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News
Tom reading at the February 24, 2005 book signing
of The White League at Barnes & Noble in Austin.
Many Rivers to Cross accepted for publication by TCU Press
TCU Press will publish my new novel, Many Rivers to Cross, in 2013. The novel takes place in the first three days after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana and the Gulf Coast in late August 2005. The story follows several characters stranded in the flooded city as they struggle to survive. It took me four years to research and write the book. It is a work of fiction inspired by actual incidents that happened in the early days after landfall. As sources of the story, I relied on visits to New Orleans, personal interviews, email exchanges, blogs, online written and video reports, documentary films, books, and many hours of television and newspaper coverage. Many Rivers to Cross is the second novel in my New Orleans Trilogy. I am fast at work writing the third and final novel of the trilogy. Zigal Novels Available on Kindle and in New Paperback Editions
The three Kurt Muller mystery novels and The White League are now available on Kindle and in new paperback editions from the AmazonEncore imprint of Thomas & Mercer. This is the first paperback edition of The White League. See "Selected Works" on this website for reviews. Visit Amazon's Thomas Zigal page and order today. You can also download and read Kindle books with no Kindle required! Read Kindle books on your computer, tablet, or mobile phone with Kindle reading apps. Download a Kindle reading app for free at Kindle apps. 
Classmates and others after a softball game at Stanford, 1972. (l to r, top row) Hunt Hawkins, John McClure, Fred Pfeil, Tom Zigal, Dave McDonald. (l to r, bottom row) Robert Roth, Michael Rogers, Janet Kinder, Chuck Kinder, April Smith, Anne West.
Reunion for Stanford Writing Program class of 1971-72
On June 11-13, 2010, a half dozen of me Stanford droogs and I gathered at Chuck Kinder and Diane Cecily’s wonderful home in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh for a class reunion. We all met 39 years ago as the Stanford Writing Program class of 1971-72, and several of us have stayed in touch ever since. There were about a dozen of us in the class, and sadly, two are now deceased: Fred Pfeil and John Zimarowski. Good guys and great writers, both. Chuck and Diane were wonderful hosts in Pittsburgh, as they were many years ago in San Francisco. Back in the ’70s, there was always a party going on in their place, just about every night, and I wore my welcome out hanging out with them and characters like writers Ray and Marianne Carver, cartoonist S. Clay Wilson, and various Merry Pranksters from Ken Kesey’s earlier days. Chuck took April Smith (the Ana Grey crime series), Michael Rogers (Mindfogger), and me on a great tour of Pittsburgh that culminated at Sampsonia Way and the wonderful loft of Henry Reese, the president of the Pittsburgh chapter of Cities of Asylum, and his artist wife, Dianne Samuels. About 10 years ago, Henry and Dianne bought four or five row houses on this alley-like street and turned them into refuges for persecuted writers from around the world. As noted in a New Yorker profile of Henry and Dianne, “they made Pittsburgh a member of an international project called Cities of Asylum, and they raised money—much of it their own—to bring writers to the row houses on Sampsonia Way for two-year stays, with expenses and medical care paid.” It’s an incredible program. That evening we drove to the airport to pick up our classmate Don Paul, a poet and social activist who has been living in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. We went to hear him read poetry at a fundraiser for the local food bank. Don was wedged between bands at an old church converted into a bar in Millvale, across the river. He read four outstanding poems about the life of a Louisiana offshore oil worker, one of Don’s many jobs over the years. On Sunday we picked up our old classmate Scott Turow from the airport and were the guests of Richard Goldman and Mary Alice Gorman of Mystery Lovers Bookshop at a panel presentation on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. A great crowd turned out to hear Scott, April, and me discuss fiction writing, crime, and our memories of the Stanford Writing Program. We sold lots of books! Thank you, Richard and Mary Alice. That evening Chuck and Diane threw one of their classic parties in their home and the place was packed with writers, writing students, musicians, and an assortment of local characters. Chuck and I chased off the last stragglers around 2:30 a.m. The man can still party. It was a weekend I won’t long forget. In fact, I’m still detoxing. Below are some photos of our class in the old days of the 1970s -- and now. 
Stanford party at the home of Ann and Dick Scowcroft, the director of the Stanford Writing Program, 1972. (l to r) Alan Boatman, Hunt Hawkins (hiding), Tom, Robert Roth, John Zimarowski.
Stanford softball game aftermath: Fred Pfeil with pipe and sunglasses, Michael Rogers with softball, Tom behind Fred.
Stanford classmate April Smith (Ana Grey mystery series) in San Francisco, early 1970s.
Stanford classmate Don Paul on motorcyle with girlfriend Laura, 1972.
Ed's Place, near campus, was a favorite hang-out for Stanford writers, 1971-72.
Stanford Writing Program class of 1971-72. Reunion in Pittsburgh at Chuck and Diane's, June 2010. (l to r) Don Paul, Chuck Kinder, April Smith, Michael Rogers, Diane Cecily (Chuck's wife), Tom, and Scott Turow.
The Late Great James Crumley Legendary crime writer Jim Crumley died in September 2008, and I offered a few thoughts about my old friend in an article entitled "10,000 Barstools Ago" in Texas Monthly online. The entire article is reproduced in the Newsletter section of this website. In the online magazine The New Yinzer, I also contributed an article to their "Tribute to James Crumley." The White League The White League has received significant attention since its publication in February 2005. Booklist called the novel "a page-turner with a conscience" and Kirkus described it as "deliciously complicated." Crime legend James Crumley declared The White League "a remarkable achievement." Publishers Weekly described the book as "a gripping novel of racism, justice denied, retribution and redemption in the upper-class environs of New Orleans circa 1990. . . . As in any good Southern novel, present events are dictated by the past, and colorful characters from all stations of life perform both honorable and despicable acts. There's plenty of New Orleans lore . . . in this solidly written, adroitly plotted and satisfyingly ethics-driven tale." Texas Monthly published the first chapter of The White League in its online site. The ABA's BookSense chose The White League as a Notable selection for March 2005, and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's Killer Books chose it as a Pick for February 2005. Violet Crown Award My novel The White League was selected as the winner of the 2005 Violet Crown Award in fiction. The award is given annually by the Writers League of Texas. The winners were announced on October 29, 2005, at a reception in the Texas Governor's Mansion. I am grateful to the Writers League for this award and for their outstanding support of Texas writers for the past 20 years. |
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