Woodbox Gang Goes to Washington

Illinois is well represented tonight in our nation's capital. The Woodbox Gang, Southern Illinois' very own "caustic acoustic trashcan americana" band will perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at 6pm on the Millenium Stage, admission is free and no ticket required. If you are in the area try and get a seat. This group never disappoints with their eclectic instrumentation, vocal depth and lyrical genius - plainly said these boys bring down the house.

For more information on upcoming Woodbox Gang shows, mp3's and cds check out http://www.woodboxgang.homestead.com/index.html

Guess Who's Notable?

Let us give credit where credit is due - the New York Times 100 Notable books of 2007 list is out and it includes one UIUC professor emeritus, the talented Jean Thompson for her story collection Throw Like a Girl: Stories, and 2 Ninth Letter contributors Dave Eggers for What is the What, and Tom Bissell with The Father of All Things. Congratulations to these authors.



What are you waiting for? Read these books!

Get Thee to a Reading...Today!

Don't miss the opportunity to attend a reading by LeAnne Howe today at Illini Union bookstore (2nd floor Author’s Corner), 4:30 pm (11/14/07).

LeAnne will read from her new novel Miko Kings. A book that Rigoberto González describes as “an incredible act of recovery: baseball, a sport jealously guarded by mainstream Anglo culture, is also rooted in Native American history and territory. The irony behind its status as "the all-American pastime" is not lost on Howe as she weaves these compelling stories and narratives to expose the political games of the 20th century that Native Americans learned to play for resistance and survival."

LeAnne Howe, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is the author of three books, including the novel Shell Shaker (Aunt Lute 2001), winner of the 2002 American Book Award. In 2006-2007 she was the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi at Oxford. Howe wrote the screenplay for Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire, a 90-minute PBS documentary released in November 2006. Her poetry collection Evidence of Red (Salt Publishing, UK; 2005) was awarded the 2006 Oklahoma Book Award. Currently, Howe is Associate Professor and Interim Director of American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and teaches in the M.F.A. program there. She divides her time between her home in Ada, Oklahoma, and her academic life in Illinois.

Booksigning to follow the reading

Kenyon Review and Ohio too!

This weekend, Kenyon College hosted the Kenyon Review Literary Festival. The college is situated in arguably the quaintest town in the midwest. Truly hospitable folks, great cafe's, and a festival that culminated in a reading by Margaret Atwood. Could you ask for anything more?

Wait! It gets better... Jodee participated in a couple of panels and Ninth Letter was lucky enough to be situated between two great collegues, John Bullock (managing editor) from New Ohio Review premiering his second issue...

and M. Scott Douglass, editor and publisher of Main Street Rag.

Now, here's something you'll really like (as if the previous were not enough) we met a Michigan fan cheering for Illinois to win the big game. Yes, Illini Fans, there is a Santa Claus...Illinois 28-Ohio 21.

Congratulations to Kenyon Review for hosting such a successful event.

Festivals, Literary-Style

Adam and Russ survived Winter Wheat without burning down any buildings in Bowling Green (that I'm aware of). Check Adam's blog for the full report. Check back in this space for news about the Kenyon Review Literary Festival, where Ninth Letter was also well represented this past weekend.

In Memoriam

R.I.P. Norman Mailer
1923-2007

We're Talking Ohio!

The Buckeye State.  Birthplace of Aviation.  We're heading into the heart of it all this weekend at two (count 'em 2) literary events!

Find Ninth Letter at the Kenyon Review Literary Festival on Saturday, 11/10.  We'll have a spot in the Midwest Lit Mag Fair in the Gund Ballroom.  

Or, if you're a little more north and a shuffle to the west:

Winter Wheat 2007 is in Bowling Green, OH.  Hosted by the good people at Mid-American Review, it's a weekend of stellar-quality talks and events in a kickin' town.  We're at the Book Fair on Saturday.  (Plus, this year's festival includes talks by 9L contributors including Gary L. McDowell and Mary Biddinger and others!)

If you haven't gotten it already, swing through to get your copy of the latest issue, a new subscription, or renew the one you've already got at a price that's so low, it'll barely cover our gasoline to get it to you!  If you've covered your bases on all of that, just come by and say Hi!  

Hometown Writer Returns...

Katherine Min, a native of Champaign-Urbana, is on campus Wednesday, November 7th at 4:30 p.m. for a reading and book signing at the Illinois Union Bookstore (Author's Corner 2nd Floor).

Mim's first novel, Secondhand World was a finalist for the PEN/Bingham Award, and her short stories have been published in numerous magazines and widely anthologized. She is the recipient of an NEA grant and a Pushcart Prize. She currently teaches in North Carolina.

Don't miss this event!

Roy Kesey at UIUC

Roy Kesey, author of Nothing in the World and All Over will visit campus this Monday, November 5th at 4:30 for a reading and booksigning at the Illini Union Bookstore (Author's Corner, 2nd floor).

Kesey's work has been published in over 50 magazines and most recently appeared in Best American Short Stories 2007. Don't miss this opportunity to experience firsthand the work of a unique and talented writer.