for immediate release Contact: Lauren Snyder, Publicist / [EMAIL PROTECTED] / 952-201-2691
Grace Paley's Glad Day Books to re-issue Edges: O Israel O Palestine by Leora Skolkin-Smith Thetford, VT, October 29, 2007 After selling out of two successive print runs, Leora Skolkin-Smith's intoxicating novel about a young girl's personal and political discovery in 1960's Israel and Palestine is being re-released in a new edition by Glad Day Books. This new incarnation will include the author's Afterword and dedication to her late mentor, Publisher and Editor of Glad Day Books, Grace Paley. Since its original publication date in May 2005, Edges has garnered critical acclaim and awards including a stipend from the PEN/Faulkner Foundation's National Schools Program, a spot on Bloomsbury Review's "Favorite Books of the Last 25 Years" list, and selection by both the National Women's Studies Association Conference and the Jewish Book Council. The book has also been optioned for a feature film to be shot on location in Jerusalem and will be available in an audio edition, narrated by stage and screen actress Tovah Feldshuh, in November. Skolkin-Smith says of the book's success: "There was some way in which gossiping about relatives suddenly became a world of characters and expressing grief about a war in the land where my grandmother and mother were born was dignified into a theme, showing others a forgotten Jerusalem. For me it was not only amazing to have found this story a place to nest and grow under the warm wings of an older and wiser mentor like Grace Paley, but that, despite everything, the novel found a life of its own." Selected Praise for Edges "Well-written, powerful in both imagery and subject matter." Jewish Book World "An intimate and compelling portrait of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary time and place." Robert Gray, Fresh Eyes Now "Edges is an elegantly written, moving novel that has a lot to say about love, identity, history and the meaning of nationality. The book is worth reading alone for its superb language, but it is gripping and unforgettable as well in its story telling and evocation of place and emotions." Oscar Hijuelos About the Author Leora Skolkin-Smith holds a BA and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College where she was awarded a Teaching Fellowship for graduate work. A Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of a number of local and national grants, Skolkin-Smith's writing appeared previously in Persea: An International Review and The Sarah Lawrence Review. Edges is her first published novel. For more information, please visit the author's web site at www.leoraskolkinsmith.com. About Glad Day Books Glad Day Books founders Grace Paley and Robert Nichols state at the back of Edges: "Our particular purpose is to bridge the gap between imaginative literature and political articles and criticism which have been fixed under the labels of 'Fiction' and 'Nonfiction.' But the split has diminished literature and its usefulness to society. With these constraints writers find themselves engaged in self-censorship that has to do both with artistic and formal considerations and with what can be said. The hope of a literature that is positively useful has inspired us to call our publishing imprint GLAD DAY." * * * Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
