Hey everyone, two things that we're really excited about here at Centrum. First, Kim Barnes's novel "A Country Called Home" continues to win awards by the armful, as if they were prizes at the county fair. The latest: the PEN USA Award for Fiction.

"A Country Called Home" is a powerful novel of young love and rural isolation. With its lush atmosphere, complex characters, and deep explorations of faith, madness, and addiction, this is a perfect fit for reading groups this season as they fall in love with his rich portrayal of the power of family—the family we are born to and the family we create.

Kim’s next novel will be entitled "American Mecca," and will be published by Knopf in 2011.

The second thing I wanted to announce is that registration for the 37th annual Port Townsend Writers' Conference will begin November 9.