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March 28, 2017

Footnotes

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"Members Review"
Interested in reviewing books? Contact us at member@writersleague.org with "Members Review" in the subject line and we will respond with more details. 

"Meet the Members"
Want to be profiled on our blog? We are looking for willing subjects for our weekly Q&A posts with current members. If interested, write us at 
Community Member News
 
The Writers Workshop (Austin) has opened its Creation Nights series, Tuesdays ongoing through  May 23 . Weekly meetings give writers exercises and group prompts to create and share just-written prose. The evenings use methods from the Amherst Writers & Artists practices to jumpstart writing and advance projects. Register here.


Are you a business or organization interested in Community Membership? Visit our website for more details, or email Member Services Manager Jordan Smith at  jordan@

Member News
 
Stacey Berg's (Houston)
science fiction novel Regenerati on,  second in the  Echo Hunter 367  series, was just published by HarperVoyager Impulse. Out now in digital format and as a paperback in May, it's available from Amazon and other booksellers. Visit Stacey's website here .

Kathryn Lane 's (The Woodlands) novel
Waking Up in Medellin, 
part of her Nikki Garcia thriller series, is available on
Amazon. Her next novel is planned for release later this year. Kathryn recently received a Pinnacle Award from the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs for best fiction in 2016. Visit Kathryn's website  here .

Dustin Pickering (Houston) of Transcendent Zero Press announces the release of Lyn Coffin's This Green Life: New and Selected Poems. A poet of solitude and invention, Coffin is also recipient of the Republic of Georgia's Saba Prize in 2016. Buy it  here .

Jacqueline Siglin (Alpine) announces that 
The Texas Mountain Trail Writers are holding their 25th annual retreat on  Saturday, April 29, in Fort Davis. Barbara Brannon and Kay Ellington of Lone Star Literary Life will facilitate the event. More details here.

Debra Winegarten (Austin), publisher of Sociosights Press, invites the writing community to the book launch of Almost a Minyan, the poignant story of a young girl who steps into her grandfather's shoes in her community's prayer service. The launch will be on  April 5 at 6:30 pm at  Congregation Agudas Achim, 7300 Hart Ln, Austin.


Are you a current WLT member interested in submitting to Member News? Email your 50-word blurb (including links and your city of residence) to member@writersleague.org. Please make sure to follow the third-person format used in our announcements. For a full list of guidelines, click here.

APLFF's New Fiction Confab


Saturday, April 1
2 pm - 5 pm

Faulk Central Library
800 Guadalupe Street
Austin, TX 78701


Each year, the New Fiction Confab invites a handful of America's most prominent eary- and mid-career authors to spend a day in the Austin Public Library leading writing workshops , reading their work, and engaging in conversations that offer the community an opportunity to explore and discuss contemporary fiction with the authors shaping America's literary landscape. 

Authors include Dan Chaon, Patty Yumi Cottrell, Alexandra Kleeman, and Deb Olin Unferth. WLT's very own  Michael Noll  will be moderating a conversation at 2 pm with authors  John Pipkin and  Yoojin Grace Wuertz . Find more details here. Hope to see you there!
 Open Office Hours - April 13
Registration closes
April 12 at 12 pm

Members can meet one-on-one with a WLT staffer (in person or call in). This option is available to all members regardless of their city of residence!

Click  here for guidelines and to sign up. Current members only.


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Join Us For the San Antonio Book Festival!



April 8, 2017
9 am to 5 pm - San Antonio, TX 
 
Central Library and Southwest School of the Arts
600 Soledad St 
San Antonio, TX 78205
 
We can't believe it's almost April! The schedule for the 2017 San Antonio Book Festival is out now, and we couldn't be more excited about this year's lineup. With featured authors like Joe Jiménez, Anne Patchett, Liz Garton Scanlon, and Amor Towles, this year's festival is sure to be a great one. The festival will be held on Saturday, April 8, from 9 am to 5 pm at the beautiful downtown Central Library and Southwest School of Art. A program of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation (SAPLF), SABF celebrates national and local authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. 

This year, as in years past, we're excited to feature our members at our booth. You can find us in the Festival Marketplace at Booths 35-36. Our members will be signing and selling books all day--drop by and you might discover your new favorite author!
 
10 am
Lupe Ruiz-Flores, Jacob Grovey
 
11 am
Pamela Howell, Aubrey Lively
 
12 pm
Elaine Davenport, Christopher Locke, Susan Cottrell
 
1 pm
Martha Miller, Joan Moran, Shelley Pernot
 
2 pm
Darrell Lee, Robert Pietzsch
 
3 pm
Alexandra Burt, David Eric Tomlinson, Bob Doerr
 
4 pm
John C. Payne, Will Ottinger, Col. David O. Scheiding


You can find out more about the festival on the SAPLF website. Hope to see you there!
We're Headed to Houston!



Celebrating Texas Independents:
Our Great Literary State's Independent Presses, Journals, Bookstores & More

March 31, 2017
7 pm - Houston, TX 

2421 Bissonnet St 
Houston, TX 77005 
 
What a wonderful month we've had of Celebrating Texas Independents! From Odessa, to San Antonio, to Austin, and Dallas, we've so enjoyed meeting our great literary state's wonderful writers, readers, booksellers, independent publishers, and journal editors. We've got one more panel left this month in Houston. We hope you'll join us for this discussion on the great opportunities that Texas has to offer while also answering writers' burning questions about the publishing process, submitting to presses and journals, catching the eye of an editor, and more.
 
The March 31 event at Brazos Bookstore in Houston will feature four great panelists: LeeAnne Carlson, editor of  Glass Mountain; Will Evans, co-founder and president of  Cinestate; Jill Meyers, cofounder of  A Strange Object; and Gabriela Baeza Ventura, executive editor at  Arte Público Press.
 
