Writing workshop

Writing workshop

YOUNGSTOWN — Pig Iron Literary & Art Works, 26 N. Phelps St., will hold its monthly Write On Write Now Work in Process writing workshop Wednesday. The session will run from 7 to 9 p.m. with Jim Villani of Pig Iron Press as facilitator. Writers of all ages and ability are welcome. The cost is $3; reservations are not required. For more about the organization, its workshops and other activities, call (330) 747-6932.

Former area doctor
releases new book

TUSCON, Ariz. —  Former Youngstown resident Dr. Ludwig M. Deppisch has released a new book, “The White House Physician: A History of George Washington to George W. Bush,” the first detailed examination of the activities, education, and political interactions of all the doctors who treated our nation’s sitting presidents from the first to the current.

The 266-page work includes chapters on the conflict between homeopathic and regular physicians regarding medical treatment, the therapeutic mayhem that characterized the care of President John F. Kennedy, and the psychological disorders that have afflicted numerous presidents. Published by McFarland & Co. Inc., a leading U.S. publisher of scholarly, reference and academic books located in Jefferson, N.C., it retails for $39.95 (soft cover).

Dr. Deppisch practiced pathology for 25 years at the Western Reserve Care System and remains an Emeritus Professor of pathology at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Since his retirement, he resides with his wife Rosemarie in Tucson, which is near their son, daughter, son-in-law and three grandsons, who all live in Chandler, Ariz.

Gore sequel

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Al Gore is coming back with more inconvenient truths. And again, Rodale of Emmaus, Pa., will publish them. The former vice president, whose global-warming warning “An Inconvenient Truth” topped best-seller lists last year, is at work on a sequel called “The Path to Survival,” Rodale has confirmed.

The book is slated to be published April 22, the next Earth Day. Like “An Inconvenient Truth,” it will appear in paperback, but not hardcover.

Leigh Haber, vice president and editorial director with Rodale’s book division, said Gore’s new book will focus on potential solutions to global climate change. Some readers of “An Inconvenient Truth” felt they had learned about the problem, but not about how to solve it, she said, adding that Gore will interview leaders working on social, political and philosophical approaches.

“An Inconvenient Truth” has been one of Rodale’s strongest-selling titles, landing atop The New York Times’ best-seller list for nonfiction paperbacks last summer. About 700,000 copies are in print, according to the company. A movie version of “An Inconvenient Truth” won an Academy Award for best documentary. Haber said Rodale does not know of any plans to turn the sequel into a movie.

Frey to write second novel

NEW YORK — James Frey is writing a new book, and this time he’s calling it fiction. The author of the notorious “A Million Little Pieces,” the addiction memoir he acknowledged largely fabricating, will have a novel released in summer 2008 by HarperCollins.

HarperCollins told The Associated Press that the novel, “Bright Shiny Morning,” was a “kaleidoscopic” portrait of modern Los Angeles. A publicist for the publisher said there would be no comment from Frey, whose career was seemingly finished a year ago after allegations emerged that he had embellished, or entirely invented, substantial portions of “Pieces.”

Oprah Winfrey, who had picked the memoir for her book club, later angrily turned against the author, chewing him out on her television program. Frey’s agent dropped him, as did Penguin Group USA, which had negotiated a seven-figure contract with him. Doubleday, “Pieces” publisher, ended up offering refunds to customers who felt they had been duped.

But readers had not given up on him. Into 2007, “Pieces” has continued to sell at least 1,000 copies a week, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks industry sales. Nan Talese, who published Frey through her own imprint at Doubleday, said he deserved another chance. She was strongly interested in the book after hearing about it from Frey’s new agent, Eric Simonoff, but said that HarperCollins had agreed to terms with Frey before she had a chance to see the manuscript.

Combined dispatches