I should have posted this days ago, but…stuff happens.  ANYWAY.  There are ample opportunities to get your story on in the ATL in what remains of the week.

Wordsmiths is hosting Story Time for Grownups this Wednesday night at 7:30. Stories will be told by author Ben Tanzer (Lucky Man), the Kennesay State University Tellers, and a few of The ’smiths favorite open mic-ers. All are forewarned that the kids should stay home for this one.  Cookies and libations. Free. Get the rest of the scoop from Russ.

For the kids: The International Reading Association is holding their annual convention in Atlanta this week, and several events will be held at the Little Shop of Stories in conjunction with the meeting. I’d link to something, but they haven’t posted the schedule anywhere. Here are the remaining events based on the info in Little Shop’s e-mail newsletter:

Wednesday, May 7th at 10am
IRA: Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares

Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares present their joint effort Lady Liberty, a biography of the Statue of Liberty. You only think you know her story, but when you read this moving, true life tale of one of our country’s most iconic figures, told from the point of view of those who built her, you will see Lady Liberty in a whole new light.

Wednesday, May 7th at 4pm
IRA: Radio Disney kicks off Rick Riordan Festivities

It’s finally here: The Battle of the Labryinth, the latest adventure of Percy Jackson, half-blooded son of a Greek god! We don’t need to tell you how much we love this series, because you all love it too! Join us with Radio Disney at 4pm to kick off the festivities before Rick arrives at 4:30!

Wednesday, May 7th at 5:30pm
IRA: Jerry Spinelli

In a special event for educators, librarians, media specialists, and all lovers of Mr. Spinelli’s books, the author of such great books as Stargirl, Eggs, and Maniac Magee joins us for a discussion of his new book Smiles to Go, writing, and more.

If you go to the Little Shop, be sure to go to their new location (not listed on their web site), next to the Starbucks on Decatur Square.  All events are free.

For the motorcycle/Food Network enthusiasts: Alton Brown will be riding a motor cycle indoors at the Variety Playhouse Thursday night. The Food TV star will be discussing his book Feasting on Asphalt.  The evening includes a viewing of the show on which the book is based, Q&A, and music.  $29.50 (includes a copy of the book).

And of course, our friends at The Wren’s Nest are always ready with a story. Check out their site for story times.

Your to do list, ATLiens, must include a trip to Criminal Records on Saturday for free Comic Book Day. (The rest of you can find you can find the nearest participating store here.) Criminal being Criminal, they have events a’plenty to celebrate.  Lil’ Got Books and I will be there first thing Saturday morning getting the pick of the litter.  Salon has a handy guide to the free comic books that will be available.  Did I mention free?

The Criminal Records blog (Motto: Keep Atlanta Awesome) has collected customers’ recollections of their first record purchases in a real record store here and here.  (The list of customers includes me!  I’m famous.)

Cool guy/artist Cooper Sanchez has an opening in Decatur tonight. Details.

If you want to get in touch with your own inner Alternadad, you need to get down to The Graveyard Tavern in East Atlanta tomorrow.  At 3 PM, The Wipes, a band comprised of parents from the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool will be rocking the house with the best pre-school dance party that you’ll come across all day long.

Friday: “My eyes slammed themselves capital O open…” Morning had come too soon. The previous evening, Thursday, Steven Hall, author of The Raw Shark Texts, read at Wordsmiths as part of the Baby Got Books Reading Series. The result: an incredible day an an evening that went fairly late for a school night, which resulted in at least one sleepy blogger who spent his Friday figuring out how to sneak in a nap. Here’s how it all went down:

Wordsmiths’ Russ and I picked up the author at the airport and immediately whisked him off to Little Five Points for burgers at The Vortex and a lap around Criminal Records. From L5P, we took it on down to Wordsmiths. Steven Hall and I had discussed these blog posts (1 and 2) from the Omnivoarcious blog in which authors discuss what beers best go with their books. He instantly replied “Amstel, of course”, because that’s what the characters in his book drink. However, we decided to collect additional data by ducking into the Brick Store Pub. If you’re keeping score at home, I spent most of Thursday going to my favorite places in Atlanta with one of my favorite authors and drinking beer. I’m still having a hard time believing that any of that actually happened - even after processing it all over the weekend. Eventually I had to take off to get ready for the evening and pick up Mrs. Got Books, etc.

