Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-winning novel "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" which is about to be released in paperback is reviewed in the Guardian Observer. It is about "…a serious young man who grows up in Prague obsessed with the exploits of Harry Houdini. His teacher, an elderly Jewish magician, tests his escapology skills to the limit when he smuggles Josef out of occupied Prague in the coffin of the Golem, the mythical Jewish homunculus." To read the Jul. 8 review by Stephanie Merritt titled "Paperback of the week" click: HERE.(7/9)
--To buy the book for $21.56 click: HERE.

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LOUISIANA: The annual Society of American Magicians national convention comes to New Orleans, LA on Jul. 12-15 where an array of international talent will entertain and teach. Performers include Greg Frewin, Aldo Colombini, Alan Shaxon, Marc DeSouza, Chad Long, Amos Levkovitch, Franz Harary, Michel Clovello, Norbert Ferre, Valerie, Carlos Greco, Tom Ogden, Terry Herbert, Tim Wright, Scott Penrose, Michael Bailey, Christopher Pratt, Al Carthy, Duncan Trillo, David Vela, Sean Bogunia, The Beckers, and much more. The nightly gala shows at the Rampart Street theater will be open to the general public and are available through Ticketmaster (504-524-2400). For more information and registration options click: HERE.(7/10)

Dixie Dooley is organizing a 25-hour marathon of magic which is scheduled for Jul. 12 at 7pm through Jul. 13 at 8pm. Magicians expected to appear include: Gary Darwin, Jason Newsom, Mark Bennick, Johnny-O, Captin Drew, Perry Maynard, Dixie Dooley and many others. The event will be held at the Magic Star Casino in Henderson, NV and is a benefit for the Shade Tree, a shelter for women and children.(7/10)

Penn & Teller appear at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City on Jul. 13-15 and then go back to their regular gig at the Samba Theatre at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Jul. 20 through Aug. 19.(7/10)

NEW JERSEY: George Hemple lectures on Wednesday Jul. 11 at 8pm for JMMRT at the V.F.W. (Pennsylvania Railroad Ave., two blocks from the NJ Transit - Linden train station) in Linden, New Jersey. Cost to non-members is $12. For more information phone Carl Bajor at: 732-969-2566 or click: HERE.(7/10)

Siegfried & Roy pose with the cast of the new Vegas show "La Femme" which was imported from the Crazy Horse Revue in Paris. (Photo: Siegfried & Roy).(7/10)

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The magic competitions at the 73rd annual International Brotherhood of Magicians convention this year featured winners from the U.S., Canada and even China. The finalists in the close-up division were Shawn Farquhar, Chase Curtis, Winston Helling, Matthew Grunwald, Igor, Eddie Maxwell & Canki and the winners were: Shawn Farquhar (Adult 1st place), Igor (adult 2nd place), Winston Helling (Junior 1st place), Curtis Chase (Junior 2nd place), and Shawn Farquhar received a special "F.F.F.F. 'OBIE' Award." The finalists in the stage competition were Lin Bin, Bunnies in Peril, Richard Forget, Winston Helling, Philip Kaiser, and Jessica Reed with the awards going to Richard Forget (Adult 1st place), Lin Bin (Adult 2nd place), Jessica Reed (Junior 1st place), Winston Helling (Junior 2nd place), the "People's Choice Award" went to Richard Forget. Neither the Gold Cups for close-up or the Gold Medal for stage were given this year.(7/11)

Ray Mertz (1949-2001) died yesterday of a heart attack. Mertz was a regular performer at the legendary Forks Hotel in Cheektowaga New York (a suburb of Buffalo) who also won many magic competitions and was a regular close-up performer and lecturer on the magic lecture and convention circuit.(7/11)

"Carnival of Wonders" is reviewed in a UPI story which highlights Jeff Hobson who is described as, "But the real energy of the show is balding round-faced comedian Jeff Hobson -- billed simply as Hobson -- who does an over-the-top flaming queen  with such panache that his shtick almost obscures his considerable skills as a magician. His show-stopper routine is as a gaudily robed Chinese magician, "Fu Ling Yu," who tells funny stories while working with a wooden apparatus called the Tama Suma Re. (You kinda have to take my word on this)." To read the Jul 10 article by Joe Bob Briggs titled "The Vegas Guy: Reno Hilton" click: HERE.(7/11)

