Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,

Contributing Editor

BIOGRAPHY/SPORTS

Kevin Roberts

Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Hardcover, 978-0-544-14849-9 (ebook also available), 348 pgs., $28.00; April 5, 2016

Reviewed by Si Dunn

No matter where on Earth you play golf, Harvey Penick likely has had influence on how you pursue the game.

Nearly twenty-five years after its first publication, Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book remains the top-selling golf instruction book of all time. The New York Times once hailed it as “the golfer’s equivalent of The Elements of Style.”

Harvey Morrison Penick (1904–1995) spent most of his life close to home in Austin, at the Austin Country Club’s golf course. He started out there in 1912 as a young caddy and worked his way up to being named the country club’s head professional golfer in 1923, a position he would hold until he “retired” in 1971.

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Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole

>> archive

Author relates history of Texas Prison Rodeo

I never made it to the Texas Prison Rodeo in Huntsville, but it was quite an event when I was growing up in Southeast Texas. My dad was a Baptist preacher and he thought our family had better things to do on Sundays than go to a rodeo.

The event, billed as the “World’s Fastest and Wildest Rodeo,” started in 1931 and continued until 1986, staged on Sunday afternoons in October and drawing 30,000 spectators at its peak.

Mitchel P. Roth, a historian who teaches criminology and criminal justice at Sam Houston State University, has produced the first comprehensive history of the rodeo — Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo (University of North Texas Press, $32.95 hardcover). Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, the 436-page book deals with the history of the prison system in Texas as well as the rodeo itself and the many guest celebrities who performed there.

Three teams, one season, too many commas: Author Nick Eatman had written two books about Texas football — one on the Dallas Cowboys and a biography of former Baylor coach Art Briles. For his third book, he decided he would spend a season following three teams — a high school team, a college team, and a pro team. Quite an undertaking.

The result is Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas: A Year in the Life of Lone Star Football, From High School to College to the Cowboys (Dey Street, $26.99 hardcover). The three teams Eatman selected to follow through the 2015 season were the Plano Wildcats, the Baylor Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys, all with very high hopes for the season.

Things didn’t quite work out for any of the teams. Plano, despite a highly touted running back, struggled. The Cowboys collapsed after quarterback Tony Romo broke his collarbone, twice. Baylor’s championship dreams were dashed when its top two quarterbacks suffered season-ending injuries, and then the program’s very existence was suddenly in jeopardy.

Even so, if you like football, Eatman’s behind-the-scenes stories make interesting reading. Each chapter chronicles a week in the life of all three teams, beginning with high school on Fridays, college on Saturdays and pro on Sundays.

However, I must add that Eatman and his editors at Dey Street, an imprint of mega publisher HarperCollins, allowed annoying comma mistakes to permeate the book — so many that when I read an advanced copy, I emailed the publicist and was assured they would be fixed in the final, edited version. They weren’t.

To cite just one example, and they are numerous: “During the football season, the only time you might catch Dallas head coach, Jason Garrett, watching any television….” Of course, there shouldn’t be commas before and after Jason Garrett. If there had been a “the” in front of “Dallas head coach,” then the commas would be appropriate. Otherwise, it should read “Dallas head coach Jason Garrett” without commas.

Glenn Dromgoole is co-author of 101 Essential Texas Books. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.

>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life

Texas Book Festival lists full 2016 lineup

AUSTIN — The Texas Book Festival is excited to host a lineup filled with nationally renowned presenters, including Don DeLillo, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Diana Kennedy, Thomas Dolby, Emma Cline, Padma Lakshmi, Amor Towles, Francine Prose, Lawrence Wright, Phoebe Robinson, Jane Alexander, Robert Olen Butler, Jon Klassen, R.L. Stine, and more. The 2016 TBF weekend takes place on November 5 and 6, spread throughout the grounds of the Texas State Capitol and along Austin’s iconic Congress Avenue.

Award-winning authors are found throughout the TBF lineup, including literary legend Don DeLillo, an American novelist, playwright, and essayist well known for such acclaimed works as White Noise and Under-world, whose subjects range from television and sports to nuclear war and perfor-mance art. Co-presented by the TBF and the Harry Ransom Center, DeLillo will appear in conversation with author and screenwriter Noah Hawley about DeLillo’s latest novel, Zero K, at the Festival.

“We are hosting some big marquee names this year, and it’s exciting to see the trend of prominent artists—actors, comedians, performance artists—writing books,” says Lois Kim, the Festival’s executive director. “But one of the best things about our deep and diverse lineup is the opportunity for discovery. There is so much talent in this list, and we can’t wait for people to dive in and find their next favorite author at the Festival, which is free to attend, thanks to the Festival’s generous supporters and dedicated volunteer army.”

A total of more than 280 writers, including chefs, actors, YouTube-stars, and more, are part of the 2016 Texas Book Festival lineup. One of the nation’s premier literary events and longest-running book festivals in the country, the Festival continues to be free and open to the public thanks to sponsors and volunteers. Additionally, the Festival brings more than 40,000 attendees, live music, kids’ activities, food trucks, book signings and sales, and 100 exhibitors all in and around the State Capitol over two full days. >>READ MORE

LONE STAR LISTENS interviews >> archive

Kay Ellington, Editor and Publisher

9.25.2016 Texas Book Festival executive director Lois Kim on connecting books, readers, and authors

Entering its third decade, the Texas Book Festival connects authors and readers through experiences that celebrate the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. This year, the Festival will host nearly 300 authors, and it regularly attracts more than 40,000 attendees to the grounds and environs of the state capitol building in Austin.

Executive director Lois Kim and her team oversee this massive undertaking each year, and she took time Friday evening via email to share a bit about herself, the Festival, and what’s in store for this year’s event Nov. 5 and 6.

