I’m delighted — and slightly terrified — to say that The Hub City now has a release date, tentatively scheduled for November 18. Further details about launch events, parties, and/or tarrings and featherings in the weeks following will be posted in due course.

The Oxford American is running a Kickstarter campaign to sponsor their upcoming music issue, one of the most eagerly-awaited issues every year. Having covered Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee in recent years, this time around it’s Texas– no telling who they’ll dig up out of the Lone Star State. More details here.

For the past year it has been a special privilege to work with an incredible organization based on the West Coast, the Gloria Borges Wunderglo Foundation. Named after a dear friend and cancer warrior, the Wunderglo Foundation works to raise awareness of directly sponsor research into prevention, treatment, and a cure for colon cancer — the second deadliest form of cancer in the United States. One of the highlights of the Wunderglo year is its annual banquet, the annette cook Cancer Warrior Awards, this year on September 26. For those in the Los Angeles or southern California area, it’s an amazing night for an extraordinary organization, and worth far more than the cost of a night out elsewhere. More details are available here, on the Wunderglo website, and on their Facebook page.

To the delight of many, Maple Street Book Shop here in New Orleans is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year; this coming weekend, they’ll be hosting a variety of events including readings, workshops, and cooking demonstrations. Further details are available at their website.

I’m delighted to say that as of this past week, the manuscript for Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A History of the Hub City has left the desk, and over the next few months the wizards over at the History Press in Charleston will heat their cauldrons and wave their wands and produce what will no doubt be a beautiful book. It’s been an honor to work with them on this project, as it has with all of the individuals and institutions who have given so generously of their time and resources over the past year during the research process. Growing up there years ago, I never dreamed I’d have the opportunity to become so immersed in its history; the chance to tell the story of a town that has held a purchase on the hearts of many in its 130 years has been a rare privilege, and I’m looking forward to sharing that story this fall when the book comes out.

Further details will be posted in due course, but until then, my thanks to everyone at the History Press, and to all those with whom I had the pleasure of working in the Hub City.