumber the “Big Five” publishers fourteen to eleven. Read more Here.

THE DIAGRAM PRIZE 2018 SHORTLIST: THE ODDEST BOOK TITLE OF THE YEAR. TheBookSeller.
An academic treatise on dung, a how-to guide of acupuncture for horses and the first-ever German language entry are among the six books in the running for the 40th edition of The Bookseller's Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. 
The prize, founded by Trevor Bounford and the late Bruce Robinson of publishing solutions firm the Diagram Group, is the annual celebration of the book world's strangest and most perplexing titles. The Bookseller and its legendary diarist Horace Bent have been custodians of the prize since 1982. Read more Here.

And here's a quirky, but possibly understandable, news item! 

Antarctic scientist 'stabs colleague who kept telling him endings of books he was reading.' Mirror.
A scientist plunged a kitchen knife into his colleague as he was fed up with the man telling him the endings of books, say investigators. Sergey Savitsky, 55, and Oleg Beloguzov, 52, would pass the lonely hours during four harsh years together in a remote outpost in Antarctica by reading. However Savitsky became angry after Beloguzov kept telling him the endings, it has been claimed. READ MORE HERE.


GOODREADS BEST MYSTERY & THRILLER NOMINEES. GoodReads

Stephen King Film Festival

Year-long Stephen King Film Festival features Films and Symposia

Fans of Stephen King’s writing now have an opportunity to immerse themselves in his literature, studying the iconic author and the movies sparked by his books. The Stephen King Film Festival takes place in Mansfield, Ohio -- the very location where one of his most famous movies based on his work was filmed. One of the most haunted and recognizable places in all of Ohio, the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield gained much of its notoriety not for its own historic past, but its role in the Stephen King novella that produced “The Shawshank Redemption.” Twenty-four years after the release of the No. 1 movie of all time (according to IMDB), King fans now can celebrate his work in Mansfield June through December, 2018.

The Festival includes screenings of some of the most renowned movies based on King’s novels and novellas at Mansfield’s historic Renaissance Theater. Each screening begins at 7 p.m. and will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a talk led by a noted authority on Stephen King’s writings and their impact on literature and society. After each discussion and film screening, attendees are invited to head to nearby Phoenix Brewing Company for craft beer tastings, movie trivia, and further discussion of film and literary works. The brewery offers Redemption IPA, among others.

Speakers for the evenings, held monthly with the exception of September, include professors, pop-culture experts and literary authorities specializing in King’s work, including:

• June 21: Stand by Me, Carl Sederholm, PhD, professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities, Comparative Arts and Letters, Brigham Young University; Dr. Sederholm has written several articles and scholarly studies of King’s work
• July 19: CUJO, Phil Simpson, PhD, President-Elect of the Popular Culture Association & American Culture Association, Dr. Simpson has written two books; one onStephen King's work and another tracking serial killers through contemporary American film and fiction
• August 16: IT, Mary Findley, PhD, a Professor of English at Vermont Technical College, Dr. Findley’s expertise includes how horror is manifested in popular culture, having written extensively about Stephen King's work in Contemporary Literary Criticism and other scholarly journals
• October 18: Carrie, Michael Perry, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Rockford University, Dr. Perry authored “King Me: Inviting New Perceptions” and “Purposes of the Popular and Horrific into the College Classroom.” He also co-edited “Stephen King's Modern Macabre: Essays on the Later Works.”
• November 15: The Mist, Patrick McAleer, Professor of English, Inver Hills Community College, McAleer authored “Inside the Dark Tower Series” and “The Writing Family of Stephen King”; co-authored “Stephen King's Contemporary Classics: Reflections on the Modern Master of Horror” and co-edited “Stephen King's Modern Macabre: Essays” on the Later Works.”
• December 13: The Shining, Dr. Anthony Magistrale, Professor of English at the University of Vermont, Dr. Magistrale served as a research assistant to Stephen King and has authored dozens of academic books, articles and treatises on King’s work and the Gothic genre  

Mansfield and Richland County, Ohio offers unusual travel adventures and experiences, such as spending the night in a haunted former state prison where Hollywood blockbuster movies are shot, world-class motorsports, skiing, hiking, biking, golf, and loads of other outdoor adventures attract families and visitors of all ages. Complete visitor information and free visitor guides are available at DestinationMansfield.com.

Lee Child & Stephen King talk Jack Reacher

Great talk at the Harvard Bookstore. Lee Child and Stephen King talk Jack Reacher! Thanks to Lee Goldberg for the link. Almost like being there!

Stephen King: 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award

The 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award has been awarded to Stephen King, author of horror and suspense classics such as “It” and “The Shining.”

