FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Local author Watt Key will be at Page & Palette on July 22, from 6 to 8 p.m., to sign copies of his latest book, “Dirt Road Home.”

Like its acclaimed predecessor, Key’s gripping second novel is also a survival story, but of a different sort.

Key’s first novel, “Alabama Moon,” has sold more than 100,000 copies in North America, and was selected as the Alabama Library Association Young Adult Book of 2008. It is now a major motion picture starring Clint Howard and John Goodman.

After his recapture at the end of the earlier book, gutsy 14-year-old Hal Mitchell is sentenced to live at Hellenweiler, an institution that is more like a jail than the boys’ home it’s supposed to be. Hal could walk out in just a few months if he keeps out of trouble.

But in a place like Hellenweiler, the more he tries to avoid the gangs and their violence, the stronger Hal’s fellow inmates try to make him fail.

Albert Watkins Key Jr. is an award-winning Southern fiction author. He grew up and currently lives in south Alabama with his wife and family.

He spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing the forests of Alabama, which inspired his debut novel. Key says that growing up relatively isolated in Point Clear inspired him to develop his imagination in a way that lead to his decision to write.

For more information, call (251) 928-5295.