At the heart of it all, I’m a fan. A fan of books and bookstores. A fan of fiction and non-fiction. A fan of authors and publishers. And most of all I’m a fan of great conversations sparked by books. All that to say - I really need more bookshelves.
The second annual Bookstock Festival occurs this Saturday, May 20th, at the New Heights Community Resource Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The event is hosted by The Literacy Council of West Alabama and is FREE!
The Bookstock Festival kicks off at 10 am and will close at 2 pm. So it’s a narrow window if you can get there. The folks from the University of Alabama Books Arts Program will be leading a book construction session starting at 10:30 am-12:30 pm.
There is also a painting project where folks can paint Little Library boxes. There will be author readings, information tables for local area book clubs as well as sign-ups for tutoring help, plus scavenger hunts, photo booths, and more!
It’s free to get in, and lunch is free too!
Fingers crossed that the weather is good and the turnout is even better. Seeing how book-related events can unite communities and help improve things is fun.
Is this beautiful pup the one entering all the new data into the Libby library app?
“Libby is currently training to be our first canine librarian. She will officially join our staff in August. Check back here for a schedule of Libby’s appearances and to find ways to support Libby’s adoption.”
August seems so far away now. Can’t wait to hear more! If you’d like to keep up with the library, you can check out the site or follow them on all the social channels. They also have a fun Friends of the Library store you should check out if you’re in the Hoover, AL area. They have great prices.
Founded in 2014, the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame is the highest honor an Alabama author can receive from the state. The 2023 inductees are Tom Franklin, Trudier Harris, Angela Johnson, Howell Raines, Michelle Richmond, and Daniel Wallace (Daniel Wallace has a very good book coming out in April that I mentioned in a previous post).
Authors Eugene Walter and Kathryn Tucker Windham will be inducted posthumously.
Billed as a ‘gala event,’ this year’s proceedings will be overseen by Harper Lee Award winner Carolyn Haines. The dinner features food and cocktails by Eugene Walter, who was famous for hosting parties with Truman Capote way back when.
Official promotion image created by the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame
This is the first in-person gathering held by the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame since before the pandemic.
During that event, they inducted seven Alabama authors. The 2020 class included Mark Childress, Faye Gibbons, Carolyn Haines, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, and Michael Knight, with authors Ralph Ellison and Zelda Fitzgerald being inducted posthumously.
Here is a list of all the past Alabama Writers Hall of Fame inductees:
The 2018 Inductee List
Joseph Glover Baldwin
William Bradford Huie
Shirley Ann Grau
Gay Talese
Wayne Greenhaw
Charles Gaines
James Haskins
Winston Groom
The 2016 Inductee List
E. O. Wilson
Fannie Flagg
Rodney Jones
Rebecca Gilman
Truman Capote
T.S. Stribling
Margaret Walker
Mary Ward Brown
Sequoyah
The 2015 Inductee List
Rick Bragg
Andrew Glaze
Johnson Jones Hooper
Zora Neale Hurston
Helen Keller
Harper Lee
William March
Albert Murray
Sena Jeter Naslund
Helen Norris Bell
Sonia Sanchez
Augusta Jane Evans Wilson
I assume that no one was inducted in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic, which is perfectly understandable. I have looked and looked, and I can not find a mention of why there were no Alabama Writers Hall of Fame classes for the years 2017 and 2019. If you know why that is, chime in and let a curious book blogger know.
The Little Professor bookstore in downtown Homewood is moving again. This time it’s relocating down the street to the old Nadeau building, located at 2738 18th St. S, which puts it across the street from a previous location which is now the big new Valley Hotel. As reported in the Homewood Star, the store owners plan to open the new spot sometime this spring. The Little Professor also has a shop in Pepper Place.
No doubt this will be a good move with lots of foot traffic as their sign will be staring every hotel guest in the face as they check-in. I hope Homewood addresses the walkability of that intersection, though. You can spend what feels like half of a lifetime waiting there to cross. There is so much car traffic. I’m excited to see how The Little Professor solves the parking issue there as well.
According to the piece in the Homewood Star, it sounds like The Little Professor owners will use this second move (they moved to their current location in 2017) to update their stock and fixtures.
I remember Nadeau having their mezzanine level. Wouldn’t it be fun if The Little Professor brought back their mezzanine of used books? I never sold anything to them, but I always enjoyed shopping those used shelves.
They will also have a new outdoor space to sit and chat over coffee. According to that Homewood Star article, the new location will house about 20% more inventory, about 50% more seating space, and a larger children’s area.
Here’s to another wonderful move in downtown Homewood. Book people are the best, and as impressive as the Pepper Place store is, I am excited to see what the owners of The Little Professor create in their new Homewood location.