The award is meant for a critically acclaimed writer whose body of work “helps us understand and interpret the human condition,” according to a news release. Andrew Solomon, the president of PEN America, said Mr. King “has inspired us to stand up to sinister forces through his rich prose, his generous philanthropy and his outspoken defense of free expression.”

Congratulations!

Read the full NYT article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/books/review/stephen-king-pen-literary-service-award.html

A Picture is Worth 4894 Words: Guest Post by Lawrence Block

Today I welcome back Lawrence Block, one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. Larry has been a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler. He's also an amazing editor, as you'll understand from this post, as well as all the anthologies he's edited.

LAWRENCE BLOCK:
A PICTURE IS WORTH 4894 WORDS

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Well, not necessarily. Not if it’s been painted by Edward Hopper. His pictures, it turns out, are each worth 4894 words.

More or less.

I can explain.
A year and a half ago, in June of 2015, I was sitting at my computer one Sunday afternoon, and if you’d been watching you might have seen a light bulb take form above my head. I had an idea, and I couldn’t possibly tell you where it came from or what might have prompted it, but there it was:

An anthology.

New stories, each inspired by a painting.

By Edward Hopper.

On December 6, 2016, one week ago as I write these lines, Pegasus Books published In Sunlight or in Shadow: 17 Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper. The night before, seven contributors had joined me to launch the book to a capacity crowd at the Whitney Museum, home to the world’s largest Hopper collection. On publication day, we moved our dog-and-pony show to the Mysterious Bookshop, and went home where there were no unsold books left for us to sign.

Neat, huh? Get an idea, and eighteen months later you’ve got a book, and everybody’s happy.

But how did it happen? 
I suppose it was not unnatural for me to think about putting together an anthology right about that time, as I’d had one published very recently. At the invitation of small-press publishers Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges, I’d invited writers to contribute to an anthology of New York-based stories, which was duly published as Dark City Lights by Three Rooms Press. The book turned out remarkably well, and two of the stories went on to earn some special recognition; Erin Mitchell’s story—her first ever—was nominated for an Anthony award, and Parnell Hall’s won a Shamus.

And I was seeing a monetary return on my labor. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though I would wind up making 65¢ an hour for my efforts.

I should add that this was not my first rodeo, let alone my first anthology. I’d edited Manhattan Noir and Manhattan Noir 2 for Akashic Books, and two volumes each of Master’s Choice and Opening Shots, and a few others as well. For a couple, like Death Cruise for the International Association of Crime Writers and Blood on Their Hands for MWA, my contribution was limited to my name and a few words of introduction, but the others were hands-on. I always started out expecting a walk in the park (“You get money, and other people do the writing!”) only to find out that the walk was up the side of a mountain, and the money was something like 65¢ an hour.

So as soon as I got the idea for In Sunlight or in Shadow, I went right to work. I mean, what else could I do? If the poor fool doesn’t keep trying to kick that football, he’s not Charlie Brown, is he?

That same day, I drafted a letter to potential contributors. (I’d already thought of a title, it came to me right on the heels of the idea itself. It’s almost from “Danny Boy,” but not quite; the wording in Frederic Weatherly’s lyric is “in sunshine or in shadow,” but I wanted sunlight.) The letter of invitation may be the most critical part of an editor’s job, as it’s designed to persuade bright and talented people to do something clearly against their best interests—i.e., devote their time and ability to a difficult task unlikely to bring them much in the way of recompense or recognition.

I wrote my email, I polished it some, and I drew up a wish list of writers. The responses I got suggested I’d written a hell of a letter, but I’ve had time to think about it, and it’s clear that Hopper should get the credit.

Because the premise resonated with writer after writer. As I’d suspected, Edward Hopper is a favorite painter of a great many of us who spend our lives making up stories. He’s not a narrative painter, his paintings don’t tell stories so much as they imply the existence of stories as yet untold. We’re invited to tell them.

And my invitees embraced the challenge, whether or not they had the time for it. Stephen King has a Hopper reproduction on his wall; he tells that painting’s story in “The Music Room.” Michael Connelly, busier with the Bosch TV show and his novels than a one-armed paper hanger with the hives, tells of Harry Bosch’s encounter with Hopper’s iconic “Nighthawks,” a painting that had already played a role in his fictional life.

I got stories—wonderful stories—from almost everyone I invited…and two I didn’t. Justin Scott, a good friend of mine and of the book’s publisher, congratulated me on its premise and confided that he’d have loved a chance to contribute a story; days later, an invitee let me know he had to back out, that personal problems made it impossible for him to write anything. “We’ve got space after all,” I told Justin, and he picked a painting and wrote a story.

