First weekend of May sees Austin Book Awards, New Fiction Confab, and Austin Lit Fair in capital city
Novelist Elizabeth Crook, non-fiction writer Nate Blakeslee, and Young Adult author Varian Johnson are this year’s recipients of the Austin Book Awards, selected by the Austin Library Foundation, the library has announced.
The honorees will be celebrated at a special event May 4, 2018, at the Austin Central Library. The event is a fundraiser for the Library Foundation, which supports the Austin Public Library.
Crook is the author of five novels, including The Night Journal, which received the Spur Award from Western Writers of America, and most recently The Which Way Tree, which has been optioned for film by Robert Duvall.
Blakeslee’s most recent book, American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West, is the story of the rise and reign of O-Six, the celebrated Yellowstone wolf. It was named a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice pick.
Johnson is the author of nine novels for youth, including the Jackson Greene middle-grade series.
That same weekend, the Foundation will also host its New Fiction Confab and the Austin Lit Fair. Both are free and open to the public.
The Confab hosts a group America’s prominent early- and mid-career authors for a day of writing workshops, conversations, and readings. The Lit Fair is a showcase of local literary publications and organizations.
New Fiction Confab authors are Ramona Ausubel (Awayland), Rebecca Kauffman (The Gunners), Uzodinma Iweala (Speak No Evil), Thomas Pierce (The Afterlives), Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi (Call Me Zebra), and Austin authors Owen Egerton (Hollow), Jardine Libaire (White Fur), and Natalia Sylvester (Everyone Knows You Go Home).
For more info see www.austinlibrary.org.
(Compiled from Austin Library information)
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2nd Annual Austin Bookstore Crawl crowds the aisles April 28
AUSTIN — Lone Star Lit’s Barbara Brannon stopped in at a number of bookish destinations and bookstores on Sat., Apr, 28, 2018 — and reported robust number of shoppers at each location. Thanks, Austin Bookstore Crawl, for putting this promo together!
Writefest18 set for April 30-May 6, Houston
Writefest18, a festival for writers, will be held April 30 through May 6, 2018, at Winter Street Studios in Houston.
Aspiring authors should get their pitches ready — Writefest is offering pitch sessions with agents and editors this year. The festival is hosting more than twenty agents, acquisitions editors, and literary journal editors who are available to meet with authors one-on-one on Friday and Saturday.
Workshops will be led Monday through Thursday by top-notch local and national writers and editors, with options including fiction, speculative fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and novel writing.
Panels are scheduled on a variety of topics, including diversity, cross-genre, gender, and new experimental forms. Other panels treat publishing and book marketing, and genre-specific roundtable discussions are also offered. A “Meet the Agents” panel is slated for Brazos Bookstore.
Writefest will also incorporate presentations by literary journal editors, book editors, and agents on submission practices, writing strategies, and getting work accepted, along with presentations by writers and local writing groups.
There will be a Saturday Night Social at Holler Brewing.
For more information, visit https://www.writefesthouston.com/
Compiled from organization’s website and social media
Half Price Books wraps up Half Pint Book Drive Apr. 30
During its annual Half Pint Library Book Drive from April 1 to 30, 2018, Half Price Books will match donations of new or gently used children’s books. The books will help build libraries in schools, after-school programs, and other nonprofits, with the goal of making a positive impact on the life stories of local kids.
Thanks to the generous support of customers and employees, Half Price Books was able to donate more than 330,789 books to area children for the 2017 drive.
Customers are invited to stop by any Half Price Book locations to donate during the month of April. The books will be distributed to non-profit organizations and schools at giveaway events in May.
Half Price Books hopes to distribute books to as many different nonprofit community organizations as possible and to be safe and fair at all times. 501(c)(3) nonprofits and schools are invited to attend any Half Pint Library book giveaway events; events are listed in alphabetical order by state/city on the bookstore’s website at https://halfpricebooks.com/half-pint-library-book-drive.
Organizations may also request books for a classroom or cause at HPB.com/donationrequests. Supplies may be limited. Events are first-come, first-served.
(From Half Price Books website)
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