Frankie Marr to read on Second Tuesday

Frankie Marr to read on Second Tuesday

YOUNGSTOWN

Pig Iron Literary & Art Works announces that Frankie Marr of Struther will be the featured reader for the Second Tuesday Reading on Tuesday at Pig Iron Press, 26 N. Phelps St., downtown.

After the presentation, there will be an open mike period, when the audience will be invited to share poems or other short readings, up to eight minutes.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the reading will begin at 7:30.

Marr is a lifelong resident of Struthers. He is a photojournalist who is often published in the Hometown Journal. He retired as an electrical engineer from General Motors in Lordstown.

The Second Tuesday readings were established in 1997 and they will continue next month on May 13 with a featured reader who will be announced. For information, call 330-747-6932.

Monica Crawford to visit Leetonia

LEETONIA

The author of “The Ketchikan Story,” Monica Crawford, will talk about her book at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Leetonia Community Public Library, 181 Walnut St.

The tale is about a family journey to Alaska filled with adventure, excitement and drama, along with a personal spiritual quest.

Fowler novel wins PEN/Faulkner prize

NEW YORK

A novel about a 1970s Midwestern family with a most unusual sibling, Karen Fowler’s “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” has won the PEN/Faulkner prize for fiction.

The $15,000 award was announced Wednesday by the directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Susan Richards Shreve and Robert Stone.

The other four finalists, Daniel Alarcon, Percival Everett, Valerie Trueblood and Joan Silber, each receive $5,000.

Fowler is best known for her novel “The Jane Austen Book Club.”

‘Divergent’ is a dual hit

NEW YORK

It’s good news for novelist Veronica Roth: “Divergent” is a hit at the box office and a blockbuster at bookstores.

A spokeswoman for HarperCollins Children’s Books said Tuesday that the young adult series set in a dystopian future has been selling 500,000 copies a week over the past three weeks.

The movie “Divergent” is based on the first book and stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet. The action-thriller was released March 21.

The first “Divergent” book was published in 2011, and total sales for the series now exceed 18 million copies. As of Tuesday afternoon, four of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com were “Divergent” books.

Russell Brand writing children’s books

NEW YORK

Russell Brand’s next Booky Wook is for kids.

The actor and comedian has a deal with Atria Books for a series called “Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales,” retellings of classic fairy tales.

The publisher announced Wednesday that the first of three planned books, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” will be out Nov. 11. The next two books will arrive in 2015 and 2016.

Brand will be collaborating with award-winning illustrator Chris Riddell.

Brand’s previous books include the best-selling “My Booky Wook” and “Articles of Faith.”

In the works: Memoirs from Howe, Flea, Cryer

G.P. Putnam’s Sons announced last week that Hockey great Gordie Howe’s memoir, “Mr. Hockey,” will come out Oct. 14. The publisher says the book will be “the definitive account” of the 85-year-old Howe’s life, starting with his birth in a farmhouse in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and delving into his extraordinary five-decade career.

Meanwhile, Michael “Flea” Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has embarked on a “sacred” mission: writing a memoir.

The 51-year-old bassist has a deal with Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. Grand Central announced that the book, currently untitled, would be a window into Flea’s “intense and dynamic life.”

In a statement released through the publisher, Flea says he regards books as “sacred” and that they had helped shape his identity. No release date has been set for his memoir.

Also, actor Jon Cryer is working on a “candid” memoir.

The Emmy-winning star of “Two and a Half Men” has a deal with New American Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The publisher announced Wednesday that the book, currently untitled, is scheduled to be released next spring.

Cruz works on a deal

NEW YORK

Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, is working on a project considered standard for national contenders: a book.

Cruz’s literary agent, Keith Urbahn, said Wednesday that the tea party favorite had agreed to terms with HarperCollins. Urbahn declined to confirm a report in the Washington Examiner that the deal was worth $1.5 million. But he says the number is “close.”

Cruz, 43, is expected to officially sign with HarperCollins over the next few weeks.

Elected in 2012, Cruz quickly established himself as one of the most polarizing and talked-about senators, and several publishers bid for his book. Some other possible 2016 candidates have books scheduled for this year, including former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. Paul Ryan, while Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rand Paul are among those who already have books out.

Vindicator staff/wire reports