Go time: Back at the store, Steven Hall began his reading with a selection from “Stories from a Phone Book”. Originally published as a short story in New Writing 13 , the piece will be included in a collection of stories that the author is working on now. The author then read several selections from The Raw Shark Texts, including part of this section that you can listen to Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton read here. Following the reading, the author answered questions from the audience.

Steven Hall reads from Stories for a Phone Book

The evening’s Raw Shark moment: Just as the reading finished, a group of about 10-15 people walked through the front door all dressed in white shirts/blouses. They stood quietly and listened to the Q&A, then they filed out before the band started - without a word. Thanks for coming!

Following that bit of weirdness, Blue Screen Love Scene took to the stage while Steven Hall signed books and talked with the crowd. They opened with I Am a Scientist, my favorite BSLS tune, and finished strong with a cover of Siouxsie and The Banshees’ Hong Kong Garden (for you youngsters out there - that’s awesome).

Blue Screen Love Scene performs

While the band was playing and the author was signing books/chatting with the crowd, we continued the multi-tasking by celebrating BGB contributor Shaft’s 40th birthday. To mark the occasion, as well as the awesomeness of having Steven Hall in the house, Mrs. Got Books cooked up an amazing shark cake. I wish that I had had the presence of mind to get a picture of it when it was whole, but this is what it looked like after people had begun to dig in.

A partially devoured Raw Shark birthday cake

After BSLS wrapped up their set, the remaining crowd departed en masse for celebratory post event pints at the Brick Store. The mob quickly took over a large portion of the upstairs Belgian bar where everyone chatted with the author and enjoyed the company of other Raw Shark fans. A good time was had by all.

My hope is that our efforts will ensure that Mr. Hall will put Atlanta atop his list of cities to visit on his future book tours. Either way, it will surely be an event that those in attendance will be talking about for a long time. I know that I won’t be able to shut up about my day with Steven Hall for a long time.

Tonight!

Steven Hall

reads from

The Raw Shark Texts

w/ Special musical guests

Blue Screen Love Scene

@

Wordsmiths

***the fine print***

It’s Raw Shark Eve. We’re practically bouncing off the walls with anticipation of tomorrow’s festivities. Steven Hall, author of The Raw Shark Texts. Blue Screen Love Scene providers of ethereal dance pop. Refreshments. Free. @ Wordsmiths. 8PM. Be there.

So maybe you’re on the fence. You’re thinking about coming out, but you haven’t bought into the Thursday is the new Friday bit. OK. Here’s a roundup of links for you to explore the novel even further…

• No less a personage than Joyce Carol Oates explores “amnesia lit” and declares Raw Shark ““ingratiatingly literary”
• Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton reads from Raw Shark (must click link)
• Find out what it all means with the Unspace Exploration Committee
• More clues at the Annotated Raw Shark wiki
• Raw Shark on Squidoo
• Largehearted Boy’s Book Notes with Steven Hall
• The Onion A/V club does the iPod random shuffle thing with Steven Hall

As excited as we are to be welcoming Steven Hall to Atlanta on Thursday night, I also can’t wait to see our musical guest Blue Screen Love Scene perform. BSLS plays an ethereal dream pop that you can dance to. When we were planning the event, the moment that Wordmsiths’ Russ shot me a link to BSLS, I knew that they were the perfect match for Steven Hall’s novel.

If you haven’t heard the band yet, check out their song I’m A Scientist.

(Subscribers: you’ll have to click over to the blog to get your groove on.)

I’m partial to this one, because - well - I’m a scientist.  What’s better than busting a move to a song with lyrics about cosmology, electrons, relativity, and radiation?  Check out more of Blue Screen Love Scene’s music on their MySpace page.

Raw Shark Week continues here at BGB as we celebrate this Thursday’s star-studded reading event. Steven Hall, author of The Raw Shark Texts, will be making his only Southeastern appearance at Volume 3 of the Baby Got Books Reading Series with musical guest Blue Screen Love Scene. The evening begins at 8PM at Wordsmiths Books in Decatur. All of the particulars can be found here. Join us.

We’ve written extensively about Steven Hall and The Raw Shark Texts here at BGB. For your convenience, I’ve collected some of the highlights together for your surfing pleasure.

