The Literary Social Calendar
WLT Events
Workshops and Classes
**NEW CLASS ADDED TO FALL ROSTER
Writing Deep, Writing True: A Day of Writing and Meditation with Dr. Saundra Goldman 11/10
As writers, we need to slow down in order to be good observers of our world. While friends and family rush about, we stand back, try to take it all in, and report back in our stories, poems, and memoirs. But when our minds are filled with to-do lists and Internet chatter, how do we unplug? How do we bring our minds to zero?
The retreat offers an opportunity to get away from the noise and distractions of everyday life, to spend the day in silence and stillness—and write. Learn what Natalie Goldberg calls, “the true secret of writing”—the combined structure of sitting meditation, slow walking, and writing practice. Dive beneath the surface of your discursive mind into the belly of writing. Discover what you see, think, and feel and lay it on the page. Click here for more information!
Social Media 101 with Shennandoah Diaz 9/29
Shennandoah’s Guest Blog is up on Scribe. Read her Slushpile Secrets!
How to Pick Your Publishing Pathway with Lana Castle 10/6
Lana Castle’s Guest Blog The Road to Publication
Poetic License: Using Poetic Language and Devices in your Poetry, Prose and Everyday Writing with Liz Garton Scanlon 9/15
Liz Garton Scanlon’s Guest Blog Poetic License & Language
Creating Effective Characters with Michael Druxman 9/22
Q & A with Michael Druxmanon featured on Scribe
More featured Guest Blogs coming soon! Visit our page for more upcoming WLT Classes and Workshops.
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Beginning Creative Writing Workshops with Manuel Gonzales
Austin Bat Cave, a writing & tutoring center for kids, presents its series of creative writing workshops for adults!
Thursday, September 20 – Thursday, November 8th, 2012 6:30–9:00 pm (eight weekly sessions)
It is human nature to tell stories, to experience the world and repackage our experiences into different kinds of narrative. But writing these narratives out, developing them into a story, an essay, or a novel can sometimes be difficult or daunting. Writers of all stripes struggle with many of the same questions, no matter their experience, no matter how many stories or novels they’ve finished: does the story make sense, do the characters seem real, does anything actually happen? In this beginning creative writing workshop, we will focus on those basic elements of writing a good story—beginnings, endings, developing realistic and engaging characters, thorning out the thorny issues of plot— through a mixture of in-class lectures, outside reading, and in-class workshop critiques.
We’ll also discuss finding the time to write, making a life as a writer, and the business of publication, from finding an agent to submitting work to magazines and publishing houses. Whether a novice to writing or someone who simply wants a refresher course and an introduction to the workshop process, this promises to be an excellent class. New workshops participants are asked to send a writing sample of two pages for consideration. Also, please include a few sentences about yourself and your writing and workshop experience, and what you hope to accomplish by the end of the class. Please email sample to workshop@austinbatcave.org. Write “beginning workshop” in the subject field.
Workshop Fee: $385
Location: Workshops are held at the Austin Bat Cave, 1807 West 11th Street, Austin, TX 78704
Manuel Gonzales is the author of The Miniature Wife and Other Stories, forthcoming from Riverhead Books, January 10, 2013. He has published fiction and nonfiction in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, One Story Magazine, The Believer Magazine, The Mississippi Review, Open City Magazine, and Fence Magazine. He is the executive director of Austin Bat Cave, a writing & tutoring center for kids, and has taught online Fiction I and Fiction II courses for The Gotham Writer’s Workshop since 2006.
A portion of this fee will go toward supporting Austin Bat Cave, a writing & tutoring center for kids. For more information about Austin Bat Cave, please visit austinbatcave.org. You can also visit their facebook page.
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In stores October 2, 2012, Secret Sex Lives: A Year on the Fringes of American Sexuality by WLT Lifetime Member Suzy Spencer, New York Times bestselling author.
