It’s official — Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A History of the Hub City is now available for pre-order on the History Press website. With its full release confirmed for November 18, any copies ordered therein will be shipped as soon as the book returns from the printer. The History Press is currently offering a 25% discount on titles ordered online (their home page has details), so there’s no time like the present to stuff a stocking early…

For those in the New Orleans area, Tulane University is hosting a fantastic conference this weekend (Saturday, October 25) called “Thinking on the Page: Women in Biography and Memoir.” Featuring such accomplished writers as Patricia Bosworth, Vivian Gornick, Wendy Lesser, and Brenda Wineapple, the symposium includes readings and a panel discussion. And if that weren’t exciting enough, it’s free. More details available here.

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.