• I review The Raw Shark Texts: “First things first. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall will knock your socks off. Look at me. I’m totally sockless.”
• BGB’s Shaft reviews The Raw Shark Texts: “I wanted to shout loud and proud, for everyone to hear, how cool this book is.”
• BGB’s Weezie attends the author’s reading in San Francisco and files this report: “…I found it to be one of the most original, gripping, masterfully constructed, beautifully written books I’ve read in quite a long time. Hall has a gift for understanding and translating into words what it feels like to think and remember and dream and love and imagine.”
• I complain about the New York Times’ half-assed review.
• I interview Steven Hall: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
• I add an emergency addendum to my Favorite Books of 2007 after forgetting to include my favorite book of 2007.
• Weezie, Shaft, and Shortbus include The Raw Shark Texts in their lists of their favorite reads of 2007.

Steven Hall has made a special offer for attendees of Thursday night’s event. If you can crack the password on this site, you’ll be granted access to an extra 16 pages of the novel (The Prologue, which runs from pages -21 to -6). The pages are already typeset, so you can print them out, cut to them to size, and stick them in the front of your book. Hall has offered to sign copies on Thursday night for anyone who brings them in, and he notes that signed copies of this additional material is extremely rare.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention this:

First things first. Stay calm.

By official proclamation I have declared this week Raw Shark Week as we count down to Thursday’s big event: Baby Got Books Reading Series, Vol. 3, featuring Steven Hall author of The Raw Shark Texts with musical guests Blue Screen Love Scene. I can not describe how excited I am about this reading, and I hope that you’ll come down and join us if you’re in the area. Hell, you should travel down here if you’re not in the area. It’s going to be excellent.

To kick off the week, I thought that it would be fitting to share some of the back story between Steven Hall and BGB. It all began with this post in which I wrote:

…Steven Hall, the author of The Raw Shark Texts is guest blogging at Powells this week. The book has been getting good reviews, and the author is being compared to Mark Z. Danielewski (MZD is one of the Hall’s friends on his MySpace page). “Moby Dick meets the Matrix” is what they’re saying. Which is all very nice, however, the author begins his first guest post with this:

“Ahhh blogging, that fantastic digital mash-up of random thoughts, half-baked product placement, free stuff and alcohol-induced slander.”

I’m four beers into my evening, so I should point out that I have it on good authority The Raw Shark Texts was written with the blood of kittens that the author strangled in his back yard - with his bare hands - in his underpants - on the dope. Free books. I once had to change a flat in the rain.

Zing. I was young. Naive, even. Never did I think that the author would read my post, much less comment upon it. But he did. The very next day on the Powells blog, Steven Hall replied:

— I was talking about how I approach my own blog writing (or, more accurately, how my own blogs always seem to turn out!), I was speaking about myself, not passing judgement on anyone else! …
So sorry for any confusion, and a special sorry to the nice folks at babygotbooks.com who despite taking those comments to heart a little bit, still gave my book a very decent plug. Thanks guys, I have a kitten blood special edition here on my desk waiting for you if you want it. Give me a shout

Oops. If you’re going to take umbrage, you should have your facts straight. I took the author up on his offer, and a few weeks later a package arrived from England with a “kitten blood special edition”, which was the UK edition with this title page:

The author had also arranged for the US publisher to send me a copy. Somewhere in there, the Canadian publisher also sent me a copy that was famously almost stolen from my front porch. My bookshelf looked like this:

That’s awesome time three. It worked out great. I read the Canadian edition, and Mrs. Got Books read the US edition at the same time. We were able to talk about the book while we both reading it. Definitely buy two copies if you haven’t read it yet and hand one off to a friend.

In addition to all of that coolness, the book is simply amazing. After reading the book, I contacted the author, and he agreed to be the very first author interviewed here.  When this book tour was announced, Steven Hall actively lobbied his publisher to come to Atlanta to read for us.  We were not on the original tour schedule.  Here’s the relevant text from the author’s MySpace page:

The exact dates and locations aren’t set yet (I’ll post them up here as soon as I have them) but it’ll looking like it’ll be the second or third week in April with possible events in - Long Beach, CA., San Diego, CA, Sacramento CA, Boston and Portland, Maine. And Atlanta hopefully (I’m really pushing for this one BGB folks, I really am!).

The book has won the 2007 Borders Original Voices Award, and it is short listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for Day 2 of Raw Shark Week.

April 21-25.  Check your local listings.