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: Lois, How long have you lived in Texas, and what brought you to the Lone Star state?

LOIS KIM: Just over twenty-three years. I moved to Austin in the very hot summer of 1993 to start graduate school in the English literature program at UT Austin and never left.

What surprised you about the state when you arrived here?

I had never been to Texas before I moved here. I was surprised by how addicting it was to say y’all and how natural it felt for a Korean-American northerner to just adopt it as my own, along with everything else Austinites take as a birthright: authenticity and good queso. >>READ MORE

Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events

Bookish Texas event highlights 9.25.2016
>> GO this week Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor

FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN TEXAS THIS WEEK: Bryan/College Station, Waco, Boerne, Lockhart, Austin, HoustonAUSTIN Tues., Sept. 27 BookPeople, Bestselling Author & journalist S.C. GWYNNE speaking &signing The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football, 7PM [ticket required]AUSTIN Tues., Sept. 27 Malvern Books, Francois Pointeau hosts Malvern’s Multi-Verse reading series featuring poets from the Barrio Writers program, 7PMCOLLEGE STATION Tues., Sept. 27 Texas A&M University-Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, Pivotal U.S. Elections: American Democracy at Issue panel with authors/scholars H. W. Brands, Katherine R. Unterman, George C. Edwards III, and Terry Anderson, 4PMDALLAS Wed., Sept. 28, Deep Vellum Books, happy hour reading, book signing, and celebration with Ananda Devi, author of Eve Out of Her Ruins, 4PMALSO Wed., Sept. 28, The Wild Detectives, Devi reads and signs Eve Out of Her Ruins (with Will Evans of Deep Vellum Publishing), 7:30PMALSO Thurs., Sept. 29, AT UT-Dallas, Devi lectures from Eve Out of Her Ruins, 5PMHOUSTON Thurs., Sept. 29, Poison Girl, Poison Pen Reading Series 10th Anniversary Reading featuring Mat Johnson, Adrienne Perry & Rob Wilder, 8:30PMAUSTIN Fri., Sept. 30, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-South Lamar, Texas Teen Book Festival screens The Outsiders with Penguin Teen authors Sabaa Tahir, David Arnold, and Renée Ahdieh, 6:30PM 1–3PMAUSTIN Fri., Sept. 30, Malvern Books, International Translation Day Celebration with a reading featuring renowned translators Kurt Heinzelman, Liliana Valenzuela, and Jamey Gambrell, 7PMHOUSTON Fri., Sept. 30, University of Houston Downtown – Academic Building, Three acclaimed authors—Luis J. Rodríguez, Javier O. Huerta, and Henry A. J. Ramos—will speak at the Latino Young Men and Boys in Search of Justice: A My Brother’s Keeper Forum (Presented by Arte Público Press), 8AMFORT WORTH Sat., Oct. 1, The Last Word Bookstore, launch of Panther City Review, 4PM

News Briefs 9.25.16

Lone Star Literary’s Tour of Texas, Fall 2016

What more ideal place could there be to sign our Paragraph Ranch novels — and copies of Literary Texas — than the amazing Paragraphs on Padre Island bookstore at the beach? Below, Lone Star Lit’s Kay Ellington (left) and Barbara Brannon were greeted by a full house of bookfans — and the two bookstore canines as a welcoming committee.

Stop in and say hi to owner Griff Magnan (left) next time you’re on vacation at SPI. Griff and Joni will hook you up with beach reads, Texas fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, games, and a delicious cup of coffee. >>READ MORE

Texas Institute of Letters taps Mora for Lifetime Achievement Award

Author Pat Mora has been named the winner of the Texas Institute of Letters’ prestigious Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement. This is the highest honor given by the TIL, which was established in 1936 to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The award will be presented to Mora at the TIL’s annual banquet, set for April 8, 2017, in El Paso.

“Pat Mora is one of the most beloved and acclaimed writers from Texas,” TIL President Steve Davis said. “It was a joyful occasion when the TIL council voted unanimously to honor Pat with this award.”. >>READ MORE

Texas Center for the Book Letters About Literature Contest entries due Dec. 2 for grades 9–12

The Texas Center for the Book has announced the 2016 Letters About Literature Contest for students in grades 4 through 12. Prizes include a trip to the 2107 Texas Library Association Annual Conference in San Antonio and a trip to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Here are some simple guidelines.

READ: Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a poem or play you have read and about which you have strong feelings. (Sorry, no song lyrics!) It might be a book that helped you through a difficult time or it might be a book that simply touched your heart or inspired you. >>READ MORE

Sixth annual Dobie Dichos set for Nov. 4 in Oakville

On Friday evening, Nov. 4, the smell of simmering chili and freshly baked pan de campo will once again fill the air as visitors converge on historic Oakville for the 6th annual Dobie Dichos: Campfires, Chili con Carne, and the Words of J. Frank Dobie event.

A group of renowned journalists, authors, and storytellers have delved into the works of Texas author J. Frank Dobie and selected stories and other Dobie writings to share beside the campfire at this unique event that takes place on the grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, under the old hanging tree. >>READ MORE

Fort Worth’s Art on the Boulevard set, Oct. 1

FORT WORTH—Art on the Boulevard is proud to present its fifth annual Art & Words Collaborative Show, to run October 1-8, 2016 with a reception and reading from 6:30-9:30 PM on Saturday, October 1.

The Art & Words Show will feature twelve writers and twelve visual artists responding to one another’s work. Each writer and each artist originally submitted one of their works in March of 2016. Each writer then chose a piece of visual art from those submitted to use as inspiration for a second story or poem, and vice versa with each visual artist choosing a poem or short story to use as inspiration for a second visual work. The resulting show consists of all 24 pairings of art and words for a total of 48 works displayed. >>READ MORE