February

2009

Noteworthy Events    Pelican in Pages  Author Appearances  Quotes from the Media  
  On a Solemn Note

Noteworthy Events

Vincenza Scarpaci’s The Journey of the Italians in America ($35.00) has been selected by the Order Sons of Italy for inclusion in their national book club. The book was reviewed in the current issue of Italian America magazine, and the review is posted on the Order Sons of Italy in America Web site: www.osia.org. The second printing of the book has just been received.

Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana ($19.95 pb), by Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant, has been adopted by Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, and is being taught in a class called Haunting New Orleans. The book is also being used as a supplement in the University of New Orleans course History of Louisiana.

Kit Wohl, author of New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups ($15.95), will appear for a live three-minute television interview on Good Morning New Orleans broadcast on WGNO ABC 26. The interview will air on Monday, February 2, at approximately 6:15 am. She will also discuss her new book with amNewYork. The free daily newspaper will include the cookbook in a story about New Orleans food in its February 18 issue.

Beginning in 2009, Pelican Publishing will be distributing for SelfHelp Success Books. The company launches four titles this spring. For parents struggling to correct unsatisfactory behavior, author Don Fontenelle offers How to be a Good Parent by Dealing Effectively with the Most Common Behavioral Problems of Children ($25.95 pb), How to Live with Your Children ($29.95 pb), and The Parent’s Guide to Solving School Problems ($25.95 pb). Albert J. Miller dispenses advice on health and prevention with Chest Pain: When and When Not to Worry ($14.95 pb).

On Saturday, February 7, the family of James Rice, considered the South’s leading illustrator of children’s books, will be holding an art exhibit in honor of what would have been his seventy-fifth birthday. Rice had more than sixty titles to his name, including sixteen in Pelican’s Night Before Christmas Series. The free event in Hamilton, TX, is open to the public and will feature original drawings from his most popular book, Cajun Night Before Christmas^® ($15.95). The event will also present books, paintings, and sculptures, many of which have never been displayed outside the family. The exhibit will be available from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Hamilton Fine Arts Center.

Dwana Pusser, coauthor of Walking On: A Daughter’s Journey with Legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser ($23.00), will appear on Memphis’s WPTY ABC 24 Eyewitness News at Midday on February 13, around 11:30 am. She will also be interviewed on the Memphis radio show "Book Talk" on WYPL 89.3 fm. The half-hour interview will be broadcast at 9:00 am. On February 14, Pusser will sign copies of her book at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Memphis, and at Bookstar on February 21. More information about these signings can be found in the Author Events section at the end of the newsletter.

Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen ($24.00), by Lynn Homan and Thomas Reilly, has been adopted as a required text in a World War II history class at Baylor University. The all-black force of elite WWII pilots who served in the training program at Tuskegee Army Air Field had a part in changing history. The remaining living members were invited to the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama in January.

Keith Weldon Medley, the author of We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson ($24.95), is giving a talk as part of "A Celebration of Progress," an event held in honor of the unveiling of an historical marker at the site of Homer Plessy’s arrest. While the anniversary is February 12, Medley will present his discussion on February 5 at the Alvar Street Branch Public Library in New Orleans, at 6:30 pm. In his speech, "Homer Plessy: The Man, the Movement, the Moment," he will address a number of topics about Plessy, with a New Orleans-centric look at his life.

On A Solemn Note

Jan White Brantley passed away in December of breast cancer. One of her photographic exhibits at the Historic New Orleans Collection is "City of Hope: New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." The photography of Brantley and her husband, Robert, can be found in New Orleans Cemeteries Postcard Book ($5.95).

Praise for Pelican Titles

The Journey of the Italians in America, by Vincenza Scarpaci ($35.00).

"Scarpaci’s thorough research offers a wealth of facts and details that reveal how the immigrants and their descendants have succeeded despite many hardships."

                                                                                                                             —Sons of Italy National Book Club

Cookies to Die For!, by Bev Shaffer ($26.95).

"Cookie monsters, sweet-tooths and venturesome bakers take note: the litany of treats in this inventive collection may make it the last cookbook you need."                      —Publishers Weekly

New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups, by Kit Wohl ($15.95).

"This is the fifth of her New Orleans Classics series. And I suspect it may be the best yet. Wohl has mastered the process."                                                                                    —Judy Walker, New Orleans Times Picayune

Pelican in Pages

Kit Wohl’s newest book, New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups ($15.95), is a Gourmet magazine Cookbook Club selection for the month of February. Watch for recipes, interviews, and online video exclusives!