Lots of fun to be had in the ATL this week with your favorite independent purveyors of awesome.  Check it out:

Tonight, indie booksellers Wordsmiths is hosting a reading by John Brandon, who will be reading from his book Arkansas.  Arkansas is published by McSweeney’s, one of our favorite independent publishers, so it’s double the indie goodness.  I saw Brandon begin to read from his book at a McSweeney’s event at Criminal Records/Aurora Coffee, but I had to leave just as he got started (you may remember this parenting highlight).  I’m glad that I have a second chance to catch him.  In true indie spirit, in addition to being a novelist Brandon is also a steel worker, and he continues to work his day job.  It’s sorta like Flash Dance. What a feeling!  The evening is free, starts at 7:30 PM, and will include free pizza (compliments of McSweeney’s) and beverages.  Cheap date.

Friday night, Herschel Walker, former University of Georgia football player, Heisman Trophy Winner, and independently crazy guy, will read from his book Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Disorder at the Carter Center.  They’re obviously expecting a HUGE crowd.  If you want to check it out, you’ll need to pre-order the book from indie booksellers A Capella Books.  Herschel kicks off (get it!) the event at 7PM.

All day Saturday, Criminal Records will be celebrating Record Store Day with a full day of events.  There will be free live music all day long on two stages.  Acts performing will include Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause, The Coathangers, Dead Confederate, and Hope for Agoldensummer (must see!). Many of your favorite independent labels have created Special Record Store Day-only releases for the event.  There will be a vinyl swap meet, and you are invited to bring your old records down.  Pabst Blue Ribbon is a sponsor.  It looks like I may have another opportunity for excellence in parenting at Casa Crim.  Sweet.  And it’s free.  Check out the Record Store Day goodness near you here.  And because we’re all about the books, here’s what Nick Hornby has to say about your friendly neighborhood record store and why it matters:

Yes, yes, I know. It’s easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what’s playing on your favourite download store when you walk into it? Nothing, that’s what. Who are you going to meet in there? Nobody.

Where are the notice boards offering flatshares and vacant slots in bands destined for superstardom? Who’s going to tell you to stop listening to that and start listening to this? Go ahead and save yourself a couple of quid. The saving will cost you a career, a set of cool friends, musical taste and, eventually, your soul. Record stores can’t save your life. But they can give you a better one.

Atlanta author Douglas Blackmon was reviewed in the NYT by Janet Maslin yesterday.  His new book, Slavery By Another Name, tells the overlooked story of how slavery continued in some parts of the South well past Emancipation and into the 20th century through the insidious practice of convict lease programs - with criminal conviction being a relatively loose and flexible condition.

Blackmon is the Chief of the Wall Street Journal’s Atlanta Bureau, and he lives in my neighborhood.  Do your part to support local writers.  You can catch him reading from the book next Tuesday at the Decatur Library.

Author Steven Hall has posted his upcoming US Tour dates. The important date, for the purposes of this post, is the last one. See if you can tell how that date is different from the rest…

Tuesday, April 15th
Ann Arbor MI
5:30pm—Borders Original Voice Awards Ceremony
31410 Lohr Road, Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: 734.997.8884

Wednesday, April 16th
Birmingham MI
7:00pm—Borders
34300 Woodward
Birmingham, MI 48009
Phone: 248.203.0005

Thursday, April 17th
Westlake OH
7:00pm—Borders
Promenade of Westlake
30121 Detroit Road
Westlake, OH 44145

Friday, April 18th
San Diego CA
7:00pm—Borders
1072 Camino Del Rio N.
San Diego, CA 92108
Phone: 619.295.2201

Saturday, April 19th
Long Beach CA
2:00pm—Borders
Los Altos Market Center
2110 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 799-0486

Monday, April 21st
Sacramento CA
7:00pm—Borders
2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916.564.0168

Tuesday, April 22nd
Portland ME
7:00pm—Borders
430 Gorham Rd.
South Portland, ME 04106
Phone: 207.775.6110

Wednesday, April 23rd
Boston MA
7:00pm— Borders
255 Grossman Drive
Braintree, MA 02184
Phone: 781-356-5111

Thursday, April 24th
Atlanta GA
8:00pm—Wordsmiths Books
545 N McDonough
Decatur, GA 30030
For more on this one, see www.babygotbooks.com

Thanks for the shout out! As you can see, the Baby Got Books Reading Series stop in Atlanta is Hall’s only visit to the Southeastern US and his only stop at an independent book store on this tour (which is fair - this tour is centered around receiving the Borders Original Voices Award)

This is an excellent excuse to post this again:

Poster by Jtrav

Hot off of the e-mail: I just received this sweet flyer that J Trav put together for the BGB Reading Series, Volume 3 (BGB3). J Trav is one half of the band Sealions and an excellent graphic designer. I love what he’s done here. You can’t tell at this resolution, but the text in the sharks is from a wikipedia-ish entry on sharks. That’s aweseme. Very meta. It fits in well with the book, too. Contact J Trav for all of your graphic design needs. Tell him BGB sent you.

