“Portersville” by Daryl Haskew was nominated for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award
The US Review of Books recently announced the much-awaited results for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award.
“Portersville” by Daryl Haskew, published by Author Reputation Press, was one of the nominees for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award. This masterpiece was highly praised by Priscilla Estes of the US Review of Books, acknowledging that “Haskew knows nature’s fury from growing up in Portersville and living through Hurricane Camille in 1969, which took his home. Two subsequent dwellings were swallowed, and now he lives in a trailer, moveable when hurricanes threaten. Haskew does a fine job of romanticizing the past and bringing it alive through a colorful cast of characters, including noble Greeks, shrimp boat captains, voodoo queens, Mafia dons, and Creek Indian archetypes. History buffs will enjoy the historically accurate progress of a real coastal town, from the first shrimp boat to pleasure boats and casinos through electricity and automobiles.”
Eric Hoffer Book Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its establishment, the Hoffer has become one of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses.
The US Review of Books supports the Eric Hoffer Project by publishing the results of the annual Eric Hoffer Award for Books. The Eric Hoffer Award is judged by a separate panel, under the direction of the Eric Hoffer Project.
In this, his first novel, author Daryl Haskew transports the reader into the exciting, mysterious world of Portersville. Spending decades in and on Portersville Bay allowed for personal experiences with sailing, building boats, and constructing log homes. The Spring Hill College graduate and retired educator blends fact and fiction into a powerful saga spanning twenty years among the characters of what is now known as Bayou La Batre, Coden, and Dauphin Island, Alabama.
“Portersville” presents a compelling story about how, after a summer of record-setting heat, the water of the Gulf of Mexico began to boil. She consumed the available fuel, sending giant clouds skyward to the edge of space. As her eye formed, her power increased. Like a hungry beast, she consumed the warmth of the Gulf and drove it skyward, increasing her appetite even more. Soon, she became one of the most feared forces of nature . . . Hurricane.
Click on this link to find out more about the 2024 Eric Hoffer Award results: https://www.hofferaward.com/Eric-Hoffer-Award-winners.html.