Steve Trash is featured in a Philadelphia Daily News story where he, "…describes his shows as a cross 'between David Copperfield and Stomp.'" He continues, "Garbage is pretty fascinating to me… It's anything you've decided isn't valuable any more, even though it was worthwhile to you 20 minutes ago." To read the Jul. 10 story by Al Hunter, Jr. titled "Trash Takes A Magical Twist" click: HERE.(7/11)

Nick Nickolas who is appearing at the Street Fest in Canada is featured in The Edmonton Journal. To read the Jul. 10 story by Liz Nicholls titled "The trick, the patter, the pitchä" click: HERE.(7/11)

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Jonathan Levit who was the magician in last year's X-Files episode "The Amazing Maleeni" will once again be playing magician. This time he appears in the "Now You See Him" episode of the cable show The Huntress. Levit told MagicTimes that his character "…is a street magician who is constantly slipping out of the hands of the bounty hunters on the show." You can catch the show on Sunday Jul. 15 at 10pm and again on Saturday Jul. 21 at 10am on USA-TV (cable).(7/12)

Mike Fisher who performs under the name "Fish the Magish" explained to The Island Packet that when asked by children how he learned magic he explains, "People ask me how I learn to do these tricks, …I learned them from reading." To read the Jul. 11 story by Laura Marble titled "Reading program kicks off" click: HERE.(7/12)

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"The Magic of David Copperfield: The Tornado of Fire" which aired on CBS-TV on Apr. 3 received a 2001 Emmy nomination for "Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program." The 53rd annual Primetime Emmy awards ceremony which is produced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will air live on Sep. 16 on CBS-TV. "Tornado of Fire" will be competing against the "73rd Annual Academy Awards," "The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards," "MADtv:610," and "Peter Pan Starring Cathy Rigby."(7/13)

Herb Morrissey founder of Morrissey Magic, the largest Canadian magic manufacturing company and magic shop received a heart transplant on Monday Jul. 9. We wish him the best as begins his recuperation.(7/13)

Ray Mangel, past-president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, died on Sunday Jul. 8. Mangel attended 43 consecutive I.B.M. national conventions and was hoping to make it this year for his 44th.(7/13)

CALIFORNIA: Loren Christopher Michaels lectures on Monday Jul. 16 at 7pm at Mind Over Magic (2214 Burbank Blvd.) in Burbank. For more information phone: 818-562-1921.(7/13)

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Bob Brown of "Bob Brown & Brenda" fame is profiled in a Sacramento Bee article which looks back at his career as a magician, ace insurance salesman and the "1952 Man of the Year." Brown turns 80 this month and is reported to be just as active now as he ever was. As to future plans Brown told the paper, Brown noted that his original assistant, Linda Jonasen, is back under her married name, Abrams, and they are working on plans for a fall tour after appearing at the London Hilton for a month in May." Also quoted in the article is Mike Maxwell. To read the Jul. 13 story by Walt Wiley titled "Whatever Happened To ... At 80, he's still adept at insurance and magic" click: HERE.(7/14)

David Copperfield is interviewed in China Daily where he was asked what kind of audience reactions does he prefer. Copperfield answered, "I think when they get emotionally involved in the magic, I feel really rewarded because when they are emotionally involved, that's something that really never happened with magic performances before." To read the Jul. 13 story by Hu Xiaodan titled "Interview with master illusionist David Copperfield" click: HERE.(7/14)

Raymond R. Mertz who died on Jul. 9 at the age of 52 is profiled in a Buffalo News article which traces his career and life. To read the Jul. 11 obituary titled "Raymond R. Mertz, Well-Known Magician" supplied by YellowBrix and Infoseek click: HERE.(7/14)

David Copperfield's show in Guangzhou, China is reviewed in Xinhua News Agency where it is described as, "Local residents responded to Copperfield's show with enthusiasm, with tickets for all five performances selling out a week in advance." To read the Jul. 12 article titled "Magician David Copperfield Performs in Guangzhou" supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(7/14)

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Puck, Michael Chaut, Jeff Moche, Simon Lovell, Rick Franceschini, Rich Marotta and Frank Brents appear at Monday Night Magic on Jul. 16 at 8pm in NYC. For tickets call Ticketmaster at: 212-307-4100.(7/15)

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