The Literary Social Calendar
WLT EVENTS
Jump Start Your Novel with Sara Kocek
$49 members / $109 nonmembers
5/26/2012 From 1 PM to 4 PM
THE WRITERS’ LEAGUE OF TEXAS 2012 AGENTS CONFERENCE
June 22 – 24, 2012
Hyatt Regency Austin
The 2012 WLT Summer Writing Retreat will be held July 22-27 at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, the perfect summer escape.
Upcoming Events at Barnes & Noble Arboretum
Saturday, May 19, 11:00 a.m. – Join us for ‘SPOT Goes to the Beach’ Storytime with special guest…SPOT!!
Saturday, May 19, 11:00 a.m. – Join us as we celebrate the Austin Council of the Blind with events to teach you about Braille awareness. Come have your name and a special message ‘typed’ in Braille; then use a “key” to read the message. A portion of all sales associated with the Bookfair will benefit the Austin Council of the Blind.
arry Ransom Center Exhibit
‘The Kind James Bible; Its History and Influence’
Admission is free, exhibit running now until July 29.
HRC calendar www.hrc.utexas.edu/events
Fiction 500 Contest (DATE EXTENSION, MAY 19)
www.Fiction500.com
* Submit an original work of fiction no longer than 500 words, based on a prompt.
* Entry Dates are May 1-14, 2012.
* We accept only the first 500 entries.
* Faculty from the country’s top MFA Creative Writing Programs judge the contest
* Prizes are $500, $200, and $100.
* We publish winning stories (and honorable mentions) on our website.
6th Annual Austin African American Book Festival
BRONZE MUSINGS: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BLACK LIFE IN LITERATURE, George Washington Carver. Library & Museum Austin, Texas 78702. Saturday, June 23, 2012. Featured authors: Bernice McFadden (aka Geneva Holliday) & Elizabeth Nunez. More info to come.
www.aabookfest.com
THE SOUTHERN SIN ESSAY CONTEST
Deadline: July 31, 2012
Creative Nonfiction (CNF) and the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference & Workshop are looking for essays that capture the South in all its steamy sinfulness–whether you’re skipping church to watch football, coveting your neighbor’s Real Housewife of Atlanta, or just drinking an unholy amount of sweet tea.
Your essay can channel William Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker or Rick Bragg; it can be serious, humorous, or somewhere in between, but
all essays must tell true stories, and must incorporate both sin and the South in some way. The selected essays will be published in Creative Nonfiction #47, and CNF and Oxford will be awarding $5000 for Best Essay.
To submit, visit: www.creativenonfiction.org
Word Space Dallas Events
Dallas Poetry YOUTH Slam
When: Every 1st Saturday at 4-6 pm
Where: Half Price Books, 5803 E. NW Hwy, Program Room
Hosts: Alexandra Marie and RockBaby
Michael Lagocki
When: Friday May 18th, 8pm
Where: Heroes, 7402 Greenville Ave
Michael Lagocki is a professional artist, teacher, and poet. He is one of three founders of the Dallas based ArtLoveMagic, which seeks to unite artists and audiences in positive experiences. He frequently writes on issues that affect the lives and sanity of creative people at www.artlovemagic.wordpress.com.
WordSpace Critics Circle: Michael Helsem on Sylvia Plath
What: Plath and the Crisis of Our Time
When: Tuesday, May 22, 7 pm
Where: Residence, RSVP wordspace@wordspace.us or 214-838-3554
Admission: Members-FREE, Non Members, $5
Michael Helsem is a Dallas writer, intellectual, painter, and author with multi-disciplinary knowledge and intersections of philosophy and imagination in art. He has kindly agreed to share his rich talents in a focus on Sylvia Plath.
O. Henry, A Short Story, on Exhibit @ Austin History Center
Pore over O. Henry: A Short Story, the current exhibit on display at the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe St., in the Holt Gallery from May 8 through October 21, 2012. The life of O. Henry (1862-1910,) aka William Sydney Porter, unravels chronologically in a selection of photographs, letters and other items that offer a glimpse into his life as a writer and as an Austinite at the turn of the century. O. Henry: A Short Story commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous short story writer. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information please call 512-974-7480 or visit library.austintexas.gov.
