THE 2012 TOWNSEND PRIZE FOR FICTION

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED!

NEW DEADLINE: FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012

 With tales of forced gender crossing in the Black community, murder in the City of Light, and courtly romance in the Spanish Golden-Age all vying for the top honor, it seemed a genuine shame for anyone to miss the 2012 Townsend Prize for Fiction reception and award ceremony and that’s why Georgia Perimeter College’s Southern Academy for Literary Arts and Scholarly Research and The Chattahoochee Review, the hosts of the event, have extended the registration deadline to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20, 2012.

Created in memory of Jim Townsend, founding editor of Atlanta magazine and mentor to some of the state’s most lauded men and women of letters, the prize, which is presented biennially to a Georgia writer who is judged to have published the most outstanding book of fiction during the preceding two years, will take place on Thursday, April 26^th at the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Day Hall.

The price of registration remains $40, which includes the following:

• self-guided tours of the botanical garden beginning at 5 p.m.

• book sales and signings with the 2012 Townsend Prize-nominated authors beginning at 6:30 p.m.

• a catered buffet-style reception and jazz band performances beginning at 7 p.m., and

• the keynote address and award ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Alcoholic beverages will be available at a cash bar for separate purchase.

The keynote speaker for this year’s award will be acclaimed short story writer and novelist Ann Beattie. Ms. Beattie is the winner of the PEN/Malamud Award for achievement in the short story form (2000) and the Rea Award for the short story (2005).

Finalists for the 2012 award are as follows:

 Daniel Black, Perfect Peace (St. Martin’s Griffin)

 Lynn Cullen, Reign of Madness (Putnam Adult)

 Ann Hite, Ghost on Black Mountain (Gallery Books)

 Joshilyn Jackson, Backseat Saints (Grand Central Publishing)

 Collin Kelley, Remain in Light (Vanilla Heart Publishing)

 Thomas Mullen, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers (Random House)

 Andrew Plattner, A Marriage of Convenience (BkMk Press at the University of Missouri-Kansas City)

 Josh Russell, My Bright Midnight (Louisiana State University Press)

 Joseph Skibell, A Curable Romantic (Algonquin Books)

 Amanda Kyle Williams, The Stranger You Seek (Bantam)

With a legacy of more than a quarter century, the Townsend Prize is the state of Georgia’s oldest and most prestigious literary award. Georgia Perimeter College’s Chattahoochee Review has been custodian of the award since 1997, and this year has partnered with The Georgia Center for the Book, The Atlanta Writer’s Club, and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta to host the event.