Summary (from publisher):

Keyworth, whose family moved to Tucson in 1947, spent her childhood and part of her young adulthood in the Southwest, and many of her poems reflect her response to that landscape - a falling-down house on Lee Street in the 'seventies, the "holy flatness" of the Tucson Valley, a "eucalyptus porous as the light." Other poems in this collection range in topic from an audition for a television commercial to a retelling of the Three Bears tale in which Goldilocks is replaced by Scrapefoot the fox.

Local author Stephen Campbell's Stoned Messiah: The Revelation of Stephen has been published by Pennywyse Press ($10, 164 pages). Pennywyse Press is an imprint of Imago Press, a local publisher.

Summary (from publisher):

Spanning a 16-year period that begins in a drug-induced vacuum of nothingness and ends with the author floating in a pool of spiritual radiance, Stoned Messiah tells of the journey of Stephen Campbell - a.k.a. Mr. Nobody. This book favors no specific religion and, at the same time, honors them all. It contains much knowledge, a bit of wisdom, some humor, and a few surprises.

Tucson author Pamela Keyes' book The Jumbee has been published by Dial Books for Young Readers. (400 pages, $17.99)

Summary (from press release):

When Esti Legard starts theater school on Cariba, she's determined to step out of the shadow of her late father, a famous actor. But on an island rife with superstition, Esti can't escape the darkness. ln the black of the theater, an alluring phantom voice - known only as Alan - becomes her drama tutor, while in the light of day Esti struggles to resist her magnetic attraction to Rafe, the local bad boy. When shocking accidents begin on the set of Romeo and Juliet, the islanders are sure the theater is haunted by a jumbee. ls Esti's secret mentor a wicked ghost? And what will it cost her - and those she loves - to unmask the truth?

Dress like a librarian and come DANCE. TO. LITERATURE. (collaborations between local authors and musicians, spun for you by DJs Andrew Shuta and Robert Felix), immerse yourself in the nonstop literary multimedia environment we're creating for you, for you. Just for you.

LIVE READINGS! by local and national authors, including Ander Monson, Amelia Gray, Jake Levine, Drew Krewer, and many many more.

NO INTRODUCTIONS! NO ANNOUNCEMENTS! NO STOPPING! NO WAITING! The music starts and the music does not stop, not even when they're reading (we've got people making the music for that).

LIVE MUSIC TOO! Featuring:

B4SKIN WAR NERD (debut performance)

Come ready to fill your arms with books (we'll be binding live in the storefront on Congress for the three days leading up to the event — and don't worry what you'll do with the books, we'll have hat/coat/bag/book check available at the event):

SPORK 9.1 official release! Chapbooks by: Drew Krewer, Jake Levine, Dan Beachy-Quick, Gordon Massman

CONSTRUCTION OF A COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE BOOK! For no reason other than it'd be cool to do it, we're making a completely unreasonable book in the middle of all this. You'll dance next to it.

ALSO, bring any books you would like to donate to Read Between the Bars (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Read-Between-the-Bars/108267683221?ref=ts). They will be partying with us that night. Any books would be great, but in the interest of literature, and bettering our society, maybe you got a copy of some classic literature lying around. Whatever you have, bring it down. They can't have books on martial arts, porn and, well stuff you might expect they can't have. RBTB accepts donations of packaging materials and tape, paperback books in good condition and office supplies. They are also looking for a bigger space to house their books.

We'll break out our reading glasses and head on down there. More details here.

A Chicago Fox News affiliate recently delivered a particularly stupid story questioning whether libraries were a big waste of tax dollars:

They eat up millions of your hard earned tax dollars. It's money that could be used to keep your child's school running. So with the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for libraries?

Libraries are quiet havens for the community. They take us to other worlds. They even make us laugh. But should these institutions — that date back to 1900 B.C. — be on the way out?

And reporter Anna Davlantes actually used a hidden camera to report the piece.

We're a long way from Chicago (and library officials there are defending their library system without us.) But let us say that we find the Pima County Public Library to be a great community resource. We check out a lot of books, DVDs and CDs. We browse magazines and take advantage of Consumer Reports when we're considering a major purchase. We search the catalog online, place our order with a few clicks and get an e-mail when our latest request is waiting for us on the holdshelf. In short, we love the local library.

