Attention, writers

Attention, writers
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Local author Susan Dexter will conduct the last of the summer sessions of Fiction Writer's Workshop from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Jerry Stigliano's Book Source, State Street. The topic will be "Writing Fantasy" and will include discussions of the writing, agent and publishing processes. Participants may take up to 10 typewritten pages of their works for evaluation and short selections to share with the group. Space is limited, and all levels of writing experience is welcome. Registration is $10; stop at the store's front counter or call 724-981-0777.
Southern book honors
A study of racial lynching and a collection of short stories about ordinary Southerners are this year's winners of the Southern Book Awards presented by the Southern Book Critics Circle.
In the nonfiction winner, "At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America" (Random House, $35), well-known historian Philip Dray examines the social background behind the lynching of African-Americans from after the Civil War to well into the 20th century.
Acclaimed Kentucky writer Bobbie Ann Mason picks up her second SBA for "Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail" (Random House, $22.95 hardcover; Modern Library, $11.95 paperback). She won in 1994 for her novel "Feather Crowns."
The awards will be presented Oct. 12 at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tenn.
The circle also named two finalists in each category: "Yonder Stands Your Orphan" by Barry Hannah and "The Wolf Pit" by Marly Youmans in fiction, and "Ava's Man" by Rick Bragg and "Peter Taylor: A Writer's Life" by Hubert Horton McAlexander in nonfiction.
Combined disptaches