Upper Big Branch story

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- St. Martin's Press has published a book about the Upper Big Branch Disaster titled "Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal."

Author Peter A. Galuszka grew up in West Virginia and worked for BusinessWeek, where he was Moscow bureau chief and international news editor.

According to a news release from St. Martin's Press, Galuszka "takes the reader behind the obvious ... detailing the drive for profits over safety, and resulting negligence, of Massey Energy."

The book will go on sale Sept. 18 for $25.99.

'Storming Heaven' at 25

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston novelist and playwright Denise Giardina will talk about her novel "Storming Heaven," published 25 years ago, at 2 p.m. June 24 at the MacFarland-Hubbard House. The house is headquarters of the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. Giardina's talk will conclude the council's Little Lecture Series for the season.

"Storming Heaven," about the beginnings of the West Virginia mine wars, won the Weatherford Award and was a Discovery Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Giardina, who grew up in a coal camp in McDowell County, now lives in Charleston and is writer-in-residence at West Virginia State University.

Admission to the lecture is $10 and includes a reception after the program. People interested in attending the June 24 lecture should call the Humanities Council at 304-346-8500 in advance to confirm that seats remain.

Literary Festival

LEWISBURG, W.Va. -- The Lewisburg Literary Festival will take place Aug. 3 and 4 and will include Homer Hickam, Jerry West, Lee Maynard and Pops Walker, Sarah Sullivan, John Antonik and others.

The event will feature author presentations, outdoor art installations, live music and performance art, a literary breakfast and poetry jam, all inspired by literature. The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Aug. 3 with a Literary Town Square at the Greenbrier Valley Visitors Center. Live music will be performed in the city green space, a poetry jam will be held at the Irish Pub on Washington Street and a late-night reading will be given by an Edgar Allan Poe character actor in the Old Stone Cemetery.

A literary breakfast will take place Aug. 4 at the Greenbrier County Library. The Literary Town Square opens for the day, and guest authors hold readings and presentations throughout town.

The author lineup begins at 11:30 a.m. at Carnegie Hall with John Antonik, author of "Roll Out The Carpet: 101 Seasons of West Virginia University Basketball." Jerry West will speak at noon about his life and memoir, "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life."

At 2 p.m., "Rocket Boys" author Homer Hickam will speak about his life and books.

An event for children, a reading by children's author Sarah Sullivan, will take place at 11 a.m. in the Greenbrier Valley Theatre.

At 5 p.m., Lee Maynard and Pops Walker take the stage for an hour of storytelling and music at The Lewis Theatre.