A few reviews are out already, some can be read on B&N’s website. Here’s an excerpt from Kirkus Reviews:
Investigative journalist Spencer expands her own sexual boundaries through the exploration of others’. “Worn out from all the tragedy” of a decade penning true crime books, Spencer (Wages of Sin, 2010) engagingly steers readers through the wonderful world of contemporary sexuality. The pensive, unmarried Texan considers herself sexually ignorant, doesn’t particularly like to be touched (never has), and comes from a religious family who shunned the idea of crafting a memoir exploring the sex lives of random Americans. Surprisingly, the project transformed her from lonely, sexually timid 50-something into a woman budding with intimate possibilities. Posting a succession of inquisitive online personal ads probing responders’ bedroom activities, Spencer unleashes a battalion of sexed-up soldiers eager to interact and share prurient and often tabooed sex-drenched adventures. Among her profiles are a few hypersexual females, a flirtatious adulterer half her age, horny swingers looking for “more on the side,” a parade of randy bisexuals, phone-sex enthusiasts and a cross-dressing father of two. As Spencer exposes the flesh behind the fantasy, she incrementally reveals aspects of her own personal life, which frequently saves the text from dissolving into a blur of America’s hot and bothered. Eventually, the book becomes a psychological science project, as the author experimented, challenged her beliefs, and arrived at epiphanies far different from her opening declaration that “it’s a lot safer to laugh about sex than have sex.” Both a celebration of sexuality and, for the author, an embracive awakening to it.
For more information on upcoming events and book signings, you can visit www.SuzySpencer.com and her facebook. Congrats on your success Suzy!
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Call for Submissions: Fresh Arts Exhibition Proposals
Deadline: October 1
Fresh Arts is a non-profit organization and arts resource center actively seeking proposals from Houston-based artists for exhibitions in its ARC Exhibition series. Fresh Arts seeks to provide emerging and established visual and performing artists with an alternative space to showcase their work outside of a commercial gallery or performance venue.
In furthering its mission to provide economic and professional development opportunities for artists, Fresh Arts dedicates time and resources to mentoring each exhibiting artist along the process of presenting a public exhibition, from marketing, to pricing, presentation skills, cultivating clientele, and more.
Fresh Arts is located within Winter Street Studios (2101 Winter Street) in the Arts District of Houston’s Historic First Ward.
READ EXHIBITION PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HERE
Check out their exhibition photo archives on Flickr to see the type of exhibitions and artwork they’ve presented.
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Conference V – Houston Writers’ Guild
Friday, October 12th ~ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Workshop #1 ~ April Eberhardt on “An Agents View of Self-Publishing.”
April works with serious authors who recognize the need for professional support, and the importance of publishing in the highest-quality way, be it traditionally or independently. Agent-vetted manuscripts help independently-published authors stand out from the millions of others, and contribute to raising the bar for independent publishing, garnering recognition and sales for those authors who understand and commit to “self-publishing, done right.”
Workshop #2 ~ Nikki Loftin on “Build your writing toolkit.”
No one does it like Nikki Loftin, easily voted the most entertaining and instructive lecturer of our entire faculty at the Spring conference. Nikki will present a 3 hour hand-on workshop for any genre, where folks come in with ideas/rough sketches and leave with polished queries, pitches, and improvement on their opening pages.
Saturday, October 13th ~ 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Margie Lawson on “Empowering Character’s Emotions.” Want to add a psychological punch to your writing? Want to learn how to capture the full range of body language on the page? Want to turn your work into a page-turner by powering up emotions and hooking the reader viscerally? Learn the “edits” system. Basic, complex empowered and super-empowered passages: Backstory management, Kinesics, Haptics, Proxemics, Facial expressions, Paralanguage and much more.
The conference will be held at the Sugar Land Marriot Hotel 16090 City Walk Sugar Land, Texas 77479. For more information on Agents and what else the conference has to offer for writers, click here.
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Register now to attend the 20th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE AUSTIN INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL (AIPF), September 27-30, 2012. but no later than Sept. 26th. Register ONLINE today: www.aipf.org.