RSVPs are suggested, but not required. RSVP and find more details  here. Can't make it to Houston? You can find interviews with our panelists from around the state on our blog.
2017 Agents & Editors Conference
  
Every year, the Writers' League of Texas brings nearly thirty agents, editors, and other industry professionals to Austin for the Agents & Editors Conference. As we look ahead to the  24th Annual A&E Conference , taking place June 30 - July 2, 2017, we're happy to introduce some of our faculty here.

Consultations are now available for purchase. For more details, visit our website. Consultations are available only to conference registrants, and you must register for the conference before purchasing a consultation.

Click here for more information on the 2017 Agents & Editors Conference, including pricing (the price will jump on April 30) and confirmed agents, editors, and speakers. 
 
 
 
Tricia Skinner, Fuse Literary

Tricia Skinner is an agent for Fuse Literary. She began her writing career as a newspaper reporter and wrote for The Detroit News, Investor's Business Daily, MSN, and The Houston Chronicle. Tricia has 20 years of experience working with the video game industry in various roles, including public relations, industry relations, and writing/editing. She is also a hybrid author of passionate urban fantasy (represented by McLean). Diversity in genre fiction is dear to Tricia's heart. As an agent, she wants to represent authors who reflect diversity and cultures in their work. To read an interview with Tricia, click here.

"If your first book deal doesn't let you retire from your day job, don't put away your computer." 
-Tricia Skinner

Actively Seeking 
Fiction: Romance, Historical, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror 
Children's: YA Fiction, MG Fiction
  
 
Michelle Tessler, Tessler Literary Agency

Michelle Tessler established her New York-based literary agency in 2004. She represents a select number of best-selling and emerging authors in both fiction and non-fiction. Clients include accomplished journalists, scientists, academics, experts in their field, as well as novelists and debut authors with unique voices and stories to tell. She values fresh, original writing that has a compelling point of view. She loves discovering new writers who can craft a character-driven story that has narrative drive. She represents, among many others, Hala Alyan, Paul Collins, Frans de Waal, Mira Jacob, Amy Stewart and Amanda Eyre Ward. She is a member of the Association of Author's Representatives and Women's Media Group. To read an interview with Michelle, click  here

"You have one chance to make a first impression. Focus on one project (not more than one at a time), the one you feel most passionately about, and execute on it to the best of your ability."
-Michelle Tessler

Actively Seeking
Fiction:
Literary
Nonfiction: Narrative, Current Events, History, Biography, Memoir, Pop Culture, Essays, and Lifestyle
 
Find the full list of agents and editors on our website. For more details on pricing and to register, click below.
 
   
 
Are You A WLT Member? Volunteer With Us!


Are you a WLT Member? We need your help! We're looking for volunteers for two events. On April 8, we'll be in San Antonio at the San Antonio Book Festival. We need a few good volunteers to help us represent WLT at our booth. You'll get to meet diverse readers and writers from all over the state. And June 30 - July 2, we need volunteers for our 2017 Agents & Editors Conference in Austin. In exchange for hours worked, you'll be able to attend conference programming.

Volunteer spaces are limited. Visit ou r website for more info. Call 512-499-8914 or email  member@writersleague.org to express interest.
ONLINE: Develop Your Media Strategy
 
 
Getting ready to promote your book?
Wondering who to contact to get media coverage? 
Interested in pitching interviews and articles to coincide with your book release?
Not sure how to handle negative book reviews? 
This class can help. 

Online registration closes Wednesday, March 29, at 5 pm.
 
One mark of a successful author is a solid list of  media and PR appearances. With or without a publicist, an author can do a lot to develop their PR and  media presence, which helps to drive book sales and other opportunities. In this class we will:
  • Develop an understanding of the media landscape today
  • Learn how to locate media outlets and contacts appropriate for you
  • Discuss how to pitch media for reviews, interviews, and article placements
  • Learn how to handle negative press and reviews
For more details and registration, click  here .
 
Shennandoah Goodson is the Principal and Lead Consultant for 525 Principle. In her many years as a PR and Marketing consultant, Shennandoah has worked with numerous authors and publishers to build successful book marketing campaigns and author platforms. A writer herself, Shennandoah is passionate about writing and books and loves empowering authors to take ownership of their book's success.
Learn How Using Film Structure Can Help Your Novel
 
 
Do you have a great plot idea, but you're stuck after page fifty?
Are you in love with your characters, but they seem to just "sit there?"
This class can help. 

Online registration closes Thursday, April 6, at midnight.  

The three-act-structure has been used in plays and screenplays for decades, and it can be just as useful for your novel. You may have heard of the word beats for film (particular moments a screenplay must include). Three-act structure doesn't include a long list of requirement scenes, but thinking about a "call to adventure," "rising action," and a "climax" can help you create an outline before you begin or sort out writer's block once you've started. In this class, students will discuss novels as well as movies!

Students will leave with the class with
  • a rough outline,
  • ways to move forward with a current draft, and
  • a structure to refer to during revision. 
For more details and registration, click here .
 
Carolyn Cohagan has an extensive theater background. She has performed stand-up and one-woman shows at festivals around the world from Adelaide to Edinburgh. She has published two novels: The Lost Children  and Time Zero . She is the founder of the creative writing organization Girls With Pens, which is dedicated to fostering the individual voices and offbeat imaginations of girls 8-17. 


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The Writers' League of Texas
is a non-profit corporation, funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.        
 

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

 

611 S. Congress Ave., Ste. 200 A-3, Austin, TX 78704/ 512-499-8914/ wlt@writersleague.org