The Journal of Southern History will review The Revolutionary War in the Southern Back Country ($24.95), by James K. Swisher, in their February issue.

Baton Rogue Parents Magazine will feature Johnette Downing’s book Chef Creole ($15.95) in their February issue. The magazine will offer a small giveaway in the issue, which will be available on 
newsstands February 1.

St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah ($24.95), by Polly Powers Stramm and Janice Shay, will be featured in the February/March issue of the South magazine.

Available on newsstands February 15, Atlanta magazine will feature Atlanta Classic Desserts ($15.95), by Krista Reese, in their March issue. The book is also featured on the magazine’s Web site 
as an editor’s pick.

Library Journal will review The Journey of the Italians in America ($35.00), by Vincenza Scarpaci, in the February 15 issue. In addition, the Eugene Register-Guard will include an interview with Scarpaci in its February 15 issue.

WHERE Dallas magazine will be including recipes and images from Helen Thompson’s new book, Dallas Classic Desserts ($15.95), in the February issue.

An interview with Carol K. Haase, the author of Louisiana’s Old State Capitol (14.95 pb), will appear in the February issue of Baton Rouge’s regional magazine 225.

Folio Weekly, the weekly newspaper of northeastern Florida, will run an interview with Phil Sandusky, author and artist of Jacksonville Through a Painter’s Eyes ($19.95).

A review of The Rope ($15.95), by Joe Kulka, appears in the January/February issue of 
ForeWord magazine.

Gulfscapes, a Gulf Coast regional magazine, will feature an article about Frank Davis, including his collection of cookbooks: The Fisherman’s Tackle Box Bible ($17.95 pb); Frank Davis Cooks Cajun, Creole, and Crescent City ($23.00); Frank Davis Cooks Naturally N’Awlins ($21.95); Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries! A New Orleans Cookbook ($23.00); and The Frank Davis Seafood Notebook ($21.95), in their spring issue.

Author Appearances

February 12 (Thur.), 7:00 pm: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 24519 Cedar Rd., Cleveland, OH 44122; signing

February 14 (Sat.), 1:00-3:00pm: Learned Owl Book Shop, 204 N. Main St., Hudson, OH 44236, signing and tasting

February 4 (Wed.), 4:00-6:00 pm: Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St., New Orleans, LA 70115, signing

February 8 (Sun.), 1:00-3:00 pm: A Tisket A Tasket, 910 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA 70116, signing

February 7 (Sat.), 1:00-3:00 pm: Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St., New Orleans, LA 70130; signing

February 12 (Thur.), 6:00-8:00 pm: Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St., New Orleans, LA 70130; signing, refreshments, and live music; $10 fee

February 17 (Tues.), 6:30-8:30 pm: (Algiers Point) Hubbell Public Library, Carriage House behind the Algiers Courthouse, 225 Morgan St., New Orleans, LA 70114; signing for the Pelican Author Series

February 28 (Sat.), 1:00-2:30 pm: Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple St., New Orleans, LA 70118; signing

February 1 (Sun.), 2:00-4:00 pm: Our Lady of Holy Cross College, 4123 Woodland Dr., New Orleans, LA 70131; discussion and book signing

February 7 (Sat.), 2:00-4:00 pm: Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 1601B West Bank Expressway, Harvey, LA 70058; signing

February 10 (Tues.), 10:30 am-12:30 pm: Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 3414 Hwy. 190 Ste. 10, Mandeville, LA 70471; signing

February 8 (Sun.), 2:00-4:00 pm: Finn McCool’s Irish Pub, 3701 Banks St., New Orleans, LA 70119; signing and reading with questions and answers

February 12 (Thur.), 5:00-7:00 pm: Garden District Books, 2727 Prytania St., New Orleans, LA 70130; signing and reading with questions and answers

February 14 (Sat.), 2:00-4:00 pm: Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 2774 N. Germantown Pkwy., Memphis, TN 38133; signing

February 21 (Sat.), 2:00-4:00 pm: Bookstar, 3402 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38111; signing

February 10 (Tues.), 11:00 am-2:00 pm: Playville, Inc., 1505 N. Hwy. 190, Covington, LA 70433

For more information on author signings and appearances please visit our Upcoming Events Schedule at http://www.pelicanpub.com/events.asp.

Fax: 504-368-1195

Toll-free Orders: 1-800-843-1724

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pelican-Publishing-Company-Inc/13467363631 

Web Home Page:
 www.pelicanpub.com