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FOREWORD NAMES THREE SIU PRESS BOOKS FINALISTS IN ANNUAL AWARDS Simon, Schanke, and Moran honored in three categories   ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards honorably seek to bring increased attention from librarians and booksellers to the literary achievements of independent publishers and their authors. This year, three recent publications from Southern Illinois University Press have been named finalists in the competition.   The last book by the late former U.S. Senator and public policy ombudsman Paul Simon, Our Culture of Pandering, is a finalist in the Political Science category. In the Gay and Lesbian Non-fiction category, “That Furious Lesbian”: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta, by Central College professor and esteemed theatre historian Robert A. Schanke, is a finalist. University of Georgia professor Molly Hurley Moran’s memoir Finding Susan has been nominated in the True Crime category.   Walter Cronkite praised Paul Simon’s Our Culture of Pandering (208 pages, $25.00 cloth, October 2003) as “the guidebook for anyone interested in the future our democracy.” A progressive and earnest call to action, Simon’s twenty-first book interrogates the arenas of politics, media, religion, and education to decry the disturbing practices that confuse pubic service with profit-making ventures or popularity contests. Within each chapter, Simon details pragmatic solutions to problems that vex our country’s moral, financial, and intellectual well-being—problems increasingly exacerbated by our culture of pandering. According to Booklist, “He deftly outlines the problems, and he should be listened to.”   In “That Furious Lesbian”: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta (242 pages, 27 photos, $45.00 cloth, July 2003; $25.00 paper, June 2004), theater historian and biographer Robert A. Schanke corrects established myths to construct an accurate, detailed, and vibrant portrait of the flamboyantly uninhibited early-twentieth-century New York author, poet, and playwright whose roster of lovers and confidantes included such names as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Isadora Duncan, and Ona Munson. Deemed “an entertaining biography” by the New York Times Book Review and a “delicious read” by Girlfriends, Schanke’s work reestablishes de Acosta’s rightful place as a pioneer and champion in the early struggle for lesbian rights in this country. Finding Susan (240 pages, 36 illus., $29.50 cloth, October 2003) is Molly Hurley Moran’s riveting memoir of the life of her sister, Susan Hurley Harrison, a talented but troubled woman whose lack of self-confidence led her to become dependent on alcohol and trapped in a violent marriage. Susan disappeared in 1994; her body was discovered two years later, and her death was ruled a homicide—but no one has ever been charged with the murder. Since Susan’s disappearance, Moran has developed an avocation by educating the public about the topics of missing persons, battered-woman syndrome, and female alcoholism. The volume was praised by true-crime maven Ann Rule as “a completely enthralling book.”   Established in 1998, ForeWord’s Book of the Year Awards program has become one of the most prestigious honors for independent presses and their authors. A jury of librarians, booksellers and reviewers select winners and finalists based on editorial excellence and professional production as well as the originality of the narrative and the value the book adds to its genre. Luminaries from the small press community will join ForeWord editors in Chicago at BookExpo America on June 4, 2004 to announce first, second, and third place winners in each of the 47 categories.    SIU Press books that have previously been nominated or honored by ForeWord include The Whisper of Leaves, a novel by Craig Smith; Fabulae, poems by Joy Katz; and One Step Ahead: A Jewish Fugitive in Hitler’s Europe, a memoir by Alfred Feldman. These nominated and award-winning titles, as well as dozens others exemplifying the spirit of independent publishing, are available from booksellers and directly from  the Press.    ABOUT THE NOMINEES Paul Simon was the founding director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale where taught courses in journalism, political science, and history. Prior to leaving the U.S. Senate in 1997, Simon ranked as Illinois’ senior senator. His previous books include Freedom’s Champion: Elijah Lovejoy, PS: The Autobiography of Paul Simon, and the recently released Healing America: Values and Visions for the Twenty-First Century. He died in December, 2003.   A Professor Emeritus of Theater at Central College in Pella, Iowa, and editor of the international journal Theatre History Studies, Robert A. Schanke serves as editor of SIU Press’s Theater in the Americas series. His most recent books, “That Furious Lesbian” and its companion volume of plays, Women in Turmoil, were recently named finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. One of his previous books, Shattered Applause: The Lives of Eva Le Gallienne, was also a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and the Barnard Hewitt Award for theatre research. Additional information about his books can be found at www.mercedesdeacosta.com.   Molly Hurley Moran, an associate professor of writing in the Division of Academic Enhancement at the University of Georgia, is the author of Margaret Drabble: Existing Within Structures and Penelope Lively, as well as numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. A frequent lecturer and media interviewee, Moran maintains the website www.findingsusan.com.   More marketing news