The newest stamp in the United States Postal Service's Literary Arts commemorative series will honor author Flannery O'Connor. The nondenominated (93¢) 3-ounce rate stamp will be issued June 5 during the Napex stamp show in McLean, Va.

Information about the stamp was first revealed May 18 during a teleconference hosted by Mary-Anne Penner, the new acting Stamp Services director for the USPS.

The design of the stamp shows a portrait of O'Connor digitally created by Sam Weber, based on a photograph. In the background are images of peacock feathers, a nod to O'Connor's fondness for the exotic birds that were referenced in her writings, and which she raised on the Georgia farm where she lived.

The artists creating designs for the Literary Arts series have consistently followed a similar layout of a horizontal format with a featured portrait and relevant background scene since the 32¢ Tennessee Williams stamp (Scott 3002) was issued in 1995. The first Literary Arts series commemorative was the 15¢ John Steinbeck stamp of 1979 (1773).