University of Cincinnati Libraries Press Release
Contact: Melissa Cox Norris, Director of Library Communications, (513) 556-1558 or melissa.norris@uc.edu
Join University of Cincinnati Libraries at Books by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival
Oct. 27, 2008 –Mark your calendars! On Saturday, November 1, the 2nd annual Books by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Books Festival will take place at Duke Energy Convention Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The day-long festival will feature over 90 regional and national authors, book signings, author panels, and activities for the entire family to enjoy. All events are free and open to the public.
At the festival, attendees will have the opportunity to meet authors and to purchase signed copies of their books. Books by the Banks features writers in 15 categories including fiction, non-fiction, cooking, children's literature, science fiction, romance, and more. University of Cincinnati authors representing the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, Clermont College, and Raymond Walters College will be among the 90 authors at the festival. The UC authors are:
- James Braziel, adjunct assistant professor of English & Comparative Literature for the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)
In the fiction category, Braziel will feature his debut novel, Birmingham, 35 Miles (Bantam). The novel portrays a dark, futuristic account of the life of a young migrant laborer in the south, which has become a desert due to an environmental disaster. Just north of Birmingham, a better life awaits him and his wife, if only they can get there.
- James C. Wilson, professor of English & Comparative Literature, A&S
Wilson’s memoir, Weather Reports from the Autism Front: A Father’s Memoir of His Autistic Son (McFarland & Company, Inc.), is described as follows by Amazon.com: “Based on detailed research and a lifetime of personal experience, James Wilson recounts his personal journey as the primary companion of his now twenty-six-year-old autistic son, Sam. This realistic, irreverent account of an autistic young man and his misadventures while transitioning to adulthood provides enlightening truths as well as sardonic humor. Formally seen as a neurological disorder, autism is increasingly being looked upon as simply a form of neurodiversity. Rejecting mainstream attitudes, Wilson explores this modern view of autism through his own experience as well as quotes from autistic people and bloggers, some of whom are the most vocal proponents of this viewpoint. A detailed bibliography accompanies this engaging memoir of a father and son's experience negotiating the slippery slopes of normality.”
- Cynthia Crane, associate professor of English and Communication, Raymond Walters College
Crane’s non-fiction book, Divided Lives: The Untold Stories of Jewish-Christian Women in Nazi Germany (Macmillan), reveals the stories of 10 women who were children of Jewish-Christian marriages in Nazi Germany, illuminating their physical and emotional trials, traumas and triumphs under the anti-Jewish laws of the Third Reich and post-World War II.
- Gary Knepp, adjunct assistant professor of history and political science, Clermont College
Knepp’s history, Freedom’s Struggle: A Response to Slavery from the Ohio Borderlands (Little Miami Publishing Company), explores the role of Clermont County in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.
A commemorative Books by the Banks poster by artist/illustrator C.F.Payne will be available for purchase at the festival for $5.
Books by the Banks is organized by Borders Books, CET, Cincinnati Magazine, The Mercantile Library, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and University of Cincinnati Libraries.
The Books by the Banks Web site has information on the authors scheduled to appear at the event, a schedule of panel sessions, activities scheduled in the Target Kids Corner, as well as directions and parking information for Duke Energy Convention Center. For more information, visit www.booksbythebanks.org.
-- ### --
Return to list of press releases