SC Arts Commission Press Releases
S.C. First Novel Prize Winner Brian Ray to Appear in Columbia June 24
May 27, 2009
Media Contact:
Milly Hough
(803) 734-8698
COLUMBIA, S.C. –2009 South Carolina First Novel Prize Winner Brian Ray will appear at if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln Street, June 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a reading and book signing to promote his first novel, “Through the Pale Door.” He will also speak at the State Library, 1430 Senate Street, for “Speaker @ the Center” June 25 from noon to 1 p.m. Books will be available for sale and signing at both events, which are free and open to the public.
The First Novel Prize is a program of the S.C. Arts Commission, Humanities Council of SC and the State Library. As the prize winner, Ray received the opportunity to have his first novel, “Through the Pale Door,” published by the Hub City Writers Project, an award-winning independent press in Spartanburg.
The novel is about a young artist who works at her dad's steel mill for one summer following the unexpected death of her mother. While there, she stumbles through her first romance with a muralist who paints the mill at night.
"The voice (of the novel) is confident and engaging," said Percival Everett, distinguished novelist and final judge of the First Novel competition. "I found myself not only wanting to go where the narrator was taking me, but also wanting merely to hear her speaking."
Ray grew up in Marietta, Ga., and now lives in Greensboro, N.C., where he is completing a doctorate in English. He earned his master’s degree in fine arts from the University of South Carolina, where he taught courses in writing and literature. Ray was a 2007 winner of the S.C. Fiction Project and his stories have appeared in Louisiana Review, Green Mountains Review and Storyteller magazine.
“Through the Pale Door” is available on Amazon.com. More information about Ray, his work and upcoming events is available on www.brianrayfiction.com.
About SCAC:
The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
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