As you may have read in The Democrat this weekend, Penn Cage and Natchez are about to hit the shelves again.

“Natchez Burning” will be released on Tuesday, and the launch party will be at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson. In my career, I have never seen the kind of excitement generated by this novel.

All four major trade publications have given the novel starred reviews, and the London Sunday Times also gave it a rave review.

BookPage magazine calls the novel “William Faulkner for the Breaking Bad generation,” and there’s Hollywood interest as well. All the signs say “Natchez Burning” is going to be huge.

I will be doing a national book tour to support the novel, but on May 15, I will be autographing books at Dunleith in Natchez. This year, my signing event will be a benefit for the Natchez Children’s Home.

All the profits will go to serve at-risk children in our area. Unlike my past book-signings, the Dunleith benefit will also be a celebratory party.

You are not required to buy a ticket to this event. If you’re buying the book, you can come and bring your family. The Dunleith folks will be selling food and drinks on site, and we’ll also have live music.

National Public Radio’s Crime In the City program will be sending a reporter to cover the event and also to tour Natchez. I will be signing books from 5:30 to 9 p.m. If you want a personalized copy, this is your chance to get it.

If you want to start reading “Natchez Burning” on the day it comes out, you can pick up your reserved book at the Children’s Home on Tuesday. To have it signed, just bring it to Dunleith on May 15.

I will also sign older books on that day, if you buy a copy of “Natchez Burning” from the Children’s Home.

If you bring a copy of “Natchez Burning” that you bought elsewhere, and want it signed, I ask that you make a $10 donation to the Children’s Home.

There is no worthier cause than the troubled children in our area, so please do all you can to help make this benefit a success.

Please place your orders as soon as possible to ensure we have enough books on hand.  To order, call the Natchez Children’s Home at 601-442-6858 or log onto gregiles.com for instructions.

It’s great to be back in the saddle, and I look forward to seeing everybody at Dunleith!

 

Greg Iles is the author of Natchez Burning.