books
‘Moonshining in the Mountains’ comes to Canton Library Author Daniel S. Pierce will discuss his acclaimed book, Corn From a Jar: Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains, at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Canton Public Library. Pierce is a professor of history and chair of the department, at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee, where he worked with distinguished Southern historian James C. Cobb. Pierce is also the author of Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France, as well as The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park. He has had his work published in The New York Times, Southern Cultures, Smokies Life, and numerous encyclopedias including the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. He has appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, The History Channel, North Carolina People with William Friday, North Carolina Bookwatch, and the South Carolina ETV Emmy Award winning program Take on the South. 828.648.2924.
Rash honored in both Carolinas, Canada November 20-26, 2013 Smoky Mountain News
Western Carolina University faculty member and author Ron Rash was honored for his literary body of work by organizations in both Carolinas, while also winning an award for his latest book from a prestigious book and film festival in Canada. Rash, who has been Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at WCU for 10 years, traveled to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill early in October to be recognized as recipient of the 2013 Thomas Wolfe Prize, which is bestowed by that university’s English department to recognize contemporary writers with distinguished bodies of work. Also in October, Rash received a 2013 Governor’s Award in the Humanities from the Humanities Council of South Carolina. In mid-October, Rash learned that his most recent literary release, the short story collection, Nothing Gold Can Stay, was named winner of the Mountain Fiction and Poetry Award at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Rash’s book was one of five category winners chosen from a field of more than 130 titles. Rash’s 14 published works include 10 books of fiction (five novels and five books of short stories) and four volumes of poetry. Filming for a movie adaptation of his bestselling novel Serena took place in early 2012 in the Czech Republic. The movie features Hollywood heavyweights Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and Rash said he expects it to be released early in 2014.
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