Press release
For Immediate Release
Contact: JoAnn F. Cox
Awards Administrator
admin@shirleyjacksonawards.org
Celebrating Shirley Jackson on
Shirley Jackson Day, June 22, 2019
On Saturday, June 22nd at The Left Bank in North Bennington, The John G. McCullough Free Library, in partnership with The Bennington Bookshop, will host its annual celebration of the career of Shirley Jackson (1916- 1965) with readings of her work. Doors will open at 6:30PM and guests are invited to view a gallery exhibit of work inspired by Jackson’s work and music courtesy of Jackson’s son, Barry Hyman. The celebration itself will begin at 7:00PM.
Jackson was a prolific author who lived in North Bennington, Vermont. Her several novels include We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. She also wrote two popular memoirs, four books for children and hundreds of short stories. Jackson, who favored themes of mystery, psychology, and suspense, is best known for “The Lottery,” one of the most widely read tales in modern fiction. June 27 is the “Lottery Day” of the original story. Its publication in The New Yorker was on June 26, 1948.
Interest in Shirley Jackson continues to grow. Last year, Netflix released the limited series “The Haunting,” inspired by Ms. Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. A movie based on the 1962 novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle was released on May 17 on demand and in theaters.
This year, Shirley Jackson Day will feature readings by Jackson’s children; her daughter, Jai Holly, a retired Registered Nurse makes her home in Bennington, Vermont, and Barry Hyman, Shirley Jackson’s son, who is a musician and music teacher residing in White Creek, New York. They will be joined by two readers connected with the Shirley Jackson Awards:
- Brett Cox is a co- founder of the Shirley Jackson Awards and current Vice- President of the SJA Board of Directors. He is the author of The End of All Our Exploring: Stories (Fairwood Press, 2018). In addition to the fiction collected in that volume, his poetry, plays, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He also co- edited, with Andy Duncan, Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic (Tor, 2004). A native of North Carolina, Brett is Charles A. Dana Professor of English at Norwich University and lives in Vermont with his wife, playwright Jeanne Beckwith.
Bracken MacLeod is the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of the novels Mountain Home, Come to Dust, Stranded and Closing Costs, coming from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He’s also published two collections of short fiction, 13 Views of the Suicide Woods and White Knight and Other Pawns. Before devoting himself to full time writing, he worked as a civil and criminal litigator, a university philosophy instructor, and a martial arts teacher. He lives outside of Boston with his wife and son, where he is at work on his next novel.
About the Shirley Jackson Awards
In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.
The Shirley Jackson Awards are voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics with input from a Board of Advisors. The awards are given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single- Author Collections and Edited Anthology.
The 2018 Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented at Readercon 28, the conference on imaginative literature, on Sunday, July 14, 2019.
About The John G. McCullough Free Library
The John G. McCullough Free Library is a center for inquiry, expression and connection in North Bennington, Vermont. For further information about Shirley Jackson Day check their website (mcculloughlibrary.org) or contact Jennie Rozycki, Library Director at 802.447.7121 or at mclibrary@comcast.net
About the Left Bank
The Left Bank, which houses a variety of community programs, occupies the former Merchants Bank building at 5 Bank Street, North Bennington, Vermont. (leftbankcalendar.org)
Shirley Jackson Day Celebration Calendar Listing
Shirley Jackson Day Celebration
An hour’s reading from the work of Shirley Jackson
Saturday, June 22. Doors at 6:30 PM; event begins at 7:00 PM
5 Bank Street, North Bennington, VT
(Rt 67A, corner of Bank and Main Streets)
The event is free, open to the public and accessible for individuals with mobility challenges.
Refreshments will be available.
For further information, see the John G. McCullough Free Library’s website (mcculloughlibrary.org) or The Left Bank’s Calendar of Events (leftbankcalendar.org)
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Media representatives who are seeking further information or interviews should contact JoAnn F. Cox.