JOHN F. BLAIR
Scribblers: Stalking the Authors of Appalachia (Oct., $21.95) by Stephen Kirk documents the rich literary history around Asheville, N.C., and takes a humorous look at wannabe authors.
IVAN R. DEE
Artistic License: Three Centuries of Good Writing and Artistic Behavior (Sept., $26) by Brooke Allen. Essays consider the dysfunctional and apparently destructive nature of great talent.
PAUL DRY BOOKS (dist. by IPG)
Writers on the Air: Interviews from Open Books, WLUW-Chicago (Feb., $24.95) by Donna Seaman gathers Booklist editor Seaman's author interviews from her radio program.
FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX
Paper Trail: Selected Prose, 1965—2003 (Oct., $27) by Richard Howard is a selection of the author's essays on subjects from American poets to French literature.
A Reading Diary (Oct., $20) by Alberto Manguel revisits the author's favorite books in this marriage of autobiography and criticism.
FSG/NORTH POINT PRESS
Just Enough Liebling: Classic Work by the LegendaryNew Yorker
Writer (Sept., $27.50) collects pieces on food, sport, politics and the press by A.J. Liebling. Advertising.
DAVID R. GODINE
Through the Looking Glass: Further Adventures & Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature (Sept., $30) by Selma G. Lanes offers more essays on the masters of children's literature.
HARCOURT
On Literature (Dec., $26) by Umberto Eco is a collection of essays that exhibits the writer's wide interests and depth of knowledge. Ad/promo. First serial to the Yale Review.
HEYDAY BOOKS/GREAT VALLEY
Letters to the Valley: A Harvest of Memories (Sept., $19.95) by David Mas Masumoto. A farmer in California's San Joaquin Valley shares his concerns about how to preserve and protect a way of life.
LIBRARY OF AMERICA
American Writers at Home (Oct., $50) by J.D. McClatchy visits the homes of great American writers. $40,000 ad/promo.
PANTHEON
The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer: Close Encounters with Strangers (Oct., $24) by Eric Hansen. The author of Orchid Fever shares the fascinating people and places he has encountered over the past 25 years. Advertising. 5-city author tour.
RANDOM HOUSE
Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote (Sept., $27.95), edited by Gerald Clarke, brings together for the first time Capote's private letters. Ad/promo.
RIVERHEAD
Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (Oct., $24.95) by Harold Bloom investigates classic literature. Advertising. Author tour.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIV. PRESS
Adventures with a Texas Humanist (Oct., $24.95) by James Ward Lee gathers essays that reflect a career spent in Texas literature and folklore.
TRANSACTION
European Notebooks: New Societies and Old Politics, 1954—1985 (Nov., $39.95) by François Bondy. Essays feature major figures and events of the latter 20th century including Mussolini, Sartre, Kafka and Heidegger.
UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race (Nov., $19.95), edited by Lin Salamo, Victor Fischer and Michael B. Frank, is an anthology that includes sketches, essays and short stories on etiquette, food, fashion and travel.
UNIV. OF NEBRASKA PRESS
Book of the Sphinx (Oct., $35) by Willis Goth Regier plumbs the symbol's mysteries.
UNIV. OF WASHINGTON PRESS
Passing the Three Gates: Interviews with Charles Johnson (Jan., $40), edited by Jim McWilliams, features the author of the National Book Award—winning Middle Passage.
UNIV. PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
Witnessing (Sept., $28) by Ellen Douglas. Sixteen essays reflect the conviction that observing life is a writer's essential calling.
