Release of Walter’s third novel delayed
Sometimes, the publisher knows best. Or at least the marketers who run the company think that they do. And the writers, in most cases, are forced to go along. That’s the case with Spokane author Jess Walter, whose third novel, “Citizen Vince,” won’t be released in September as originally scheduled. The book, which is set mostly in Spokane and follows the life of a petty crook during the week preceding the 1980 presidential election, has been pulled back.
The reason, according to Walter: Advance orders weren’t what Regan Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, wanted.
“They have faith in the book,” Walter says, “so they wanted to hold off so that they could pave a better way.”
The book was supposed to be released in tandem with the trade paperback editions of Walter’s two previous novels, “Over Tumbled Graves” and “Land of the Blind.” Now it appears that “Citizen Vince,” at least, won’t be in stores until March at the earliest.
“My first reaction was, ‘Are you crazy? It’s an election book. It needs to come out now,’ ” Walter says. “But their fear was that it would just get lost in the shuffle. There’s so much coming out right now.”
Walter is hard at work both on the screenplay for “Citizen Vince” and a fourth novel. But his thoughts, at the moment, remain with “Citizen Vince.”
“I guess it’s good news,” he says. “It had me sort of disappointed at first, because I think these books are sort of like 18-year-olds. You really love them but you kind of want them out of the house, in college or working or something.”
Wanted: readers
The Coeur d’Alene Public Library is looking for a few literary explorers.
The expedition begins Sept. 13 and involves a reading/discussion series titled “Reading Lewis and Clark,” which is based on the westward trek made by explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. First up is “Lewis and Clark Among the Indians,” by James P. Ronda, which will be discussed that day at 7 p.m. at the library, 201 E. Harrison.
Other reads and their appropriate dates include:
Sept. 27 – “The Essential Lewis and Clark,” by Landon Jones.
Oct. 11 – “Truth About Sacajawea,” by Kenneth Thomasma, and “Sacajawea of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,” by Ella E. Clark and Margot Edmonds.
Oct. 25 – “Sign-Talker: The Adventure of George Drouillard on the Lewis and Clark Expedition,” by James Alexander Thom.
Nov. 8 – “William Clark and the Shaping of the West,” by Landon Jones.
“Reading Lewis and Clark” is part of the “Let’s Talk About It” reading series, which is sponsored by the Idaho State Library and the Idaho Humanities Council. The Coeur d’Alene Library is one of 10 libraries in Idaho chosen to participate in the series.
For further information, contact David Townsend at (208) 769-2315 or dtown@cdalibrary.org.
For sale: Get Lit!
Just another reminder: Festival Series Ticket Packages for Get Lit! 2005 go on sale Wednesday at all TicketsWest outlets. The series pass is priced at $112.50, which is $12.50 less than the total price of individual tickets to the four main events: Rita Dove and Robert Bly on April 17, David Sedaris on April 21, Bob Edwards on April 22, and Salman Rushdie on April 23.
Individual tickets go on sale Nov. 1. For further information, call TicketsWest at 325-SEAT or see the festival Web site at www.ewu.edu/getlit.
Buy a banned book
Considering the upcoming presidential election, the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 2) has opted for a particularly apt title this year: “Elect to Read a Banned Book.”
The ALA-sponsored event has been held nationally since 1982. In 2003, the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom received 458 reports of challenges, which it defines as “formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.”
The five most-challenged books in 2003 were Phillis Reynolds Naylor’s “Alice” series (sexual content, offensive language, unsuited to age group); J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series (wizardry, magic); John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (offensive language); Michael A. Bellesiles’ “Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture” (inaccuracy); and Walter Dean Myers’ “Fallen Angels” (racism, sexual content, offensive language, drugs, violence).
To find out more about Banned Books Week, go to www.ala.org.
Book talk
“ Gay & Lesbian Book Group (“Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,” Jeanette Winterson), 7 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).
“ Valley Readers Group (“Unravelling,” Elizabeth Graver), 7 p.m. Thursday, Valley Hastings, 15312 E. Sprague Ave. (924-0667).
The reader board
“ Frank F. Tobie (“The Bridge Knows the Way: Seeing America Through Covered Bridges”), 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“ Patricia Briggs (“Raven Shadow”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.