I knew from the first day that I wanted Gail Levin in the book; as Hopper’s definitive biographer and the editor of his catalogue raisonné, she would supply an imprimatur. (She’d also put together a book of passages referencing Hopper in works of fiction, in which she’d included Michael Connelly and me, among others.) I met with Gail, had a fruitful conversation with her, and ended with the hope that she might be persuaded to furnish an introduction.

“What I’d really like to do,” she said, “is write a story.”

And she did, her first-ever work of fiction, based on the criminous activities of a Hopper family associate, and recounted from his point of view. It’s a honey.

You know what? They’re all honeys. There’s not a clinker in the lot—which is not that remarkable, considering the stature of the contributors. I won’t name my own favorites, not least of all because I keep hanging my mind; reviewers, however, are more inclined to toss bouquets to their top picks, and here’s what particularly delights me—they all pick different stories.

And the book avoids a trap that lies in wait for themed anthologies—i.e., that the same story will be told over and over. But here the only common thread is Edward Hopper, and everyone’s point of departure is a different painting, so that stories have nothing else in common save their excellence. They’re not even all of a genre; while many fit beneath the broad canopy of crime fiction, it won’t stretch to fit over all of them.

There’s a story of mine in here, too. 

I had trouble picking a painting. Then, looking at “Automat,” I was struck with a story idea almost as compelling as the initial idea for the anthology. I had the whole plot, just from a long look at the woman in the hat, sitting at the café table.

But Kris Rusch had already called dibs on “Automat.”

I wrote her and asked how deeply committed she was to that particular painting. She replied immediately, with characteristic grace, to say that she’d just picked that painting without having a story in mind, that she could as easily pick another, and that I was welcome to “Automat.”

And I sat down almost immediately and wrote “Autumn at the Automat,” which I hope you like. And Kris, God bless her, based her story “Still Life 1931” on Hopper’s “Hotel Room 1931,” and it’s deep and rich and stunning.

In Sunlight or in Shadow’s getting a terrific reception, and Pegasus Books is supporting it in spectacular fashion. I may actually net more than 65¢ an hour for this one.

But that’s sort of beside the point. The book’s been a labor of love, and in that respect it’s paid off handsomely.

So much so that there’s a sequel in the works. 

And who could follow Hopper? No one, I decided—and it struck me that I was on to something. If no one painter was so well suited to such a project, why not fling the doors wide? 17 writers, 17 stories, 17 paintings—by 17 different artists.

Alive in Shape and Color—look for it a year from now.

Adaptation of Stephen King's Mr Mercedes: 10 episode series will air in 2018

From The Hollywood Reporter

AT&T's Audience Network is adding another high-profile scripted drama to its roster. The home of originals including Kingdom has handed out a 10-episode straight-to-series order for David E. Kelley's adaptation of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes

Brendan Gleeson and Anton Yelchin have been tapped to star in the project produced by Sonar Entertainment. Mr. Mercedes will premiere in 2018 on both DirecTV and AT&T Uverse.

Read more here.

Authors and their Cats: Stephen King

Happy Caturday! Love this photo of Stephen King and his Cat.

Authors and their Cats: Stephen King

Happy Caturday. Authors and their Cats: Stephen King and Clovis.

North American Hammett Prize

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers announced that Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King (Scribner), has been named the winner of the organization's annual HAMMETT PRIZE for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing.

The winning title was chosen by a group of three distinguished outside judges: Morris Dickstein, author of Why Not Say What Happened: A Sentimental Education; Daniel Simon, Editor-in Chief of World Literature Today; and Frank Wilson, former Books Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and  blogger at Booksinq. The judges selected from among five finalists nominated from the hundreds of crime books published in 2014. These five titles were selected by the organization's nominations committee headed by Del Staecker.      

Other books nominated for the 2014 HAMMETT PRIZE were Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel, by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster); Smoke River, by Krista Foss (McClelland & Stewart); Gangsterland: A Novel, by Tod Goldberg (Counterpoint); and Goodhouse: A Novel, by Peyton Marshall (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).

Mr. King was awarded a bronze trophy, designed by West Coast sculptor, Peter Boiger.  The award
ceremony took place in Somerset, New Jersey, on October 3, during the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association’s  (NAIBA) Fall Conference.    

Stephen King pledges $3 million to Library

How can you not love Stephen King? He and his wife agreed to pay $3 million to overhaul their hometown library in Bangor, Maine. One of the library's most pressing needs is a new roof to protect its collection, described as the biggest in northern New England. The library's copper roof was installed in 1912, when the library was built, and library officials say it's beyond repair.

Read more here