Each year, North Carolina authors from around the country publish hundreds of books of all types and for the past seven seasons UNC-TV's North Carolina Bookwatch has brought the Tar Heel State's best and brightest southern writers to the small screen-shedding the spotlight on their works, their lives, and the indelible imprint that the state has left upon them.

Headlining an all-new season of North Carolina Bookwatch, premiering July 3 at 5 PM,storied editor Shannon Ravenel discusses the 20_th anniversary edition of her eagerly anticipated annual short story collection, New Stories from the South, 2005.

Described as one of the most resourceful and intelligent editors in the book business, Ravenel admits to a bit of bias in each "New Stories" edition she edits. "I always try to put my very favorite story in the front and usually I try to choose one that is original or different than the others."

In this  all-new episode of the state's only television literary series, Ravenel treats us to a sneak peek at this year's favorite short story author, Michael Parker, among a bevy of other literary talents, including Robert Olen Butler, Dennis Lehane, Moira Crone, Tom Franklin, Rebecca Soppe, Bret Anthony Johnston, and more.

Whether it's a young woman taking her teacher to task for favoring his more beautiful students, or a couple on the edge of despair with their colicky baby, or a neighbor who takes too much interest in the girl next door, the 2005 volume of New Stories From the South is full of short fiction for everyone. And in the series premiere of season eight of North Carolina Bookwatch, Ravenel shares how this year's selections illustrate all of the ways in which a good story can electrify a reader.

Shannon Ravenel, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was series editor of The Best American Short Stories for fourteen years before she inaugurated the New Stories from the South series. She is director of Shannon Ravenel Books, an Algonquin imprint, and lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

During this season of North Carolina Bookwatch, Sundays at 5 PM, beginning July 3, guests will also include: Emily Herring Wilson (No One Gardens Alone: A Life of Elizabeth Lawrence), Randall Kenan (Walking On Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century), Ann B. Ross (Miss Julia's School of Beauty), Lawrence Earley (Looking for Longleaf), Peter Perret (A Well Tempered Mind: Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn), Timothy Tyson (Blood Done Sign My Name), Moreton Neal (Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes from A Life in Cooking), Quinn Dalton (Bulletproof Girl), Henry Petroski (Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering), Bill Morris (Saltwater Cowboys), Amy Tiemann (Mojo Mom), Robert F. Irwin (Robert F. Irwin 40 Years), Tommy Hays (The Pleasure Was Mine), Mary Kay Andrews (Hissy Fit), Jerry Shinn (Loonis! Celebrating a Lyrical Life), Michael Parker (If You Want Me to Stay), Lawrence Naumoff (A Southern Tragedy, in Crimson and Yellow), Martha Witt (Broken As Things Are) and Gerhard Weinberg (Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders).

Funding for North  Carolina  Bookwatch is  provided  by UNC-TV members and by Quail  Ridge  Books  and  Music,  Raleigh's  independent,  full  service  bookstore,  bringing  readers  and  writers  together  since  1984.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV's ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

For more information about North Carolina Bookwatch and UNC-TV's other local productions, please visit our website at www.unctv.org.

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