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So when I got an email from Miles Swartout, one of the WWA’s members telling me Larry and the WWA were setting up a December book signing for Roundup! – the Western Writers of America’s latest Western anthology – well, I had to be there.
You see, Roundup! is published by my company, La Frontera Publishing, and Miles, a close pal, is one of the authors featured in the anthology. It also was a good excuse for me to go visit one of my favorite cities in the West.
Things came together pretty well, and on Dec. 11, the store played host to seven of Roundup!’s authors, including Johnny Boggs, Tom Carpenter, Paul Andrew Hutton (the anthology’s editor), Cheewa James, Susan Cummins Miller, Miles Swarthout, and Robert Utley. Also on hand was Candy Moulton, editor for the WWA’s member magazine, and an accomplished Western author.
In the photo above, you see Larry Siegel, left, community relations manager for Barnes & Noble’s North Scottsdale, Ariz., store, and Dr. Paul Hutton, right, editor of Roundup!, the Western Writers of America’s latest Western anthology, looking on as Johnny Boggs, one of the book’s short-story authors, personalizes a copy.
Each author also brought some of their own works for signing, and a couple of local Arizona authors also were invited to the signing.
The afternoon went pretty well, and it was great to catch up with what each author was doing.
From the beginning, Roundup! was an exciting project for me and my company.
It is the latest collection of Western fiction and nonfiction short stories and poetry presented by the WWA and written by some of today’s top Western writers.
From Native Americans, famed frontiersmen, cowboys and outlaws, to contemporary tales of ranching, lost treasure, and urban challenges, the anthology presents the full range of the American West.
Inside Roundup! you’ll find the works of WWA Wister-award-winning authors such as Elmer Kelton (in his final WWA publication), Bob Utley, Matthew Braun (over 40 million books in print), and Richard Wheeler. They join many WWA Spur-award-winning authors along with several fresh, young writers.
The collection includes a bonus feature: A special Western novella—a rip-roarin’ tale of the Old West written by television icon (he wrote and produced the John Wayne film Chisum) and WWA Wister Prize-winner for Lifetime Achievement, Andrew J. Fenady.
It also was a pleasure to work with Paul Hutton, who is the Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of New Mexico and also serves as the Executive Director of the Western Writers of America.
The afternoon went much too quick, as these events usually go. Between meeting customers, chatting with friends and getting industry news from Larry, suddenly it was 5 o’clock and the book signing was over.
Roundup! (ISBN: 978-0-9785634-7-9) is available at Larry’s North Scottsdale store, of course, where you will find author-signed copies, unless they’re sold out.
You also can find Roundup! online at BN.com, Barnes & Noble’s Internet store. It’s also available at Amazon, can be ordered at major independent booksellers, or at the University of New Mexico Press, my company’s distributor.
Looking ahead, one of the major book events for 2011 will be the third annual Tucson Festival of Books, scheduled for March 12-13 on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. Both Festival entry and parking are free.
Sponsored by the Arizona Daily Star and hosted by the University of Arizona, net proceeds from the Tucson Festival of Books helps promote literacy in Southern Arizona.
The event has become one of the must-attend book events in the county. The Western Writers of America will have a booth in the main area, and I plan to be there to catch up on all the latest news and titles. Maybe I’ll see you there.
