The Literary Social Calendar
WLT EVENTS
THE WRITERS’ LEAGUE OF TEXAS 2012 AGENTS CONFERENCE
* extended deadline JUNE 17!
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.
Texas Book Festival Fiction Writing Contest
“Out of the Blue” Texas Book Festival Fiction Writing Contest for Teens Presented by Read to Lead
Cash Prizes and Texas Book Festival participation awarded to the winners.
Free to enter. Enter online by July 27, 2012.
Stories will be judged by Texas writers, some of whom have presented their work at the Texas Book Festival. Judges will look for excellence in use of dialogue, imagery, character development, setting, plot, conflict and resolution. Submitted entries will be considered in three divisions: Grades 7-8; Grades 9-10; Grades 11-12. Authors will enter the division for which they were a student during the 2011-12 academic year.
Pen 2 Paper Creative Writing Contest
Pen 2 Paper is a Texas-wide contest that encourages writers of all ages and writing levels to share their written work on the topic of disability. The contest accepts works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and graphic narrative, is free to enter, and has a deadline of August 20, 2012. Grand prize is $500, and division winners will receive gift cards and other in-kind prizes. Pen 2 Paper is hosted by the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, an advocacy organization based in Austin with a strong commitment to producing disability-focused arts events.
Click here for contest information and guidelines!
ASF and BookPeople Present: Alix Ohlin
On Saturday, June 16, American Short Fiction brings author Alix Ohlin to BookPeople for a reading and signing of her newest novel, Inside.
Ohlin gives readers a gripping, complex, beautifully crafted story that explores the dangers and the importance of our closest human relationships and vulnerabilities. Advance praise for the novel calls the writing “instantly engrossing, engaging, and moving” and “smart and soulful.”
Join us on June 16 at 6 p.m. at BookPeople to hear from the author herself. Ohlin will be speaking and signing copies of Inside, and refreshments will be provided courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing Company. The event is free and open to the public.
HEB presents Iggy the Iguana!
Join us for our Summer Book Signing Events and get your autographed copy of Crazy Days of 5th Grade. As always, we’ll be giving away PRIZES.
Thank you to everyone who joined us during our Crazy Days of 5th Grade Book Release, benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you haven’t gotten your autographed copy, there is still time. Author of the series, Melissa M. Williams will be at the HEB Market this June with Iggy’s 3rd book in the series, just in time for summer reading!
Author Appearance Dates:
6/16/2012 (2-4PM)
Cypress Market HEB
24224 Northwest Fwy
Cypress, TX 77429
and
6/23/2012 (2-4PM)
Tomball HEB
28520 Tomball Parkway
Tomball, TX 77375
Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference
Got an essay or book manuscript gathering dust in your dresser drawer? Are you looking to find a publisher? Then come to the nationally-acclaimed Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Now in its eighth year, the Mayborn Conference will explore the myriad ways in which storytellers crisscross the murky terrain between fiction, nonfiction and other genres. Speakers include Luis Alberto Urrea, a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist who has been published extensively in all genres, including poetry; Richard Rhodes, the Pulitizer Prize-winning author and editor of 26 works of fiction, history, biography and memoir; Isabel Wilkerson, the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize; Debby Applegate, a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer; Tom Junod, Writer-At-Large for Esquire; Jeanne Marie Laskas, a bestselling nonfiction author and journalist whose narratives in GQ, Esquire and other magazines capture the voice of her subjects more adroitly than a ventriloquist; Alisa Valdes, a former staff writer for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times, who has become a bestselling novelist; and many more nationally acclaimed storytellers, including a number of editors and writers from The Dallas Morning News. The conference, held July 20-22 (Friday through Sunday) in Grapevine, TX, sponsors a national writing competition that awards $15,000 in cash prizes and publication in its award winning literary journal, “Ten Spurs,” for the best essays and narratives submitted to the conference. It also offers major cash awards and a book publishing contract for the three best manuscript submissions. For more information and to register, go to: http://journalism.unt.edu/maybornconference
Harry 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
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.
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
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.
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.
