Literary Figures

Eight years ago, at the age of 35, Philip Simmons was diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig disease. The disease is degenerative, with no cure. Simmons has lived longer with the disease than most. He written a new collection of essays, Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life (Homefarm Books). Simmons is a professor of English at Lake Forest College in Illinois.

Writer and editor Roger Angell has been a fiction editor at The New Yorker for over 40 years. And has written about baseball for the magazine for decades. His pieces about baseball have been collected in four books including Late Innings and The Summer Game. Angell new book is A Pitcher Story: Innings with David Cone (Warner Books). Cone is a celebrated pitcher, a Cy Young Award winner, and one of sixteen men in history to pitch a perfect game. Last year, pitching for the Yankees, Cone experienced his first major slump. Angell chronicles Cone struggle in his book.

Writer David Hajdu is the author of the new book, Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina. (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux). The book focuses on the early 1960s when the four of them changed the nature of popular music. Hajdu is also the author of the award-winning biography, Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn. Hajdu also writes for The New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair.

Singer-songwriter Steve Earle has released ten critically acclaimed albums; his latest CD is called Transcendental Blues. He's just published his first book, a collection of short stories called Doghouse Roses. Earle is also politically active. He currently serves as a board member of the Journey of Hope and is affiliated with both the Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Abolitionist Action Committee.

Writer Joyce Johnson talks about her relationship to Beat icon Jack Kerouac, and her book, Door Wide Open: A Beat Love Affair in Letters which is now out in paperback. In 1957, Johnson started a relationship with the then little-known writer Kerouac. Nine months later, Kerouacs Beat classic On the Road was published. Johnson will talk about her two-year, tumultuous love affair with Kerouac, and how the publication of On the Road changed Kerouac. Door Wide Open contains many letters sent to Johnson by Kerouac.

Writer David Rakoff is a regular contributor to Outside, the New York Times Magazine, and public radios This American Life. One of his peers, writer Paul Rudnick says of him, –Rakoff is a comic saint... an ideal mix of the crabby and the debonair.— Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Fraud. He's also appearing in Amy & David Sedaris new off-broadway show.

Kent Walker is the oldest son of Sante Kimes, the 66-year old con-artist and convicted killer. Last year Kimes was convicted along with her other son Kenny Kimes of murdering an elderly Manhattan millionaires. The two have also been connected to the deaths or disappearances of three other wealthy people. Sante Kimes has been dubed the "Dragon Lady." Her other crimes include shoplifting, arson, and slavery. Kent Walker's book is "Son of a Grifter"

Writer Dagoberto Gilb's first book of short stories The Magic of Blood was published in 1993. Since then he has written a novel, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuna. His new book is a collection of stories about women, Woodcuts of Women.

Salzman is the author of the new novel, Lying Awake about a cloistered nun who discovers that her spiritual visions may be induced by epilepsy. The book explores the connection between neurologic disorders and mysticism. Salzman is also the author of the novel The Soloist, and a memoir, Lost in Place. He is also a cellist.

In his new book Book Business , Epstein gives his insiders take on publishing today. He also talks about how publishing has changed since he entered the business in the early 1950s. Early in his career, Epstein created Anchor Books, which is said to have helped establish the trade paperback format. Epstein was also editorial director of Random House and has edited many well-known novelists including Norman Mailer, Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth, and Gore Vidal.