On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Blake Scott Ball about his latest book CHARLIE BROWN'S AMERICA: THE POPULAR POLITICS OF PEANUTS. Blake is an Assistant Professor of History at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama and is a writer and historian of 20th century culture. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jim Hamilton about his new novel THE LAST ENTRY. Jim Hamilton is a County Extension Director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. While originally from a small town in east central Alabama, he's been huntin', plantin', transplanting, consuming, and teaching about ginseng in western North Carolina for the last 10 years. He holds a PhD in Forestry from NC State and is an adjunct professor at Appalachian State University in Boone. Before settling in the mountains in his current position, Jim was a Peace Corps Volunteer, an environmental consultant, an A.M. country music DJ, and a volunteer fireman. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author and podcaster Anna Sale about her new book LETS TALK ABOUT HARD THINGS. Anna is the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money, the award-winning podcast from WNYC Studios, where she’s been doing interviews about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” since 2014. Before that, she covered politics for public radio for years. She grew up in West Virginia and lives in the East Bay in California with her husband and two daughters. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, the special series on the business side of publishing concludes with a conversation with literary agent Alice Speilburg. Alice is the founding agent of Speilburg Literary and has worked in book publishing for more than a decade. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (formerly the AAR) and represents narrative nonfiction an d commercial fiction for adults and YA readers. Alice previously worked at John Wiley & Sons, and Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. She has worked with bestselling and award-winning authors, literary and professional societies, and branded content. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, our special series on the business side of publishing continues with book publicist Maryglenn McCombs. Maryglenn is a 1993 graduate of Vanderbilt University and has been actively working in the book publishing industry for nearly 20 years. During that time she has been involved with literally hundreds of books. She discuss what a book publicist does for authors and why authors need them to help promote their work(s). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

This episode of Now, Appalachia is the first episode in a series of podcasts focusing on the business side of writing and publishing. The guest for this episode is Ashley Runyon, of the University Press of Kentucky.The University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia. The Press is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as six private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies. Ashley Runyon, the acquisitions editor of the press, discusses university presses,  how and why they might be a good publishing option for authors, and how an author can know if a university press is a good option for their project. This episode of Now, Appalachia is the first episode in a series of podcasts focusing on the business side of writing and publishing. The guest for this episode is Ashley Runyon, of the University Press of Kentucky. The University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia. The Press is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as six private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies. Ashley Runyon, the acquisitions editor of the press, discusses university presses,  how and why they might be a good publishing option for authors, and how an author can know if a university press is a good option for their project. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Ohio author Jess Montgomery about her latest novel THE STILLS. Jess Montgomery is the “Literary Life” columnist for the Dayton Daily News and writes a new Writer's Digest magazine column, "Level Up Your Writing (Life)." Based on early chapters of the first in the Kinship Series, The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and named the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Kentucky author Leesa Cross-Smith about her new novel THIS CLOSE TO OKAY. Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, and This Close To Okay. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two teenagers. Find more at LeesaCrossSmith.com. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews North Carolina author Renea Winchester about her new novel OUTBOUND TRAIN. Renea Winchester was born in Bryson City, North Carolina. She is the author of two nonfiction books set in Atlanta Georgia where she lived for 17 years. Outbound Train is her first novel. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews New York Times bestselling Appalachian author John Hart about his latest novel THE UNWILLING. John is the New York Times bestselling author of The King of Lies, Down River, The Last Child, Iron House, Redemption Road, and The Hush. The only author in history to win the Edgar Award for Best Novel consecutively, John has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for Fiction, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His novels have been translated into thirty languages and can be found in more than seventy countries. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support