All that you need to know about BGB 3 is on the poster, but you should also know that it will also be BGB contributor Shaft’s 40th birthday that very same night. (Appearance by Shaft not confirmed by his publicist as of press time.) Some prestigious local Book Awards are also being handed out at the Decatur Court House on the Square that wrap up just before we get started less than 50 yards away. The house may be getting a little full at the Wordsmiths is all we’re saying. Make you plans already.

Yesterday marked the end of this year’s Tournament of Books. As always, The Morning News hosted a classy event. The winner by a landslide:

Here are how my brackets played out:

(click for larger view)

Since I had also wagered on Oscar Wao to win with actual cash, I’m actually in the running for some schwag. Schweet.

I checked in at Wordsmiths new location on Friday - re-opening day. The new spot on the Decatur Square is excellent. The new space fits the store well. The staff was beaming when we stuck our heads in. Check out the store’s blog for news and pictures of the move and the new space, and then check it out for yourself.

(Shortly after the visit to The ’smiths — but unrelated — I went from feeling merely subpar to being felled by some sort of flu/virus/flesh-eating bacteria. I am now able to stand again. Blogging should return to regular vim and vigor over the next day or so.)

Word on the street - or at least on their newsletter - is that The Little Shop of Stories will not be moving from their current location (almost adjacent to the new Worsmiths location) to the Brick Store side of the square until at least next week. Be sure to check out mutliple Caldecott-winner Mo Willems at LSOS on Thursday at 4PM. My Knuffle Bunny and I are all over it.

We can hardly contain our excitement here at BGB HQ, we’ve just leaned th

Author Hillary Jordan blogs about her appearance as headliner for the BGB Reading Series 2.

Wordsmiths’ Russ “Peg Leg” M. also posts his thoughts of the evening.

It’s unanimous. An awesome evening was had by all.

Make your plans now to join us for BGB3:

Last night was the second event in the Baby Got Book Reading Series and the last night of Wordsmiths Books at the old post office building. About 50-60 hardy souls braved the unseasonably cold weather (there were snow flurries earlier in the day, for crying out loud) and hung around for over three hours on a Monday night. Zach, the owner of Wordsmiths, had to start turning off the light to make people go home. By all accounts, it was an amazing evening.

Hillary Jordan kicked things off with a reading from her novel, Mudbound. Claire from Hope for Agoldensummer described the novel thusly: “it’s tragic and it’s Southern - my two favorite things.” Amen, sister. After the reading, Jordan took several questions from the crowd, signed books, and hung out while the musicians prepared to do their thing.

The musical accoutrement included the coolest guitar rack ever, on which hung a saw that would later be used for musical purposes.

Wayne and Big Peaches of the Wayne Fishell Experience took the stage. While talking up the band’s local roots, Wayne pointed out that the WFX are “Decatur’s only gay acoustic duo.” That’s HIGH-larious if you know Decatur at all.

Hope for Agoldensummer closed out the evening with a spellbinding set. Their last song was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen performed live. I can’t even describe it. If you weren’t there, you’ll just have to suffer with the fact that you missed it. If there is ever an O Brother, Where Art Thou 2, rest assured that these ladies will be providing the bulk of the soundtrack. (And they played the saw.) See this band live in a non-rowdy setting ASAP.

Mark your calendars now. BGB3 goes down on April 24th. Much more to come on that one, so stay tuned.

And you’re invited.

Tonight at Wordsmiths Books — The Baby Got Books Reading Series, Volume 2 brings you:

Hillary Jordan reads from her brilliant Southern novel, Mudbound! (Read the BGB review.)

The Wayne Fishell Experience play acoustic indie pop!

Hope for Agoldensummer play haunting Southern/Appalachian blues-tinged Avant Americana! (or “junkyard soul” as they call it)

Wordsmiths celebrates its very last night in the “old post office” building before moving to the Square! (You can’t write on the walls or take sledge hammers to the dry wall - I asked.)

There will be food! There will be beverages!

It is all free!

That’s a lot of exclamation points for one evening. If those can’t entice you off of the couch on a Monday night, you may be beyond help.