Archive for April, 2012

Remember Ben Clayton Honored By the Texas Institute of Letters and the Western Writers of America

April 30th, 2012

Congratulations to Stephen Harrigan, whose novel Remember Ben Clayton has been named the winner of the Texas Institute of Letters’ Jesse H. Jones fiction award and the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for Best Western Long Novel!

Remember Ben Clayton is the story of Francis “Gil” Gilheaney, a sculptor of boundless ambition and bad fortune who is driven to artistic exile in Texas just after World War I. When an aging rancher commissions Gil to create a memorial statue of his son who was killed in action, Gil believes it will be his greatest achievement. But he soon learns that his client is guarding a haunting secret. The book will be available in paperback from Vintage on May 29.

Select Praise for Remember Ben Clayton:

“Stephen Harrigan ranks among the finest atmospheric novelists…. Simply put, storytelling does not get any better than this.”
The Dallas Morning News

“One of the best novels of [the year]…. Like Ian McEwan’s Atonement…Harrigan magically re-creates a point in history while engaging readers with a mesmerizing story.”
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Magnificently compelling…. Stephen Harrigan handles these scenes with immaculate detail, an acute ear for fear and cruelty, and an eye for the unpredictability of human behavior in moments of passion…. We are knocked flat with admiration.” —The Washington Post

Click to read more reviews and to pre-order the book.