New California books

CaliforniaAuthors.com has freshened up its exclusive listing of books written by California authors or about the state. Those coming in 2005 include:

Wrong Side of the Wall. By Eric Stone. The biography of Ralph "Blackie" Schwamb, a Los Angeles man who became the greatest baseball player in prison history, playing in California prisons.

California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century. Edited by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, William E. Justice and James Quay. Hear and feel California in the words of writers such as John Steinbeck, Maxine Hong Kingston and Joan Didion. This anthology of prose and a handful of poems aims to capture the multiplicity of voices that tell the Golden State's story.

Naked: Writers Uncover the Way We Live on Earth. Edited by Susan Zakin. Through works of fiction, narrative nonfiction, and memoir, this energetic anthology addresses issues that concern us today: genetic research, globalization, technology, urban alienation, suburban sprawl, immigration, animal rights, colonialism, wilderness preservation, and much more. Contributors include Deanne Stillman and Joe Donnelly.

There are 37 new books on the list. The site's featured book this week is Burn, Baby! Burn! The Autobiography of Magnificent Montague, by Montague and Bob Baker.