WLT’S Texas Writes Heads West to Marathon, Jeff Davis
Texas Writes is a statewide program that brings accomplished authors to rural libraries for a half day of presentations and panel discussions. Each event is free and open to the public.
The Writers’ League of Texas, supported by a grant from the Tocker Foundation, established the Texas Writes program in 2013 with five visits to rural libraries in Central Texas. This year, again with the generous support of the Tocker Foundation, the program is more than doubling in size and expanding throughout the state.
If you have any questions about the Texas Writes program or you’re a librarian interested in learning more about participation in Texas Writes, email at wlt@writersleague.org or call at (512) 499-8914.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
1:00 PM
Marathon Public Library
106 NE 3rd St, Marathon, TX 79842
If you’re interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-register at (432) 386-4136.
***Meet at the Marathon Public Library at 1pm; the program will take place across the way at the Community Center.
Donna M. Johnson
Whose Truth Is It Anyway: The Role of Poetic License in Memoir
Whether working on a personal narrative for publication or as a record for our children and grandchildren, our goal as memoirists is to recollect the truth of the past. Yet there comes a point in every personal narrative when facts fail to convey the enormity of our felt experience. Participants in this mini workshop will explore how to blend fact with poetic truth to imbue personal history with resonance and meaning.
Michael Hall
Place as Character in Nonfiction: How Setting Shapes True Stories
During this afternoon discussion, Texas Monthly’s Michael Hall will examine the ways the “where” of a nonfiction piece is as essential as the “who, what, and when.” Participants will read a few short pieces that have brought the “where” to life especially well, discussing the techniques used to successfully establish setting in each. For writers interested in injecting authenticity into a nonfiction narrative, this presentation will be especially valuable.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
10:00 AM
Jeff Davis County Library
100 Jefferson Square, Fort Davis, TX 79734
If you’re interested in attending, please contact the library to pre-register at 432-426-3802.
Donna M. Johnson
Your Life as Story: Transforming Memories into Compelling Memoir
Whether working on a memoir for publication or putting together a personal narrative for children and grandchildren, our goal as writers is to unlock the meaning of the past. Donna M. Johnson, author Holy Ghost Girl—a two-time entry on Oprah’s Memoirs We Love list, explores how to tease apart events and memories to find the real stories hidden away in our everyday experience. She discusses techniques for breaking open facts so that they serve a literal and poetic truth. The point, she says, is not so much what happened, but how what happened changed you.
Charlotte Gullick
Character and Place: How Setting Shapes Personality and Perspective
How characters move through and see the world is often shaped by the environments they have inhabited. Whether it’s a small town where everyone gathers at the post office to collect their mail or in an urban area that demands little eye contact on the subway, place shapes our “take” on life. This discussion will focus on how an investigation of place and personality can yield more deeply drawn characters and the landscapes that inform them.
(Information from the Writers’ League of Texas website)
Writers’ League of Texas announces 2016 manuscript contest winners and finalists
General Fiction
Winner: Fieldings by Karen Stevenson
Finalists:
The Weight of Words Unspoken by Catherine Johnson
The Secondaries by Tobey Forney
Prayers for an Illegitimate God by Isabella Ides
The Fruits of the Two Seasons by D.F. Salvador
General Nonfiction
Winner: Artist Proof: The Case Between Hannah Wilke and Claes Oldenburg by Saundra Goldman
Finalists:
Violently If They Must by Brian MacPherson
The Spine of Our Choices by Allan Gerson
David and the Little Giants: How a Battle over Technology Became a Battle for My Soul by David Barstow
Historical Fiction
Winner: The Last Nothin’ Ball by James Wade
Finalists:
The Samurai’s Daughter by Barbara Lazar
The Spanish Captain’s Daughter by Caroline Crimm
Pig War by Drew Crownover
Memoir
Winner: Bologna for Breakfast: A Teenager’s Convent Memory by Carol Moczygemba
Finalists:
The Missing Sip by Lisa Doggett
Malfeasance by Phil Ribera
The Road to the Perfect Game by Ron Seybold
Middle Grade
Winner: Cooking Up a Catastrophe by Lori J. Sawicki
Finalists:
Shadow Spinners by Kelly Schierman
Laurel Leblanc, Future Gazillionaire by Bridgette Booth
One Dog Speaks…The Tale of William Shakestail by Helen Jameson
Mystery
Winner: In Her Skin by Alex Kiester
Finalists:
The Best Offense by Julie Ann Candoli
Taboo by Erica Hurtak
The Body Next Door by Gay Yellen
Romance
Winner: Three Lessons in Seduction by Tracy Johnston
Finalists:
PSI, INC.: Game of Reckoning by Deborah Solice
Dancing with the Butler by Laila Lamarr
What Remains Behind by Rodney Walther
Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Winner: The Copper Curse by J. Rae Moore
Finalists:
The Ugly Man by Melissa Embry
Prayers for an Illegitimate God by Isabella Ides
The Cat, the Crow and the Grimmoire by Marilyn Rucker
String Theory by Travis Hightower
Thriller/Action-Adventure
Winner: The Ugly Man by Melissa Embry
Finalists:
Jump Off by S.C. Perkins
Kerosene by James Wade
Bound by Erica Hurtak
The Domino Effect by Donna Joppie
Young Adult
Winner: The Darkest Place by Kim O’Brien
Finalists:
Damaged Goods by Flor Salcedo
The Healing by Robin Cranney
Scarlett Rose Justice by Marisa Schouten
Butterfly Lies by Mary Ann Loesch
(Information from Writers’ League of Texas website}
Pam Minick, co-host of RFD-TV programs The American Rancher and Gentle Giants, and photographer/ author Jeremy Enlow discuss Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. Enlow will give a book lecture July 14 aboard the Green Dragon Trolley in Dallas.
