Official Pulpwood Queen Newsletter - September 2011

Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane Joining Us in November!

Save the Date!

Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane, special guest

RRPQ November 29 meeting

Ristorante Guiseppe

6:30pm

Recently, Natchitoches poet and English professor Julie Kane, was selected as the 2011-2013 Louisiana Poet Laureate. She is the author of Jazz Funeral; Rhythm & Booze; and Body and Soul, collections of poetry that celebrates all that is New Orleans. She also contributed to the extraordinary new book New Orleans: What Can't Be Lost, where she joins other notable Louisiana authors in remembering the things, good and bad, about the Crescent City. One of her poems from her book Jazz Funeral is currently featured on the Louisiana Poetry Project online.

An Evening With The Belle Of All Things Southern

It's not every day that fine dining and spectacular storytelling come together to create a memorable evening for a handful of book club ladies. In Shreveport last night, however, we Red River Pulpwood Queens were elated to have author and funny lady Shellie Rushing Tomlinson join us for dinner at Ristorante Guiseppe. With plenty of copies of her new book in tow, Shellie not only regaled us with funny southernisms and stories about everything from Paula Deen to Auburn football, she also shared her thoughts regarding her deep faith in God, the Mississippi River flooding, and how very much her readers mean to her.

Shellie will be a featured author at the October 29th Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge promoting her new book Sue Ellen's Girl Aint Fat She Just Weighs Heavy as well as her highly popular webcasts, radio shows, and blogs! Visit All Things Southern or find Shellie on Facebook!

The 2011 Louisiana Book Festival Author Line-Up

The Help on the Big Screen - This Weekend!

It's finally that time! Kathryn Stockett's highly praised novel The Help will be in theaters everywhere this weekend! Whether you see it with a group of great friends or alone with a bucket of popcorn, take a couple of hours of leisure and make it a RRPQ assignment! I want to know what you think of the movie! Let's discuss it during the next meeting!

How well do you know Kathryn Stockett?

• Kathryn Stockett goes by the nickname "Kitty," but she won't mind if you call her Kathryn.
  
  

• Skeeter and Constantine's relationship and Mae Mobley and Aibileen's are inspired by Stockett's relationship with the black woman who cared for her as a child, Demetrie.

• The British cover of The Help features a photo of two black women in white maid's uniforms on either side of a little white girl in a pushchair (a stroller for big-kids). The photo is from The National Congress archives, and was considered too controversial for the US cover. Why do you think that is?

• Actress Octavia Spencer has been cast as Minny. This is a good thing, because Minny was actually inspired by Spencer, who is friends with Stockett.

• Stockett never imagined her book as a bestseller and says she might have written it differently if she had known that gazillions of people would read it!

• The film version of The Help is a collaboration between Stockett and several of her childhood friends, also natives of Mississippi.

• Nearly fifty literary agents rejected The Help. It took Stockett five years to find one to represent her. Bet those rejecters are crying now – every time they look at the bestseller lists.

Save the Date, Ya'll!

Hi Ladies! After having to cancel our July meeting, I just wanted to keep you up to date on what's coming up. Of course, if you watch any kind of tv, you will know that Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel-turned movie The Help will be in theaters on August 12! If you want to go as a group, just let me know!

Also, hold on to your hats, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, author of Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color on and the newest Sue Ellen's Girl Ain't Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy will be joining us for our August meeting! Get ready for some laughs on August 23rd at 6:30pm at Columbia Cafe! I hope you can all make it!

Hurry Less, Worry Less...The Podcast!

What do you get when you type in Judy Christie's name in an iTunes search engine? A Hurry Less, Worry Less for Families Podcast, of course! Free episodes of encouragement and tips that are short enough for the busiest mom. Subscribe and get one episode a week!

Don't forget to pick up her many books at a bookstore near you!

Have I mentioned that she's a Red River Pulpwood Queen?