CONTACTS: Patrick Conner, director, WVU Press, 304-293-3107, ext. 431, pconner@wvu.edu
Daniel Williams, assistant director, WVU Press, 304-293-6378, ext. 454, press01@wvu.edu
Geoffrey George, marketing consultant, 304-296-6378, geoffreydgeorge@yahoo.com

Crum, West Virginia native Lee Maynard’s critically acclaimed novel about small-town life, has been chosen by West Virginia University Press as the first title to be published by its new trade imprint, Vandalia Press.

The book, first published in 1988, is considered a cult classic by many scholars of Appalachian literature. Publication is set for October.

"Crum deserves a place on the shelf with Tom Sawyer and Catcher in the Rye, and Vandalia Press wants to make sure it is again available to everyone," said Patrick W. Conner, director of the press and a WVU professor of English.

While Maynard’s novel is set in the southern West Virginia coal-mining town of Crum near the Kentucky border in the 1950s, it could be any rural community in the United States.

The story is told by a teenage narrator who dreams of escaping the poverty and isolation of his hometown but in the meantime has adventures with his friends that are both hilarious and poignant. Whether it’s stealing a side of meat from a delivery truck, blowing up outhouses or discovering the opposite sex, Maynard’s characters are haplessly compelling.

Maynard’s style allows the reader to remember what it is like to grow up, without leaving out any of the pain or pleasure that marks the transformation from youth to adulthood.

"While the explicit sex and use of profanity may offend some, I think readers who honestly remember their youthful trials and tribulations will appreciate the frankness of this novel," Dr. Conner said.

Crum shows an unfiltered view of a rural community and how its adolescents try to make sense of the world within and beyond its confines.

West Virginia University Press, a unit within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry and music pertaining to the politics, economics, technology and culture of historic and contemporary West Virginia and Appalachia.

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