In addition, now is your chance to support AIPF by buying an ad in the program or becoming an official sponsor, but make it soon. Visit the website, or email lynn@aipf.org or barbara@aipf.org for more information. The Program goes to many locations around Austin during the Festival, so your ad gets a lot of visibility. And what a great way to advertise your business or that new book you just published! You may adopt a specific poet to sponsor with a donation to help offset their travel to and from our Festival or offer a clean, adequate B&B and/or transportation for the ones who need a place to stay and get around during the Festival– or just sponsor AIPF with funding for general use.
September 20, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. at new Life Lutheran Church, 120 Frog Pond Lane, Dripping Springs. There’s an open mic after features. Host Nancy Fierstien invites poetry on an optional theme each month. Admission free, refreshments provided, donations to Grace food pantry encouraged. Call Nancy at 858-2024 for directions or info.www.wearenewlife.org.
September 21, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Share Your Stories, each Third Friday at Twin Oaks Library, South 5th at West Mary. You know you’ve got a story someone needs to hear. Host: Ralph Hausser.
September 21, Friday, 7:00 p.m. in the Student Union of Huston-Tillotson University, 900 Chicon St., the Shanti Foundation for Intercultural Understanding (www.shanti-intercultural.org) will sponsor an evening of interlaced peace words, poetry, and drumming. This day is the UN International Day of Peace. ZaBoomBa will lead an interactive community drumming on West African Djembe drums and other instruments. Faraz Nizami will dazzle the audience with his Tabla in the Sufi tradition. Students of the Music and English Departments of HT will offer a conversation between spoken word and jazz drums. Parking is limited, so please come early or car-pool.
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2013 BLUECAT SCREENPLAY COMPETITION – EARLY DEADLINE – SEPTEMBER 16th, 2012
The BlueCat Screenplay Competition’s Early Deadline is September 16th. All screenplays submitted by September 16th will receive two written analyses of their screenplay by October 1st. Submission fees rise after this date. BlueCat provides two pieces of written feedback to the writer as a part of the entry fee, the only screenplay competition to do so. This ensures each screenplay is fairly judged and provided quality notes from professional readers.
Founded and judged by award-winning screenwriter Gordy Hoffman, BlueCat has developed a keen eye for exposing screenwriting talent through our diligent and committed analysis of each submission. For nearly fifteen years, BlueCat’s recognition and development of undiscovered screenwriters from around the world has paved the way for many of our writers, including: Signings by major agencies like UTA, CAA and WME; Selling work to studios like Warner Bros, Paramount and Universal; And most importantly, seeing their work produced on the big screen.
In nearly every occasion, the awards and honor bestowed by BlueCat proved to be the first professional acknowledgment for the writer. Recently, BlueCat winner THE MAN IN THE REVIEW MIRROR, by Andy Pagana and Justin Thomas, sold for low-mid six figures. And BlueCat Finalist Aaron Guzikowski’s CONTRABAND, starring Mark Wahlberg, was released by Universal.
PRIZES
Grand Prize Winner -The winner of the BlueCat Screenplay will receive $10,000.
Finalists – Four finalists receive $2,000 each.
The Cordelia Award – The best screenplay from the UK will be awarded the Cordelia Award and will receive $1,000.
The Joplin Award – The best screenplay from outside the USA,Canada and the UK will be awarded the Joplin Award and will receive $1,000.
RESUBMISSION: Any screenplay submitted before October 15th can be resubmitted by November 15th, for the reduced fee of $40. Resubmission entries will receive one analysis.
UPCOMING DEADLINES:
Early Deadline – September 16th – $65 entry fee
Regular Deadline – October 15th – $65 entry fee
Final Deadline – November 15th – $70 entry fee
We invite you to submit your screenplay to our competition! SUBMIT YOUR SCREENPLAY.
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Please join us this Saturday, September 15, for the opening of the O. Henry Museum‘s new exhibit, “O. Henry: Original Slacker,” a playful look at how O. Henry forged the template for the iconic Austin character popularized by Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater in his movie “Slacker.”