And, to the point of this piece, we'd like to congratulate them on a newly redesigned and nifty website.

Tom Walker and Mary Walker recently published Contrary Creek (Wheatmark, $22.95, 324 pages).

Summary (per site):
For generations, members of the Cloud family have lived on Contrary Creek. Their remote, isolated ranch seems safe from the world. Even tv signals can't reach into the deep canyon where they live.

But strange things are happening in the town of Faraway, ten miles from the Cloud ranch. The school principal goes on a book-banning crusade. A mysterious and beautiful high school teacher claims to be a witch and turns her science class into a theatre of the disturbed. A series of suspicious deaths put the town on edge.

And meanwhile, a different kind of witch hunt is brewing that could tear apart the town-and the Cloud family's way of life.

Contrary Creek is a novel about love, loss, and the power of hope. Wade into its waters, and discover a special reading experience.

Author bios (per site):
The brother and sister writing team of Tom and Mary Walker grew up on Arizona ranches near Wickenburg and Pleasant Valley. Tom is a retired journalist with nearly thirty years of newspaper experience as a reporter and editor. After retiring from journalism, Tom worked as a grant writer for nonprofits in Tucson, Arizona. Mary, a social worker, spends her days with homeless, mentally ill adults and children and her evenings with writing projects including her e-zine Witsendmagazine.

For more information, visit www.contrarycreeknovel.com.

E-books and deep discounts at big-box stores may be sounding the death knell for yet another locally owned book stores.

Clues Unlimited, which has specialized in the sale of mystery books since it opened 14 years ago, may close at the end of the year, says owner Christine Burke.

“I feel like I’m fighting against the tide of history by trying to sell books,” said Burke. “Times have changed so much.”

Her competitors used to be stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders, but that has changed. Stores like Walmart and Costco now sell books at enormous discounts, and devices like the Kindle and the Nook have made it even more difficult for small-time booksellers like Burke to stay in business.

Burke said big-box stores sell books for as much as 40 percent less than she does. As for e-books, Burke said large book sellers like Amazon have cornered that market, and that few opportunities exist for independent bookstores.

She's considering converting her business into an online bookstore, but the idea is still in the planning stages.

For the time being, Burke said she’ll be sticking around at least until the end of the year. She has posted a notice on her website announcing the possible closure and seeking ideas on ways to keep the store open.

Call 326-8533 with any ideas or suggestions.

Oro Valley resident D.R. Wise has won the 2010 national Indie Excellence Awards in the gift-book category for The Dreamzappers, $19.95, hardcover, 36 pages, Golden Impact Press.

Per a press release:

The Dreamzappers is the first in a series of gift books to be released one per year. The second book, The Fine Arts of Life, was recently released. Both books are available at the Barnes and Noble site by special order or at various independent booksellers throughout Tucson.

Carlos Solorzano's I Am His Mother has just been released in time for Mother's Day.
$12.99, available here.

A summary, courtesy of the author:

An ancient document has been unearthed in the city of Ephesus and archaeologists have confirmed that it appears to be a Christian document from the first century CE. Scholars have studied the document and have determined that it is not another Gospel or an earlier form of an existing Gospel nor is it any type of Christian epistle. Theologians have analyzed the document and have identified it as a personal reflection on the life of Jesus Christ and believe the author to be…Mary, His Mother!

Congratulations to local writer Naomi Benaron, who won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction. Details below.

The 2010 winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, the largest monetary prize for unpublished fiction in North America, is announced: Naomi Benaron of Tucson will claim the $25,000 award and publication with the Bellwether’s partner publisher, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, N.C. The announcement marks the award’s 10th anniversary.

Prize founder Barbara Kingsolver calls Benaron’s manuscript, Running the Rift, culturally rich and completely engrossing. “It engages the reader with complex political questions about ethnic animosity in Rwanda and so many other issues relevant to North American readers," Kingsolver said. "For one, it conveys the impossibility of remaining neutral within a climate of broad moral compromise—even for purportedly apolitical institutions like the Olympics.”

Benaron’s unique background includes a Master of Fine Arts degree from Antioch University in Los Angeles , and a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, with a concentration in seismology. She is also a certified orthopedic massage therapist, and an Ironman Triathlete. Currently, she teaches at Pima Community College, works online with women writers in Afghanistan through the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, and works with African refugees in the community.