WLT Member Book Release!
Don’t miss WLT member, Jason Hinojosa, book release & signing “The Last Lawsons” : May 19th, from 2-4PM at Barnes&Noble at the Preston Royal Shopping Center in Dallas
Summer Reading, Some Aren’t @ Austin Public Library this June-August
It’s summertime, and while you’re probably not on vacation like the kids are, you can still make the most of the season. Why not kick up your feet, crack open a good book and get rewarded for it? Join Summer Reading, Some Aren’t, the Austin Public Library’s adult summer reading program which runs from June 1 through August 31. It’s easy! Just pick up a frequent reader card at any APL location, read 5 books, then turn it in at any branch for a chance to win amazing prizes. The more books you read, the more chances you have to win. After August 31, a drawing will be held and winners will be notified the first week of September. Summer Reading, Some Aren’t is free and open to the public. For more information please call 512-974-7400 or visit www.austinsummerreading.org.
Not Sure What to Read?
Check out APL Recommends, library.austintexas.gov/apl-recommends, with suggestions organized in categories to suit everyone’s tastes. Whether you like non-fiction, historical fiction, romance, western, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, horror or graphic novels, the Austin Public Library has your call number.
Austin Poetry Society
“On our website, don’t miss the guidelines for entering poems to be considered for posting on the buses in the year beginning October 1st. You don’t have to be a member; the contest is open to everyone over 18 years of age who lives in the Capital Metro Service Area.”
May 24, Thursday, 7:00-9:00 p.m. APS Fourth Thursday has two great features this month, Lou Faiel-Dattilo and John Berry. NeWorlDeli, 4001 Guadalupe. An open microphone follows the features and welcomes all readers. Come to honor Ralph Hausser for his last session as host of this venerable series and to welcome Linda Marie Cossa who begins hosting in June. Fourth Thursdays continue through the summer. Free and everyone is welcome.
O.Henry Pun-Off World Championships
Lend us and ear and we’ll give you more corn,” was how those who attended the first O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships were welcomed in 1977. Shucks! Now, 35 years later the Pun-Off continues to a-maize people with wacky wordplay and home groan wit from powerful punsters who are out standing in their field.
The 35th Annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships takes place on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 409 E. Fifth Street, Austin, Texas in the back yard of the O. Henry Museum also known as Brush Square Park.
Doneraile Literary & Arts Festival 2012 Edmund Spenser Poetry Competition Conditions of Entry
The competition is open to people aged 18 or over Poems must not be more than 30 lines. The poems may be on any subject • Entries to be submitted with a fee of 10 Euros. Cheques/postal orders to be made out to Doneraile Literary & Arts Society • Poems must be typed on A4 paper Poems must not have been previously published or accepted for future publication elsewhere • Closing date for receipt of applications is July 1st 2012 • The winning prize will be 500 Euro and presentation by one of our guests of the Edward Spencer Perpetual Poetry Award • Submission of a poem automatically deems acceptance of each of the above conditions Please post entries FAO Diarmuid Hudner, The Doneraile Literary & Arts Festival, Edmund Spenser Poetry Competition, Creagh Castle, Doneraile, Co. Cork. For further information please contact Diarmuid Hudner, Festival Committee Chairman on 087 – 167 -5809 or email hudnerdiarmuid@gmail.com
The Writer’s Garret
Sunday, May 20, 1 PM
Writers’ Block: “Cormac McCarthy and
The Western Gothic,” facilitated by Jim Dolan
Join various members of The Writer’s Garret community as we celebrate Texas Writers Month with an open and lively discussion on the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and transplanted Texan Cormac McCarthy (All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, The Road). You can listen to McCarthy discuss The Road and his general approach to writing here: http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Oprahs-Exclusive-Interview-with-Cormac-McCarthy-Video.
Enjoy the sun with some books!
