Jane and the late Mickey Spillane

Spillane Sunday, a multimedia appreciation of the life and work of the late crime writer Mickey Spillane, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in the auditorium of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University. All events are free and open to the public.

The event celebrates the cultural legacy of novelist Spillane, who lived in Murrells Inlet for more than 40 years. Spillane received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 2005 from Coastal Carolina University.

Spillane scholar James L. Traylor, along with CCU English professors Steven Hamelman and Daniel Cross Turner, will lead a roundtable discussion on Spillane's classic crime novel, "Kiss Me, Deadly." A public reception will follow the roundtable, and his widow, Jane Spillane, will share stories of her life with the late author. There will also be a screening of the film, "Kiss Me, Deadly," directed by Robert Aldrich.

"Kiss Me, Deadly" (1952) is Spillane's sixth novel featuring private investigator Mike Hammer, who in this installment battles the mafia while, as always, seducing the ladies. Copies of the book are available at local libraries or bookstores.

Traylor is the author of "One Lonely Night: Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" (1984), and editor of "Dime Detective Companion" (2011) and "Private Eyes" (1998).

Spillane Sunday is part of the Decade Project, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at Coastal Carolina University. The event is being hosted by the Department of English.

For more information about Spillane Sunday, contact Kate Faber Oestreich, assistant professor of English, 843-349-6602, or koestrei@coastal.edu.