ESCAPE FROM CASTRO'S CUBA is a finalist for the CASEY Award, given annually to the 'best' baseball book published this calendar year.
What surprised me the most about the news is that ESCAPE is the only novel among the finalists and, frankly, works of fiction rarely make the cut for the CASEY.
It is a stacked field of CASEY finalists, with Joe Posnanski's THE BASEBALL 100, Lonnie Wheeler's bio about 'Cool Papa' Bell and Dave Jordan's collaboration with slugger Dave Parker also in the running. Of the nine finalists, three are from University of Nebraska Press, which underscores the fine work editor Rob Taylor is doing there.
With ESCAPE being the only novel in play, I sort of feel like I've already won. And I'm not just saying that. As you know, getting traction for a piece of fiction is an uphill fight, so it makes your day when you hear that you're in the running for something like a CASEY.
Thanks to Mike Shannon and the folks at Spitball magazine for the honor.