Islandport Notebook: Thursday, April 5 (Masters Week Edition!)

Great News! The New England Outdoor Writers Assocation has named Paul J. Fournier's Tales from Misery Ridge: One Man's Adventures in the Great Outdoors the Best Outdoor Book of 2011. Congrats Paul! ... Speaking of NEOWA awards, Paul's is now the second straight Islandport book to receive the Best Book award. Last year, Randy Spencer's Where Cool Waters Flow nabbed the honor. Randy is still guiding from Grand Lake Stream. You can follow his blog on the web. He posted a new entry, "This Fly Needs a Name," earlier this week. ... Speaking of great news, it is now official that Sarah L. Thomson's Mercy: The Last New England Vampire is a Maine Student Book Award Finalist. ... If you are a fan of classic country music or Maine singing legends, listen up! I stumbled upon a cool video on YouTube of Dick Curless singing his biggest hit, "Tombstone Every Mile" as a guest on The Buck Owens Show. Someone has posted a few videos of Curless performing. Classic. ... Heading off next week to meet with Astrid Sheckels (The Fish House Door, The Scallop Christmas) to pick up final art for Nic and Nellie, her first book as both author and illustrator. This image is a preview. Looks like another steller job by Astrid. ... Meanwhile, we are finalizing the slightly-delayed John McDonald's Maine Trivia and added art from the very talented Mark Ricketts of Bangor. Don't forget we have started a John McDonald's Maine Triva page on Facebook. Like us! ... We are also putting the final touches on our plans for the launch of Crustacean Vacation. We are teaming with The Weathervane Restaurant chain throughout the month of June to help promote the children's picture book. Keep watching for details. ... The Boston Red Sox open their season today. Today! Josh Pahigian, author of the novel Strangers on the Beach which we are releasing this fall, has also written several baseball related books. An updated version of his The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, 2nd: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums has recently been released. Good stuff! ... Now, not that I have to remind you, but today is also Day One of THE MASTERS! Will watch as much as possible, even if the Azaleas came and went early. Go Phil! ~Dean