The Literary Social Calendar
WLT Events
Workshops and Classes
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.
AUSTIN BAT CAVE announces its
1st annual “Bat to School Bash,” presenting: Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film and live performance by Bill Callahan!
Tickets are $17 and can be purchased in advance at austintheatre.org
The Austin Bat Cave proudly presents an evening with Bill Callahan—live and onscreen, Friday, September 14, at the Stateside Theater, 719 Congress Avenue, at 8 pm. The show will mark the first annual “Bat to School Bash” for the Austin Bat Cave (ABC), a nonprofit that teaches kids writing.
The enigmatic Callahan is a long-time critical darling who for years recorded and toured under the name Smog, releasing 10 albums. Callahan moved to Austin in 2004 and has released three albums under his own name. The latest, last year’s Apocalypse, is one of his best, an album that is both spooky and sweet, stripped down but also weirdly rollicking. Apocalypse got rave reviews in Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, and Pitchfork, which said Callahan is “making the best albums of his career.”
In 2011 Callahan toured the world to promote Apocalypse, and Austin filmmaker Hanly Banks went along with a camera. The result is “Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film,” and ABC will offer its Texas premier on September 14. The night will feature the documentary, a performance by Callahan, a short video of an ABC song-writing workshop with kids and Callahan, followed by a reception with artist and filmmaker. Callahan hasn’t played in Austin since March, so this show will be a singular musical and cultural event.
This marks the first annual Bat to School Bash for ABC, which connects a diverse population of young writers with adult volunteers in Austin. ABC’s numerous workshops and programs are free. But in order to truly fulfill its mission, ABC needs a brick-and-mortar space where kids learn and volunteers teach. This future writing and tutoring center will offer free writing programs for kids. At the moment, the organization is very close to realizing this vision, with more details to come! This fundraiser will help pay for yearly operating costs for our center as well programming.
For more info call the Stateside Theater at (512) 474-1221 or contact Katie Angermeier kangermeier@austinbatcave.org
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.
Poetry on the Plaza
Miss Carrie Fountain at our last Third Thursday? Catch her poetry reading at UT!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | Noon
University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center
Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers – Deadline for entries: August 31, 2012
Prizes:
1st place wins $1,500 and, of course, publication in Glimmer Train Stories.
2nd place wins $500, or, if chosen for publication, $700.
3rd place wins $300, or, if published, $700.
For more information on submissions and guidelines, click here.
Fault Zone Contest
Fault Zone Short Story Contest Deadline extended!
The new deadline is August 31, 2012, so if you haven’t gotten to that short story moldering in your top drawer, you have an extra two weeks to polish it up!
Fault Zone: Over the Edge is an anthology of short stories and poems written by the members of the San Francisco/Peninsula Writers and published by Sand Hill Review Press.
Fault Zone isn’t only about earthquakes. It’s about personal faults, shortcomings and the foibles of being human. “In a way, all humankind lives on a fault zone,” said Editor-in-Chief Lisa Meltzer Penn.
The contest is open to writers who are not members of the San Francisco/Peninsula Writers, a division of California Writers Club. Selected members of San Francisco/Peninsula Writers will be the judges of this contest. Entries should relate to the anthology’s theme in some way.
“Write from the heart. Be edgy. Be wild,” Editor Penn said. “But make sure your story has an arc. Stories involving California are always appreciated. We can’t wait to see what comes our way!”
Fault Zone: Words from the Edge was the club’s first volume of short stories published in 2010 by Sand Hill Review Press. Fault Zone: Stepping Up to the Edge came next (2011). This year’s volume, Fault Zone: Over the Edge, will be out in late 2012.
First Prize is $300 and publication in the next Fault Zone anthology. Second Prize is $100. Third Prize is $50. Contest deadline has been moved back to August 31, 2012. Reading fee is $15. Judging should be completed by end of September. Prelaunch book party will be early December. The book will be on Amazon by January. Previously published work will be considered.
To enter the contest, mail two copies of your submission plus $15 to the address below. Do not send registered mail. Please put your name, the name of the story, and your email address on each page. Use Times New Roman or similar font, 12 point, double space. Maximum word count is 2500. Must be postmarked by August 31, 2012. Please use a cover sheet and give us your contact information with your email, address and phone number. Even if you win there may still be edits and we will need to contact you right away. If the club cannot contact the winning entrant, they will be forced to move on. Mail two copies with information sheet, plus $15 entry fee to: SF/Peninsula CWC, P.O. Box 853, Belmont, CA 94002
Twig Book Shop Event – San Antonio
Special Event ~ Anthony Bourdain ~ at Laurie Auditorium
200 E Grayson, Ste. 124
at the Historic Pearl Brewery
San Antonio, TX 78215
twig@thetwig.com ~ thetwig.com
The Twig Book Shop has been invited to be the official bookseller for Anthony Bourdain on Nov. 8th. Fans of chef, food writer, and television host Bourdain will be happy to know that tickets for his show Guts and Gloryare now available.
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.
