Dead Weight has just been named as a finalist in three national competitions: Book of the Year by ForeWord Magazine; best work of historic fiction by the Independent Book Publishers Association (Benjamin Franklin Award); and Best Novel of 2010 by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

“To be included as a nominee among such names as Pat Conroy is both an honor and a thrill,” says author Batt Humphreys.

The Blue Bicycle Books Author’s Luncheon Series continues Sat., March 13, noon to 2 pm, with local novelists Batt Humphreys and Nicole Seitz.

Batt Humphreys’ first novel Dead Weight is set in 1910 Charleston, based on a true story about a murder of a Jewish merchant and the black man wrongly accused of the crime. A Georgia native, Humphreys began a career in television news in Charleston in the early eighties. As a senior producer for the CBS News in New York, he managed the coverage of the first hours of the morning of September 11, several wars, elections, and as a reporter covered hurricanes, executions and more murders than he cares to remember. Humphreys and his wife Laura currently live on a farm outside Charleston, along with horses, dogs and cats of varying populations. more...