On Saturday, the museum will also host events as part of the O. Henry 150th Birthday Crawl, organized with the Austin History Center and Capitol Visitors Center.
At 2:00 p.m., there will be a mass reading of the O. Henry short story “Buried Treasure,” with authors including Sarah Bird, Laura Furman, Stephen Harrigan, and Turk Pipkin.
At 2:45, there will be a live performance by the New Hill City Quartet, reinterpreting the parlor songs played by O. Henry’s band while in Austin in the 1880s and 90s.
There will also be an unveiling of the new O. Henry postage stamp issued by the USPS.
Come on out and celebrate the sesquicentennial of this universally beloved writer who lived a life of epic proportions. For more information, please call(512) 472-1903.
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From Gemini Ink: Join us in celebrating Barbara Ras, an acclaimed poet and visionary publisher receiving the Award for Literary Excellence. Thursday, September 27, 2012 @ Pearl Stable. 307 Pearl Parkway. Individual tickets are $100 and a table of ten is 1,000. Scholarships are available. RSVP (210) 734-9673.
6:30 p.m – Cocktail hour. Silent auction of artwork by Franco Mondini-Ruiz & Carolina G. Flores. Sale of limited edition chapbooks & broadsides featuring selected works by the honoree. Music and Dancing! 7:30 p.m. Dinner and Program with Ms. of Ceremonies Coleen Grissom. Live auction of creative adventures with Master Auctioneer Gene E. Vogt. Dinner by Page Barteau Catering. For more information, visit their website.
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From The Paris Literary Prize: Thank you to all you who submitted your novellas to the Paris Literary Prize!
The extended deadline officially closes at midnight Paris time on September 15.
If you are planning to submit to this competition you still have time!
For details and information, please visit the Paris Literary Prize site:www.parisliteraryprize.org.
If you have submitted, but have not paid your entry fee you have until the 15th of September to do so. If you sent an inquiry to the submissions team via the website and did not hear back it may be due to an error in your email. So please resubmit your inquiry.
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Round Rock New Neighbors Book Discussion Group
The Round Rock New Neighbors Book Discussion Group will discuss The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver at their next meeting at the Round Rock Barnes & Noble store on Monday, October 15th at 1:00 p.m. The store is located in the La Frontera Village at the intersection of IH-35 and SH-45.
Dr. David A. Kessler, the dynamic and controversial former FDA commissioner known for his crusade against the tobacco industry, is taking on another business that’s making Americans sick: the food industry. In The End of Overeating, Dr. Kessler shows us how our brain chemistry has been hijacked by the foods we most love to eat: those that contain stimulating combinations of fat, sugar, and salt.
Novelist Barbara Kingsolver once wrote, “If we can’t, as artists, improve on real life, we should put down our pencils and go bake bread.” In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she manages to do both, applying her literary skills to a new food environment. In her seamless diary narrative, Kingsolver tells how she and her family relocated to southern Appalachia after suffering through years of drought in Arizona. The purpose of the move was simple: The Kingsolvers sought to “live in a place that could feed us” by growing their own food and living among a community of local organic growers.
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It’s ON like Blogathon!
Saturday, September 15th • 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Since making its debut onto Austin’s social media scene,BlogathonATX has taken the city by storm. It all started with a tweet in the summer of 2010, asking if anyone wanted to get together and blog all day; maybe have a potluck. That tweet grew into the hottest ticket in town for both established and aspiring bloggers alike.
Sporting a fresh approach and a guest list worthy of mention, this 12-hour event includes a full day of blogging, collaborating, tech support and roundtable discussions led by Austin’s brightest blogging experts and social media enthusiasts.
Our venue has plenty of open space for people who wish to write, collaborate and participate in roundtable discussions, a conference room for the Tech Team, as well as a new classroom feature called the BATX Learning Lab. Oh, and there will be food. Lots of food.
The entire BlogathonATX crew would like to invite you to join them for an event that has already become a true Austin treasure. They look forward to making this a fun and memorable day for everyone! Click here for more information.