Workshops – Austin
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center and Red Salmon Arts present Florde. Two Writing Workshops on Saturdays:
Saturday, August 25
“Caressing the Flame: Writing the Difficult led by ire’ne lara silva, 1-3 p.m.
“A Handful of Ideas” led by Gloria Amescua, 3-5 p.m.
A reading following the workshops, featuring ire’ne lara silva and Gloria Amesc, will be at Resistencia Bookstore at 7 pm.
Saturday, September 29
“Translingual Poetics: Writing authentic poems”
led by Liliana Valenzuela, 1-3 p.m.
“Incorporating the Fantastic and Mythical into Narrative Writing” led by Jo Reyes-Boitel, 3-5 p.m.
Saturday, October 27th
“Let the Characters Decide: A Strategy for Triggering Action and Raising the Stakes in Stories” led by Ramona Reeves, 1-3 p.m.
“Writing in la lluvia: Writing like it’s your last day” led by Barbara Renaud Gonzales, 3-5 p.m.
Saturday, November 17
“Bills Bliss” led by Celeste Mendoza, 1-3 p.m.
“Poetry as Pilgrimage” led by John Fry, 3 – 5 p.m.
To reserve your spot email: flordenopal@gmail.com or call 512-974-378z
All workshops will be at the ESB- MACC in the Raulrsalinas Media Lab, Room #108, first floor. 600 River Street ~ Austin ~ Texas ~ 78701 ~ 512-974-3772 www.maccaustin.org
Houston Film Commission’s Texas Filmmakers Showcase 2012
Thursday, September 6th
7Pm & 9PM
Austin Film Society – Screening Room Austin, TX
$8/$5 AFS Members – For complete film lineup: HoustonFilmCommission.com/Showcase
New Voices Award
The submission deadline is fast approaching for Lee and Low Books’ thirteenth annual New Voices Award for a childrens’ picture book story by a writer of color. Manuscripts will be accepted through September 30, 2012. For submission guidelines please visit their website.
Gemini Ink – San Antonio
Gemini Ink is out with their new Fall 2012 Catalog! Go to their website for a full list of classes.
Nurturing the Documentary Impulse in Poetry with Connie Voisine. September 8, 9am-12pm. Registration deadline: Sept. 5
How often have you wanted to respond to the events of the day in poetry– from true stories from your past to your family history? This workshop will help you use material that is traditionally considered ‘news’ or the stuff of documentary films, nonfiction or historical writing to craft poems. We will read and discuss the works of Mark Nowak, Juliana Spahr, Anna Rabinowitz, and Ciaran Carson. We will explore different strategies for the documentary poem. Through interactive conversation and hands-on exercises, we will help each other begin our own documentary projects. Readings will be supplied, but if you’d like you can bring any source material you might be interested in using.
Let’s Talk About Plot… and Character, Too! with Reyna Grande
Sunday, September 9th, 9am-12pm. Registration deadline: Wednesday September 5th.
Story structure is the engine that makes your novel run, but the same can be said about character. Plot and character should be balanced. In this workshop, you’ll learn structural techniques to strengthen your plot. By analyzing what successful novelists have done and in-class writing exercises, you will gain insight into how every scene is accountable and how to avoid overly complex storylines, deadly slow pace, mid-novel sag, or a plot needing more flesh. You’ll also learn how to allow the characters you create to evolve into real people. Suggested reading: Across a Hundred Mountains and Dancing with Butterflies.
For more information on registration, click here. Keep checking the Friday Filler for more Gemini Ink class updates.
Author Kevin Brockmeier to hold readings at Wittliff, KAP House – San Marcos
The Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center and the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos will host a readings and book signings from award-winning author Kevin Brockmeier Sept. 6-7.
Brockmeier will speak and sign copies of his books at the Wittliff Collections located on the seventh floor of Alkek Library on the Texas State campus 3:30 p.m. Sept. 6. He will also give a reading and book signing at the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center in Kyle 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7. The events are free and open to the public.
Brockmeier is the author of the novels The Illumination, The Brief History of the Dead and The Truth About Celia; the children’s novels City of Names and Grooves: A Kind of Mystery, and the story collections Things That Fall from the Sky and The View from the Seventh Layer. He has published stories in The New Yorker, The Georgia Review, McSweeney’s, Zoetrope, The Oxford American, The Best American Short Stories, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and the O. Henry: Prize Stories anthology. He has received the Borders Original Voices Award, the Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award, an Italo Calvino Short Fiction Award, a James Michener-Paul Engle Fellowship, three O. Henry Awards, the PEN USA Award and an NEA Grant.
The event is sponsored by the Burdine Johnson Foundation, The Wittliff Collections, and the Texas State University Department of English. Books will be available during and after the event through the University Bookstore and Barnes and Noble.
For more information, contact Katie Angermeier at kapliterarycenter@gmail.com or visit www.english.txstate.edu/kap.
Thanks for checking out Friday Filler this week. Be sure to tell us how these events go on our facebook. Have a great weekend!
