WILL WE SEE ANOTHER RED DIRT BOOK FESTIVAL?

As one of the many who greeted the first RDBF with great excitement, and have attended each one since 2005, I am hoping that support comes forward to insure this vital event continues and is allowed to become a staple of Oklahoma's event landscape.

From the RDBF website:

The Pioneer Library System Red Dirt Book Festival scheduled for Fall 2011 is postponed. A new library, new staff and new ideas for the Festival have all contributed to the decision to postpone.

Pioneer is committed to continuing the Red Dirt Book Festival in Shawnee and will look for a future date for Red Dirt #5. The earliest date will be fall of 2012, but it could possibly be as late as fall 2013 if we encounter conflicts with other book festivals/events.

Thank you for your support of the Red Dirt Festival."

It began as a dream to showcase and encourage Oklahoma's authors and would be authors. Anyone with dreams could come and take away with them wonderful, practical workshops filled with inspiration, instruction, and direction. It was broad enough to include oral storytelling, and visual storytelling, along with the written word.

Most importantly it provided support for literacy by emphasizing the writers among us, in our history, and in our communities. It supported literacy by bringing together those who write, the libraries and book sellers who make them accessible, and the people who would enjoy the words of these writers.

In focusing on the 'everyone' audience, it was made even more accessible. In realizing the diversity of voices, expression, and tone is merely reflective of the society of Oklahoma, the opportunity of strengthening literacy across the state improves geometrically.

Funding needs to go back to this wonderful event to restore it as an important literary event for the common reader as well as the academic. The top flight authors should be showcased but the voices on the way up should also be encouraged and Oklahoma youth should be encouraged from Kindergarten to college to write their stories, share their tales, and do their research to fill the libraries of the future.

So, plan events to take up the book festival slack currently in Oklahoma - such s the Duncan Book Festival (Chisholm Trail) - but keep the Novembers free (just in case) for the next RED DIRT BOOK FESTIVAL.

LIFE ON THE LINE - OKC Landmark Cafeteria Shares Story

Just in time for the holidays, Forty-Sixth Star Press announces its latest book Life on the Line: The Dodson's Cafeteria Story, a blend of city history, politics, and nostalgia, sprinkled with the recipes people "waited in line for." With help from all of the members of the Dodson family, Joe and Charlotte tell their story of being pioneers in the OKC cafeteria business, a thriving community which won OKC the distinction of being the "cafeteria capitol of the world." Their three Dodson cafeterias were the meeting place for business, community, and churches across the city, and their famous pies were the envy of many a harried OKC housewife during the busy holidays.

Life on the Line is now available at http://www.fortysixthstarpress.com/ or at OKC's Full Circle Book Store. For a great holiday gift, along with flavorful memories, come to our Full Circle book signing on Sunday, December 19th at 2:00 p.m. (1900 N. W. Expressway).

"...To my family, "Dodson's" and "holidays" were synonymous. Being from north Oklahoma City, Dodson's was a special trip. Ironically, my family's 'culinary skills' were lacking: holiday meals were catered..Of all places in Oklahoma City, Dodson's was our choice--especially for the pies. My grandfather and I always ordered an extra mince pie, 'just for us." Kyle Anderson, Chef and Owner -- Kyle's 1025

Contact: Pamela Bracken, Publisher, 46th Star Press, pbracken@fortysixthstarpress.com, 405-514-5636

NEW BOOK PACKED WITH ACTION

The Moriah Ruse by Marvin Wiebener

Author Marvin Wiebener crafts a strong, exciting and unique story that seems torn from the headlines. The sharp reality, the strong characters and the tension of this tale of intrigue and action will satisfy any reader. With its strong female protoganists, action sequences, and multi faceted charactrization and plotting, it will be a great addition to any library or personal reading collection.

"CIA Director Margaret Winters attended the morning intelligence briefing in the situation room as she'd done every day since Iran's president made public his threat to wipe Israel off the map. Facing her was the very real and complex nature of her nearly impossible task to provide the president of the United States, who was under pressure to intercede, with actionable information. The president makes it clear that no American combatant will set foot on, fly over, or park a naval ship off the Iranian coast until absolute and irrefutable proof exists that Iran is an imminent threat. What happens next is a grueling, dangerous, and heart-wrenching quest for intelligence that could cost lives but stop a world war. Winters has her marching orders; trouble is, a senior CIA official, along with an overly ambitious congressman, wants the director to fail. Aware of her detractors' wishes, Winters crafts a plan to secure proof the president needs that bypassed the customary collection and analysis of raw intelligence. Her proposal shocks everyone in the tight circle of those with a need-to-know, and when the plan appears to go terribly wrong, she must take matters into her own hands. With the lives of a patriotic few caught in a clandestine mission, those keeping us safe, people whose stories will likely never be told, face dire straits in hopes of preventing the unthinkable, a war unlike any seen before. Hope teases all involved with the birth of a plan so incredible it just may work—The Moriah Ruse."

432 pages - $29.99 (paperback)

'PARTNERS IN REMEMBRANCE" Brown Bag Event

OSU history professor Bill Bryans will present "Partners in Remembrance: The Oklahoma City National Memorial and the National Park Service," at the next brown bag session, sponsored by OSU's Center for Oklahoma Studies, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, from noon-1 p.m. in room 250 of the OSU Student Union.

The informal talk looks at the dual role of the people of Oklahoma City and the National Park Service in the memorialization of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building which killed 168 people and injured over 800.

The federal legislation establishing the Oklahoma City National Memorial created a unique public-private partnership to operate and manage the site. The way in which that partnership was originally constructed and how it changed over time will be the primary focus. Dr. Bryans' talk draws on his current research involving an administrative history of the Memorial being prepared for the Park Service.

What: Partners in Remembrance: The Oklahoma City National Memorial and the National Park Service . A bi-monthly brown bag series sponsored by the OSU Center for Oklahoma Studies
When: 12-1 pm, Dec. 8, 2010

Where: 250 SU

Details: Free and Open to the Public



More information:

Contact Mary Larson at 405-744-6588 or mary.larson@okstate.edu