Book discussion group

Book discussion group

EAST PALESTINE —  “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Warton will be the focus of the next Just Classics books discussion group, which will meet at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at East Palestine Memorial Library, 309 N. Market St. Guests are welcome; call (330) 426-3778 for more details.

Thurber Prize winner

NEW YORK — Television writer-producer Joe Keenan, an Emmy winner a decade ago for his work on “Frasier,” is this year’s winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, cited for his novel “My Lucky Star.”

Keenan, who has also served as a writer-producer for “Desperate Housewives,” will receive $5,000, prize officials said.

The finalists were Merrill Markoe, for “Walking in Circles Before Lying Down,” and Bob Newhart, for his memoir, “I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!”

The Thurber prize, named for the author and humorist James Thurber, was founded in 1997. Previous winners include Jon Stewart, David Sedaris and Christopher Buckley.

Grisham legal battle

TULSA, Okla. — Novelist John
Grisham has been named in a libel lawsuit filed over a nonfiction best-seller he wrote about the 1982 murder of a cocktail waitress. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 28 in U.S. District Court, also names several other defendants, seeks relief of more than $75,000 and demands a jury trial. The plaintiffs are Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz — originally convicted of Debbie Sue Carter’s murder in Ada, Okla. — were later exonerated by DNA evidence and freed after 12 years in prison. Their experiences are chronicled in Grisham’s “The Innocent Man,” and Fritz’s “Journey Toward Justice.”

Fritz is among those named as a defendant for the content of his book, as are Robert Mayer, author of “The Dreams of Ada”; Barry Scheck” Fritz’s former lawyer and author of “Actual Innocence”; and Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

Peterson prosecuted Williamson and Fritz in the Carter murder,and Rogers investigated the death.

“I think John Grisham forgot that he was writing a nonfiction book,” said attorney Gary Richardson, whose firm filed the suit. “He himself stated in a speech in Virginia about the time the book was released — he said he fully expected to be sued.”

Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, an organization devoted to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and co-founded by Scheck, said, “The facts of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz’s tragic, wrongful convictions speak for themselves.” Grisham is a board member of the Innocence Project.

Buy a book, help a child

NASHVILLE — Little boys catching frogs; little girls playing dress up: These are only some of the whimsical childhood memories that Alamo, Calif., photograher Karen Henrich captures in her new books, “The Wonder of Boys: The World Through a Boy's Eyes” and “The Wonder of Girls: The World Through a Girl's Eyes” (Cumberland House).

But the books offer much more than a glimpse into the spirit and courageous sense of adventure of little boys and the giggles and pouts of little girls.

Half of the net proceeds from the sale of each — they list at $14.95 (hardcover) — benefit the Moment by Moment Foundation, a nonprofit organization of professional photographers who provide free portraits to families of children with life-limiting illnesses. Henrich founded the organization back in 2005.

The books list for $14.95 and are available at a host of retailers nationwide and online. Visit www.momentbymoment.org to learn more about the Moment by Moment Foundation.

Haven for writers in need

WASHINGTON — Horror writer Stephen King has declared that his Haven Foundation fund will begin offering grants to writers in need.

“The Haven Foundation was founded by King to provide financial assistance to writers and artists, who, because of an injury or illness, are not able to provide for themselves and for their loved ones,” a press release from the writer’s official Web site says. “The charity offers a wide range of support for artists who make their living on a freelance basis and might not be able to work for a period of time.”

King, who was unable to work fully after a serious car accident in June 1999, founded the organization after a benefit performance with best-selling authors John Irving and J.K. Rowling.

“The majority of mid-list writers, audio readers, artists and freelancers have little or no financial cushion in the event of a sudden catastrophic accident,” the release quotes King as saying. “Many aren’t affiliated with any professional associations or guilds that can help them in the event of such reversals.”

The writer, who lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, author Tabitha King, is also involved in other philanthropic activities — he makes contributions to the American Cancer Society and sponsors a local high school.

Staff/wire reports