Feud expert and national author Dean King coming to Museum in
the Park in Logan this Fri., May 31
LOGAN, WV – With the success of last year’s HISTORY channel multiple
award-winning mini-series, Hatfields & McCoys, starring
Kevin Costner, comes a renewed worldwide interest in the complex story of
America’s most noted vendetta—the Hatfields of Logan County vs. the
McCoys of neighboring Pike County.
This month, New York Times bestselling author, Dean King, has released a
new take on this local story, entitled, The Feud: The Hatfields and
McCoys: The True Story. Unlike in previous accounts, King chose
to begin in the mid-nineteenth century, when the Hatfields and McCoys
lived side-by-side in relative harmony along the Tug River. The
nonfiction work by Little, Brown and Company is already gaining rave
reviews nationwide.
Just beginning his national book tour, King will be appearing in Logan on
Friday evening, May 31st. He’s scheduled to speak at Museum in
the Park in Chief Logan State Park from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Free to the public, the event is being sponsored by
the Hatfield-McCoy Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB); Logan
County Chamber of Commerce; Museum in the Park of Chief Logan State
Park; Woodland Press, LLC; and Randall Reid-Smith, commissioner of
the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Light
refreshments will be available starting at 6:00 p.m., and
King will begin his talk around 6:30.
“It's only appropriate that he would kick off the first official week of
his national book tour right here in Logan County—in feud country,” said
Debrina Williams, director of the Hatfield-McCoy CVB, adding that King
will be sharing some of the adventures he encountered while
researching the subject. “He'll have a fascinating slide show and conduct
a lively discussion about the project,” Williams added. “For example,
we heard he was even shot at while researching his book along the Tug
River.”
Afterwards,
King will field questions from those in attendance and then have a
meet-and-greet, allowing ample time to meet all who attend and sign
copies of his new book.
Many will recall that King was one of the historians on the 2012 History
Channel documentary, "America's Greatest Feud: The Hatfields and
McCoys," narrated by Kevin Costner and directed by Mark Cowen. In
addition to King's accomplishments as a historian and author, he is now a
producer on an upcoming History Channel reality series based on the
Hatfields and McCoys, and will likely be talking about this in greater
detail during the event at the park. He helped develop the concept
for the television program, and also identified characters for the show.
Besides feud enthusiasts, King is also interested in meeting local writers
and journalists, teachers and students, historians
and genealogists, and looks forward to discussing the writing craft
and his exhaustive research with attendees.
“We want to extend our invitation to everyone for this event at Chief
Logan State Park. This is a real honor for our county, and I know Mr.
King would be delighted to have you all there,” Williams added.
As an award-winning author of nine non-fiction books, Dean King has
chased stories across Europe, Asia, Africa and now
Appalachia, specifically making countless trips to the southern part of
the Mountain State and the eastern section of the Bluegrass State over
the last few years as he researched the complex feud story for this
latest book project. Coming full circle, on Friday evening,
he will present his findings and his finished project to the
people living in the land where it all began.
Hardbound
copies of King's book, The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys: The
True Story, are available locally at The Coal House, in Williamson,
Aracoma Drug at Chapmanville, Logan Regional Hospital gift shop in Logan, and
at www.woodlandpress.com.
For more details on the event, contact Debrina
Williams, Hatfield-McCoy CVB, at 304-752-1324; or call
Frankie Esposito, Museum in the Park, at 304-792-7229. For more
information about Dean King, see http://www.deanhking.com.
