Worried about tax time? Give yourself a day off from the paperwork and join us at Birmingham Public Library on April 14, 2007 for the ninth annual Alabama Bound!, a celebration of books and authors with Alabama connections. This event is free and open to the public, so don’t write off this opportunity to visit the library, mingle with our authors, and find out all about their latest and upcoming books.

This year, Alabama Bound! welcomes back an old friend in Mark Childress, the author of Crazy in Alabama, Tender, and V for Victor. His latest novel, One Mississippi, is the story of Daniel Musgrove, a teenager whose family must relocate from Indiana to Mississippi. Culture shock promptly ensues and the result should be a treat for Childress’ fans. Alabama Bound! 2007 also sees the return of novelist William Cobb with Hermit King, the story of a mysterious swamp dweller.

Those who prefer their fiction more outside the mainstream will want to claim a good seat to hear from science fiction author Eric Flint about his new novel, Grantville Gazette III. Lovers of historical fiction will be eager to check out Julia Oliver’s Devotion, and for readers who prefer chills and thrills, Caitlin R. Kiernan returns to Alabama Bound! with Daughter of Hounds. Mystery fans will welcome Ann Waldron and The Princeton Impostor, the latest installment in her popular Princeton Murders series.

Material for younger readers will also be well represented. Alabama Bound! regulars will welcome back "Father Goose" AKA Charles Ghigna, author of Halloween Night. Hester Bass helps get children started off right in reading with her new Rookie Reader So Many Houses, and on the young adult front Alabama Bound! has plenty to offer with Delia Ray’s Singing Hands and Watt Key’s Alabama Moon.

For attendees who prefer non-fiction, Tim Hollis will be on hand with Birmingham Broadcasting, another of his fascinating and nostalgic looks at our local history. For other items of Alabama regional interest, try Ruth Beaumont Cook’s Guests Behind the Barbed Wire, an account of the German POW camp in Aliceville and how it affected lives of the town’s residents, or John Sledge’s An Ornament to the City, a tribute to the cast iron ornaments in the architecture of Mobile.

But the non-fiction choices do not end with local and regional history. Rounding out the slate of authors for the day will be Rubin E. Grant with Tales from Alabama Prep Football, Gregory Reece with Elvis Religion: the Cult of the King, and Carolyn Quick Tillery with her combination cookbook and memoir, Southern Homecoming Traditions: Recipes and Remembrances. Sports, Elvis, and food: three very popular topics in this part of the country!

Alabama Bound! will also welcome representatives from the book and magazine industry who will be on hand to discuss their publication and submission guidelines, as well as various writers’ groups. Past participants have included Alabama Media Professionals, Alabama Writers’ Forum, Birmingham Arts Journal, Heritage Publishing, and University of Alabama Press among many others.

All Alabama Bound! activities and presentations will take place on the first floor of the Central Library. BPL staff will be operating the Atrium Café and patrons are encouraged to visit the bookstore, which will be selling copies of books by the participating authors as well as a variety of Alabama Bound! merchandise.

So treat yourself to a relaxing and non-taxing day and mark your spring calendar now for Alabama Bound! 2007 at the Birmingham Public Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. For all the latest news and updates, please visit our website at http://www.alabamabound.org/