Palladium Executive Director Paul Wilborn on RadioStPete's "Lunchtime Conversations" 3-5-24

On Being an Award-Winning Author, Journalist, Musician and More
Radio St. Pete INSIDER news director Nanette Wiser is a big fan of Paul Wilborn. Who wouldn’t be? Paul’s debut story collection, Cigar City: Tales From A 1980s Creative Ghetto, won the gold medal for fiction in the 2019 Florida Book Awards and he will be celebrating its 5th anniversary with talks around town. His debut novel, Florida Hustle, earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named among the “100 Best Indie Books of 2022” by Kirkus.

A native of Tampa, Paul Wilborn collected multiple awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors during a journalism career that included stints at the Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times and the Associated Press in Los Angeles. He won the Green Eyeshade Award from the Atlanta Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, the South’s top writing prize and won the Paul Hansel Award, Florida’s top journalism prize. He was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. His plays have been produced at Stageworks, Off-Center Theater, Radio Theater Project and University of Michigan. A pianist and singer, he produced the long-running American Songbook Series at American Stage and recently appeared with his new band – and wife, actress/director/model and acting coach/teacher Eugenie Bondurant.  

About American Hustle: Aspiring filmmaker Michael Donnelly has two obsessions. One is Italian horror movies and the other is Dawn Karston, a teen-age scream-queen, known for dying horribly in a string of cheap slasher flicks. Michael, who shares a Palm Beach mansion with his defense contractor father, believes Dawn deserves better material and that he is just the 17-year-old for the job. Remember the neon-lit world of 1980s Florida? Slasher films would reign supreme and the state would transform into a hub of eclectic attractions. Every so often, a book comes along that perfectly captures a time, a place, and a cultural phenomenon. “Florida Hustle” by Paul Wilborn takes us on that kind of ride.. It is a time capsule that will transport you back to an era where glamour and grime, ambition, and absurdity blended together uniquely.
 LISTEN: Eugenie Bondurant reads from husband Paul's book, Florida Hustle.
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