John Edgar Wideman, a fixture of the American literary establishment and two-time winner of the prestigious Faulkner Award for fiction, has chosen to publish his latest work through Lulu, breaking from the traditional model he has used to successfully publish more than 20 other works.  

Briefs, Stories for the Palm of the Mind, will be available exclusively on Lulu.com beginning March 14. It is a collection of "microstories" that unveils an original voice and structure, with storytellers who are eavesdroppers, diarists and haiku historians. Selections from the work already have been chosen for the O. Henry Prize Stories 2010 and Best African American Fiction 2010.

Wideman decided against a traditional publishing contract — and royalty advance —  for Briefs because he wanted more control over the publishing process and to develop a more direct connection with his readers. He also wanted to experiment at a time when the publishing industry is undergoing more revolution than evolution.

"I've been thinking about alternatives for a long time," said Wideman, whose works of fiction and non-fiction include the award-winning Brothers and Keepers, Philadelphia Fire and Fanon. "Lulu seems to represent a very live possibility as the publishing industry mutates. I like the idea of being in charge. I have more control over what happens to my book. And I have more control over whom I reach.

"I have a very personal distaste for the blockbuster syndrome," Wideman continued. "The blockbuster syndrome is a feature of our social landscape that has gotten out of hand. Unless you become a blockbuster, your book disappears quickly. It becomes not only publish or perish, but sell or perish."

Wideman, who is also making several backlist titles available on Lulu, is the first client of a new Lulu VIP service that is highly customizable and takes care of most pre- and post-production work, including design, media outreach and marketing. The service is the latest addition to Lulu's open publishing solution and reflects the company's commitment to helping anyone — from amateur authors to experienced ones, and traditional publishers to upstart businesses — reach the world and profit.

"We welcome John Edgar Wideman to the Lulu community," said Bob Young, Lulu's Founder and CEO.

For more information about Wideman or his new work, Briefs, visit www.lulu.com/johnedgarwideman. The book will be featured at exclusive events in New York and Los Angeles on March 14 and March 21, respectively, produced by WordTheatre. For information about those events, visit www.wordtheatre.com.

About Lulu: Lulu (www.lulu.com) empowers anyone to publish and provides an open market for creators to sell and profit. Since 2002, Lulu has attracted more than 1 million creators from 80 countries seeking a more rewarding publishing option.

SOURCE Lulu.com

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(http://www.myprgenie.com) -- The Christophers announced today that the 61st annual Christopher Awards ceremony will be held here on Thursday evening, April 15, 2010, at 320 Park Avenue, 35th floor. The Christopher Awards salute media that remind audiences and readers, young and old, of all faiths and of no particular faith, of their worth, individuality and power to make a difference and positively influence our world.

"The awards truly highlight our mission to point out what's good in popular culture," said Mary Ellen Robinson, vice president of The Christophers.

"For more than 60 years, we've been honoring the talented writers, producers, directors and illustrators whose work affirms the highest values of the human spirit, and we're thrilled to continue celebrating those achievements," added Judith Trojan, program manager of the Christopher Awards.

To date, more than 1,350 filmmakers, authors and illustrators have won Christopher Awards. Special Christopher Awards have also singled out such individual literary and media icons as David McCullough, Dave Brubeck, Elie Wiesel, Mary Higgins Clark, Carroll O'Connor, master puppeteer Caroll "Big Bird" Spinney, dance educator Jacques d'Amboise, and Children's Television Workshop creator Joan Ganz Cooney. Landmark TV programming, including "Sesame Street," "Masterpiece Theatre," "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," "American Masters," and "Face the Nation," has also been saluted by The Christophers during the past six decades.

"I keep my Christopher Life Achievement Award on a shelf in our library, right at eye level, because I'm immensely proud of it, but also in the hope that those who don't know what it is will ask," said author/historian David McCullough, who was recognized in 2008. "That gives me the chance to talk about the bedrock values The Christophers stand for and why having my work honored by them means the world to me."

The Christophers, a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb - "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness" - guides its publishing, radio, leadership and awards programs.

Visit www.christophers.org to learn more about The Christophers.

