Notes

Notes COLLECTOR’SEDITION Marian Beilke (printer, publisher, dairy-farmer, grape-grower, teacher, and Curator of Quintessence Working Press-Room Museum, Inc.) announces the publication of a rare Bret Harte classic tale of the Mother Lode, An Epi­ sode of Fiddletown, A Tale of the Gold Rush in Three Parts. The book will be printed in a high-quality letter-press edition in time for the 150th birthday of Bret Harte who wrote this incomparable story about Fiddletown, a small but rich gold camp. The first appearance of the tale was 1873 and it has been unavailable for almost a century! Quintessence Publications books in the past have sold out early and fetch sums five times the original. Only 500 copies of the Bret Harte book will be printed by Beilke, who can be reached while printing this rare book at: Quintessence Publications, 356 Bunker Hill Mine Road, Amador City, California 95601. * * * INTERNATIONAL WHIM HUMOR CONFERENCE April 1 to April 5, 1987 are the dates of the next international humor conference to be held in the Memorial Union of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Proposals on any aspect of “International Humor” should be sent before January 15, 1987. Previous international humor conferences have been held in Bulgaria, France, India, Ireland, Israel, the United States, and Wales. Send a one-page abstract, and a $50 conference fee to Don L. F. Nilsen, English Department, A.S.U., Tempe, AZ 85287. Registrants will be entitled to coffee breaks, luncheons, and a humor journal. 228 Western American Literature AWARDS In May, 1986, the Western States Arts Foundation announced the win­ ners of the 1986 Western States Book Awards, given to writers and publishers working and living in the western United States. The winners were: P o e t r y : Mary Barnard. Time and the White Tigress, Breitenbush Books. F ic t io n : Clarence Major. M y Amputations, Fiction Collective. C r e a t iv e N o n f ic t io n :Anita Sullivan. The Seventh Dragon: The Riddle of Equal Temperament, Metamorphous Press. C it a t io n f o r E x c e l l e n c e : Kim Stafford. Having Everything Right: Essays of Place, Confluence Press. The awards were created in 1984 in response to the alarming decline in publication of serious literature nationally, which has forced writers to be increasingly dependent on small regional publishers. While these publishers often recognize the value of literary works and are willing to publish them in excellent small editions for specialized readerships, they do not usually have the resources to promote these books adequately in the national marketplace. After an extensive study of the needs of western writers, the Foundation developed the awards to 1) recognize and promote writers of excellence living in the W est; 2) encourage effective production and marketing of quality books published in the West; and 3) increase sales and critical attention nationally for quality literary works from the West. The competition for the next Western States Book Awards will be an­ nounced in the spring of 1987 for books scheduled for 1988 publication. For further information, contact: Cheryl Alters Jamison/Director of Special Projects or Alice B. Acheson/Project Publicist, both at Western States Arts Foundation / 207 Shelby Street, Suite 200 / Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. * * * ...