Author Mary Ann Claud will be hosted by Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg for the final installment of Hub City’s Giving Sunday. At 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 17, Claud will do a reading and signing of her new book “Blue Ridge Pilgrimage.” Part of the proceeds from sales go to benefit Spartanburg Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Claud’s book takes readers on a jaunt through out-of-the-way places and subjects of the southern Blue Ridge and foothills through a collection of short columns that were written for the Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News during the 1980s and ‘90s. At the time, she was assigned to explore the area, and given free rein to uncover interesting and unique people, customs, landscapes, and, of course, beautiful waterfalls and forgotten histories. She said she hopes her book will entertain readers, and also inspire them to take a Blue Ridge pilgrimage of their own. 

The charity recipient, chosen by Mary Ann Claud for Giving Sunday, is Spartanburg Interfaith Hospitality Network (SPIHN), which networks with religious congregations and social service agencies throughout Spartanburg County to provide temporary shelter, food, and support to homeless families.

Operated by the non-profit Hub City Writers Project, the Hub City Bookshop specializes in new releases, regional authors, children’s books, literary fiction, history, and, of course, Hub City Press titles. It was named “one of the best bookstores in the South” by Southern Living magazine in 2016. Hub City is located in the Masonic Temple, 187 W. Main St., Spartanburg, S.C.

For more information about Mary Ann Claud and her books visit www.maryannclaud.com. Her books are available at Hub City and other independent bookstores or online in soft cover and ebooks.  

– submitted by Mary Jo Padgett