To see press release go to http://myprgenie.com/4688

SOURCE The Christophers

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Library Systems & Services (LSSI), operator of the Riverside County (California) Library System (RCLS), has announced that an innovative new on-demand book printing program begins today at the Grace Mellman Library in Temecula.

Under a $100,000 grant from the California State Library, the RCLS is studying the usefulness of on-demand printing to enhance library collections. The July 2009 grant has been used to purchase a Book Espresso "print-on-demand" machine which prints, covers and binds trade paperback quality books from computer files.  

Library patrons will now have the option to request titles, have the book printed for free, read it and return it to the library collection, or they may choose to keep the book and pay a printing fee. If the requesting patron is at the Book Espresso location and wants to pay for the book, it can be printed immediately while they wait.

"Growing our collections based upon patron on-demand choices is a new concept for our library system," said Jan Kuebel, Manager of Grace Mellman Library. "Rather than relying solely on interlibrary loan, we now have a way to immediately respond to patron requests for materials outside of our current collection."

Available book titles will be obtained from Lightning Source, with over 500,000 titles available, and Google Books, who has partnered with over 20,000 publishers to make their content available for on-demand printing.

About Riverside County Library System (RCLS)

The RCLS services library users with thirty-three branch libraries and two bookmobiles throughout Riverside County, California. The library system is a leader in innovative literacy and cultural programs, and winner of innumerable library awards, including the 2008 Raul and Estella Mora Award for childhood literacy, and the 2005 American Library Association's prestigious John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award. The library has also been selected to host the distinguished 2010 ALA/ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture.

About Library Systems & Services, LLC. (LSSI)

LSSI is the nation's largest operator of public libraries, and has managed the Riverside County Library System for more than a decade.  Through a public/private partnership model, LSSI has helped communities across the United States benefit from a nationwide library network, save money, and gain higher return on their library investments.  Now in its third decade, LSSI is currently bringing new options to communities and civic leaders struggling to meet the financial and management challenges of this new economy.

SOURCE Library Systems & Services, LLC

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In his new fictional memoir "Year of My Sticky: A Novel" (published by iUniverse), debut author Sebastian Long traces his arduous trek through hip milestones of self-annihilation and stardom played out on international film sets, photography studios, first-class hotel suites, sex clubs and even hospital birthing suites.

Twenty-eight-year-old Sebastian Long has been called the best actor of his generation. Discovered while he was performing in cheap fight pictures in Morocco, Sebastian wins an Oscar for his breakthrough role in the film Checkmate. His performance is raw, surprising and powerful - a calculated dance with sexual taboo - just the ticket he needs to enter the spotlight and unleash his talent on a massive American audience. However, his performance isn't the only contributing factor to the Oscar win. Turns out Paramount Pictures helped Sebastian get the award by positioning him in the media as the first gay contender, his handlers making Sebastian the latest trend. The only problem is that Sebastian is married and the father of two young children. Obviously, his wife and family are hidden from the media.

Gay protest groups eventually see through the charade and hurl tomatoes and shout "$traight $ucce$$!" as Sebastian drives his kids to preschool one day. At the same time the mainstream media continues to celebrate "America's first gay contender," a "genius gay poster boy." Every film studio wants Sebastian to perform a gay role in their next movie - that is, until Sebastian brings his wife to the Oscars and kisses her on international TV. As Paramount threatens to sue him for breaking their secret gay pact and the gay protest groups go ballistic, Sebastian finds himself trapped in a movie-star life of uncontrolled ambition - an ambition that ultimately destroys his marriage and almost ruins his career.

Can Sebastian keep his marriage together as he signs a new six-picture contract that demands he maintain his fake homosexuality and keep his family hidden in the shadows? Can he maintain his honesty in his performances despite the media manipulation and angry mobs that constantly surround him? Find out in Long's telling fictional memoir about the tempting choice of today's celebrities, "Year of My Sticky," a book that promises as much insight into the compromises of Hollywood as it does heartfelt dilemmas of love and sexuality in the modern age.

About the Memoir's Fictional Subject

Long has worked as a jeans model, a B-movie action star and an international Calvin Klein underwear model. He is also an Oscar Award winner and a gay media darling. "Year of My Sticky" is his first official publication, a book about the trajectory of Sebastian Long: abused, subservient, convenient, straight, gay, straight again, compromised, driven and brilliant.

