More on WRNI

Taped last week, radio reporter, columnist and former Providence Journal writer Scott MacKay's interview of me, about the Pell bio and writing in general, ran this morning on the NPR station.

WPRO Morning News

Did a segment this morning on Rhode Island's WPRO AM-630 Morning News Show, hosted by Andrew Gobeil and Tara Granahan. They were most gracious. Talked mostly about the book, but they were kind enough to mention my continuing Providence Journal series on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifWRNI
Today's appearance followed a report broadcast Monday by reporter Flo Jonic on WRNI FM 102.7, Rhode Island NPR.

200 at launch party! Reviews coming in!

Some 200 people came out on a beautiful fall afternoon Oct. 16 for the launch party at Salve Regina University's Pell Center. I signed 100 books -- after that, the publisher ran out. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse spoke, along with Congressman David Cicilline; all were greatly influenced by Pell. Also speaking were grandsons Nick and Clay Pell, and Salve president Sister Gerety and Chancellor Sister Antone. I did a reading. The wine flowed and the food, including cucumber sandwiches, was scrumptious.

Meanwhile, reviews are starting to come in, including from Publisher's Weekly. They're good. Links to them can be found at the official book site's reviews page.

Upcoming events include a reading at signing at Newport's Redwood Library, Nov. 17, and a presentation at the Nov. 30 Pecha Kucha in Providence. Details soon.

AN UNCOMMON MAN now on Apple iTunes

In addition to Amazon Kindle, the book is now also available electronically at the Apple iTunes store.
Hard copies also available at many retailers and online outlets!

Oct. 16 launch party press release...

PUBLIC INVITED TO LAUNCH PARTY FOR PELL BIOGRAPHY

Sept. 30, 2011
For immediate release

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The public is invited to join Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, members of the Claiborne Pell family, and author G. Wayne Miller for the 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, launch party marking the release of Miller’s

AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell, the authorized biography of the late six-term U.S. senator.

The event will be held at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center, 518 Bellevue Ave., Newport, 02840.

In addition to Reed and Whitehouse, whose political careers were greatly influenced by Pell, speakers will include Salve President Sr. Jane Gerety, Salve Chancellor Sr. M. Therese Antone, and two Pell grandchildren: Nick and Clay Pell. Miller will read from the book and sign copies. Newly named Pell Center executive director James Ludes will host.

Published by the University Press of New England, AN UNCOMMON MAN is the first biography of the creator of the Pell Grants college assistance program and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. A longtime advocate of global peace who was instrumental in several treaties and an early opponent of the Vietnam War, Pell was also known for his visionary ideas -- and quirky personality. He served six terms in the Senate, longest of any Rhode Islander, from 1961 to 1997, never losing an election. Miller wrote the book with exclusive access to family archives and the Pell Collection at the University of Rhode Island, among other sources.

A staff writer at The Providence Journal, Miller is the author of seven previous books and is also a documentary filmmaker. His most recent film, 2010’s BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society, which he wrote and co-produced, has been broadcast on PBS and enjoyed several theatrical runs at Newport’s Jane Pickens Theater.

The Oct. 16 event will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served. For this one event only, copies of AN UNCOMMON MAN will be sold at a 30-percent discount off cover price. Official publication date of the hardcover is Oct. 11.
The Kindle edition is already available.

More on the book at www.pellbook.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Claiborne-Pell-biography/155042620179

Press inquiries: pellbook@gmail.com

-- 30 --

Nice words in Phoenix interview!

David Scharfenberg, editor of The Providence Phoenix, had some very nice things to say in introducing an interview with me about my soon-to-be-released new book, AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell. And let me return the compliment: David, whose own fine writing I got to observe when he was on the staff of The Providence Journal, has done a superb job at the helm of his fine weekly, which I have been reading forever. Thanks, David!

Available now on Kindle!

The hard copy release is still on the horizon, but Amazon has released the Kindle version of the book. You can read it now! Details at the Amazon Uncommon Man site.

Books in hand!

Pre-sale copies of AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell, my eighth book, seventh non-fiction, arrived at my home and I am delighted. University Press of New England did a fabulous job! After inscribing one to Yolanda, to whom the book is dedicated, I brought copies to Nuala Pell, who was similarly pleased. Nula and many other Pells, along with Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and lots of other folks, political and otherwise, will be joining me 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for the book release party. Please join us. Books are expected to go on sale, through Amazon and in bookstores, about the end of September.

News coverage begins, four months in advance

A mention of the book June 17 on the Providence Journal's Books Blog.

Now on Amazon!

The book is now available on Amazon, check it out!

New photos added to the slideshow

As I comb through Pell's personal scrapbooks and other sources, I am adding new photos to the UNCOMMON MAN web site. I have almost 60 up there now, all nicely organized and captioned, with many, many more to come.
Here's a rare shot of the Pell in swim trunks, from the 1960 campaign year.
Check the rest of them out at the UNCOMMON MAN slideshow.

Rhode Island Monthly to run excerpt

I have just reached agreement with Rhode Island Monthly allowing the magazine to run a substantial excerpt of AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell in their August issue, which is their biggest newsstand seller of the year. This will be an enormous boost for the book, and I am grateful to the magazine for their interest!

New web site up and running!

A few tweaks remain, but the dedicated web site for AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell, due for publication in October, is now live.

The site features an excerpt from the book and a photo gallery, among other attractions. I am still organizing the gallery, adding captions and more photos. Eventually, I expect this to be a great resource not only for the book, but also to those interested in Pell and the period from JFK to Clinton.

Since we do not have the cover yet, nor a page on Amazon, some links are not yet operative. Still, I invite you to visit -- and offer any suggestions you might have.

Book launch plans advance...

All the details here, on the G. Wayne Miller blog.

New title is finalized

After deciding that A VERY DIFFERENT SENATOR did not quite capture the man, we have settled on a new title for the biography:

AN UNCOMMON MAN
The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell

And that's not all that's happening as we move toward October 2011 publication -- the book is now in copy-editing, the marketing plan is taking shape, and I am having a new web site designed. We have selected two photo inserts and secured permission from The Providence Journal and other sources to use some great archival shots. Those and many more will be on the new web page's slideshow. The web address will remain the same, however: And so will the bio email account: pellbook@gmail.com

We also are beginning to plan the book launch party, at Salve Regina University's Pell Center (expect lots of noteworthy people, could be THE political event of the season!) and other appearances and events. Stay tuned as the fall approaches...