Pinckney Benedict Scores Again!

from today's e-mail:

I’ve been informed by George Brosi, the editor of Appalachian Heritage AH, that my story “Joe Messinger is Dreaming” which appeared in their Summer 2007 issue, is the winner of the Plattner Award for Outstanding Fiction, for the best story to appear in the magazine in 2007. The novelist Lee Maynard was the judge.

Also, SURREAL SOUTH has received an excellent notice in the January/February issue of BLOOMSBURY REVIEW
BR. The money quotes:
"heartwarming"

"highbrow, literary writing"

"New blood"

"the rejuvenation of fiction"

"an anthropological eye-opener"

"a dream portal"

"a pot of nightmares"

"marijuana, fear, fatigue, alcohol, rage, and betrayal"
(sounds like the recipe for a good old-fashioned Appalachian family reunion to me!)

"the dreams of a hot and sticky southern night"

"irresistible offering"

"sultry and unforgettable"

I will also take a moment to note that Mark Budman, the reviewer, singles out Laura’s contribution to the anthology for particular praise, calling it "the most visually imaginative and logistically complex of all the stories."

Congrats to the editors of Surreal South, Pinckney and Laura Benedict!