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Announcing Fading Light: Open to Interpretation brings together photographers and writers in an exciting and innovative book project that has never been done before.
Each book begins with a themed call for photos. The chosen photos become the literary inspiration for the writers’ submissions. A book is created that matches each winning photo with two stories or poems that offer different interpretations of the image.
The photographers sent us their images of shadows, absence of light, twilight, darkness, losing light, and transformation. Now it’s your turn to use the images to inspire your words. Your poems and stories may include the literal description of the work, personal memories, metaphorical associations, or your mood inspired by the image.
Poetry, flash fiction, narrative, ekphrastic poetry, short story, memoir, non-fiction, song lyrics, myth, tall tale or fairy tale – all genres are acceptable.
Book Title: Open to Interpretation
Theme: Fading Light
Judge: Jacqueline Kolosov
Submission Fee: $20 for 3 images, $10 additional ~ Deadline for submission: November 13, 1012
Results Announced: February 7, 2013 ~ Results Posted Online: February 10, 2013
Awards: $500 Judge’s Selection Award ~ For full details visit their website.
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Harry Ransom Center Events:
TONIGHT:
“FutureLand” OPENING FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 7 P.M.
Join us for “FutureLand,” a retro-futuristic celebration for the fall exhibition I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America.
Get a first look at the exhibition, enter our drawing for a Geddes-inspired prize package, bring your vision of the future to life with the Toy Joy’s interactive “City of the Future,” or relax in the Design Within Reach outdoor lounge while enjoying refreshments from Austin Wine Merchant, Dripping Springs Vodka, and Coolhaus.
Become a member now to receive complimentary admission and valet parking at this event. If you are not yet a member, tickets are available for $20 (valet parking included).
Advance ticket sales have ended. Tickets will be available at the door, or you may call 512-232-3669 to order tickets over the phone.
Austin Museum Day
TOUR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, NOON–5 P.M.
Visit the Ransom Center’s exhibitions on Austin Museum Day. Docent-led tours begin at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.
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Digital Symposium II: The Nuts and Bolts of Success
Austin SCBWI’s Digital Symposium II: Nuts and Bolts of Success is a hands-on technology workshop for illustrators and authors of all techie levels. Be it blogging or beveling, tweeting or…technique sharing, hyperlinking or hashtagging, the intention of this symposium is for the participants to leave with new skills to add their technological tool belts. You can download the full packet here, which includes conference info and an off-line registration sheet.
October 6, 2012 ~ 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
St. Edward’s University ~ Fleck Hall
3001 South Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78704 ~ 512-448-8400
Fees ~ Member Rate – $85.00
Non-Member Rate – $100.00
Morning coffee/tea/juice bar and lunch are included in the fee.
For more information read their online PDF packet of the event here You can also visit their website. Here is a clip for the event:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9D1qNPfS60]
SCBWI Southwest Texas Regional Conference 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012 ~ 8:45 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
University of the Incarnate Word Mabee Library Building and surrounding facilities ~ 4301 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
Join us on September 15 for this exclusive opportunity to meet and learn from an exciting gathering of professionals in the children’s literature industry, including:
Dan Santat, Illustrator and Keynote Speaker
Mary Kate Castellani, Associate Editor, Walker Books for Young Readers (Bloomsbury)
Molly Jaffa, Director of International Rights, Folio Literary Management
Mary Kole, Senior Literary Manager, Movable Type Management
Conference Tuition ~ Advance registration is required!
SCBWI Member – Early Bird rate through August 15: $100; SCBWI Member – rate from August 16 – September 14: $125; Nonmember: $150
Tuition includes: Keynote Session, General Sessions, Intensive Breakout Sessions, Buffet Lunch, and Networking Social with Book Signings, Silent Auction, and more! For more information on registration and the agenda visit their website.
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Thanks for checking out Friday Filler this week. Be sure to tell us how these events go on our facebook. Have a great weekend!
– WLT