"Year of My Sticky"

Available from: http://www.iUniverse.com, http://www.bn.com, and http://www.amazon.com

iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.  

SOURCE iUniverse

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John Barrie (UK) Cooke's new nonfiction book "The Will to Live to Serve the Will" (published by Trafford Publishing) is a detailed story of how the genetic code is never ever destroyed, and that no matter how brutal the human race has been in their ceaseless attempts to destroy certain genetic codes of mankind through their act of the so-called "Ethnic Cleansing," they will never succeed - in other words, mass murder, which history has proven all civilizations and religions to have been guilty of.

This is a true story set in modern times, as recent as up to May 31st, 2003, a story which all religions of this world, who believe in the Will of our One God, will fully understand and believe without question that of "Commanded Atonement."

The truth, and one which many religions know to be true, and scientists have proven, is that every once in a while all genetic codes produce a "throwback," a "clone" of the far distant past from the genes' ancestry, cloned from "Another Time, Another Place"...

The author, born in 1940, could only write this story after a life-long and bitter training of "The Steel Rod of Discipline," and even then much against his own will, in the full knowledge of what awaited him if he did not write this story, and therefore yes, written in fear.

The story of the curse in his genes, a curse which was laid upon his ancestors thousands of years past, and that of the prophet he had been so long ago.

It is therefore vital for the reader to understand that it was only after the author had been broken in spirit and mind, and his body many times, that he fully understood what it means to be "a servant," but only through the example of the two main characters described in this book.

The author was born into the Christian faith, of which he had no choice, but because of his own genetic code was much later in his life "brought to heel" by Christ, "In the Spirit." This event, and the shocking reasons for it taking place, are clearly written down in this book; an event took place on a ship named The Grafton, far out to sea. It was after this event, that for the rest of his traveling life of many years both on land and sea, he was brought into close and living contact with many different religious beliefs.

Reincarnation, prophecy, and all of the different levels of the dangerous practice of spiritualism, spanning some 64 years of the author's life, are a very important part of this story. To be more precise, the author was the tool used to reveal the painful truths written in it.

There will be many readers who have been born with these same gifts, which are clearly explained in this book. Gifts they have decided to keep secret, either to use only for themselves, or because they are afraid of them - also ignorance, or because they cannot find satisfactory answers to having been born with them in the first place, or they have been "brainwashed" by their particular religious order.

The practice of spiritualism is a very dangerous one, but it is even more dangerous and harmful if it is deliberately suppressed by one who has been born to be used as its tool; in other words, when one who has been born to be used by the spirit for the benefit of many, clearly described as: "Many are called, but few are chosen." Those chosen have no choice, they must obey their calling, or face severe consequences, as was proven many times in the author's life, and are written down in this book.

The New Testament is the Christians' rigid Highway Code of living, not only for the safety of those who were born to be used by the spirit, but for the safety of innocent bystanders, and especially for the safety of the children of those who practice any form of spiritualism.  

The Holy Koran, and the writings of the Prophet Mohammed, May God's peace be upon Him, are even more unforgiving and strict, therefore this is not a long story, for each truth needs to be written only once.

1) The settings of this book are:

• United Kingdom, Romania, the Middle and Far East, and the oceans of the world.

• Covering a period of many years during the author's traveling life.

2) The main characters of this book and of their relationship and their importance to this story are:

• Dr Kathy Tedd, Director and co-founder of the Christian charity JOY, providing relief and support to the needy in Romania and other needy areas in the world, whose web site can be visited at: http://www.joyworld.org.uk/index.html.

• Dr Raed Arafat, who has been referred to as "the Ayatollah of Romanian emergency medicine" and whose biography, can be found on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raed_Arafat, and who is also the founder of S.M.U.R.D. in Romania, S.M.U.R.D. web site being: http://www.smurd.com/

3) Why do you think this book will appeal to readers?

The author does not presume to think that this book will appeal to any reader; it was written because it had to be written and published as a reliable and proven witness to the truths written in it.

4) Who is the "target audience"?

My answer to this question is quite simply: the World.

Trafford publishing is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.trafford.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com

SOURCE Trafford Publishing

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