Photographer/author Enlow to give talk about Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch aboard Dallas trolley, sign books afterward, July 14
The award-winning photographic volume Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch author Jeremy Enlow will kick off a new author lecture series in Dallas Thursday, July 14.
Enlow will talk aboard the Green Dragon trolley about what life is like on the famed Waggoner Ranch, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The trolley will end at Klyde Warren Park, and Enlow will have a book signing from 6:30-8:30 p.m. under the Southwest Porch at the park.
This is a joint venture between Uptown Dallas Inc, McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) and Klyde Warren Park.
“Jeremy’s ability to capture the pure, raw beauty of this sacred land and those that work their entire lives to keep it alive is remarkable,” said Anita Simmons, director of marketing for Uptown Dallas, Inc. “The story of the Waggoner Ranch is significant to Texans and we are thrilled to have Mr. Enlow share his stories and images with the Dallas community and what better way than on our historic McKinney Avenue Trolley.”
The Green Dragon trolley, built in 1926, is air conditioned and equipped with a PA system. Advance tickets are suggested as seats are limited.
The book signing at Klyde Warren Park will coincide with a concert in the park Thursday evening. The concert and book signing are free and open to the public. This author lecture series is the first of its kind for Uptown Dallas, Inc and MATA.
“It’s an honor to speak in Dallas about the cowboy way of life at the largest ranch under one fence in the United States,” Enlow said. “Can’t get much better than talking about Texas cowboys aboard the historic Green Dragon trolley.”
Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch, released Nov. 2015, has garnered numerous awards:
- Overall Grand Prize Winner, Great Southwest book festival 2016; Los Angeles
- First Place Art/Photography, Great Southwest book festival 2016; Los Angeles
- Overall Winner Historical Non-Fiction, Next Generation Indie book awards 2016; Chicago
Finalist Regional Non-Fiction, Next Generation Indie book awards 2016; Chicago - Silver Best Regional (South) Non-Fiction, Independent Publisher book awards 2016; Chicago
(From author’s press release and website)
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CONFERENCES ON THE HORIZON
Gemini Ink debuts conference in San Antonio, July 21–24, with Siebles, Kaplan, Hernandez, Grande, Santos, and others
The 2016 Gemini Ink Writers Conference will include four days of panels, round tables, readings, and workshops at El Tropicano Hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk from July 21-24.
The theme is the “State of the Book,” with a keynote address by Tom Payton of Trinity University Press. The featured writers are Tim Seibles, Janet Kaplan, Tim Z. Hernandez, Reyna Grande, and John Phillip Santos—who will join more than thirty acclaimed local and regional writers and scholars, including Jan Jarboe Russell, Wendy Barker, and Texas Poet Laureate Laurie Ann Guerrero.
The Gemini Ink Writers Conference will create a space where writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers can expand their craft, increase their knowledge of publishing in all its forms, explore new creative territories, and make new friends. Like such nationally recognized writer’s conferences as Breadloaf in Vermont and the Taos Conference, the conference founders envision a yearly event that pulls the best of Texas writers together and puts them in conversation with the national literary scene. The conference will also feature a small book fair featuring local and regional small press publishers. Read more at www.geminiink.org.
East Texas Book Fest takes 2016 off, returning in 2017
After seven years, the East Texas Book Festival is taking a year off in 2016, according to the organization’s website. A new message posted on their site reads, “Thanks, everyone for a great 7th year. East Texas Book Fest is taking a break in 2016, but we plan to return to the Harvey Convention Center in Tyler in August, 2017. Watch here and on our Facebook page for 2017 announcements.” For more information visit their website, www.etxbookfest.org
Keynoters Set For Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference July 22-23 in Grapevine
Gilbert King (Devil in the Grove) and Sheryl WuDunn (A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity) will give keynote speeches at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine. Prices include dinner. Advance registration required; for more information visit www.themayborn.com/registration.
King: 5:30 p.m. July 22 at Austin Ranch banquet hall, 2009 Anderson Gibson Road. $60.
WuDunn: 6 p.m. July 23 at Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center’s International Ballroom, 1800 State Highway 26 East. $100.
(Information and photos from organization’s press release and website)
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