 |
|
In This Issue:
April Events; Upcoming Classes; A&E Conference Registration; Member News; & More |
|
|
|
|
April Third Thursday:
Writing About Citizenship
April 19, 2018
7 p.m. start time
Austin Central Library
710 W Cesar Chavez St
Austin, TX, 78701
DIFFERENT LOCATION
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Please note the location. Our April Third Thursday is taking place at the Austin Central Library, NOT BookPeople.
PARKING: Paid parking is available in the Central Library garage and in the Northshore parking garage, located one block east of the library on Nueces, just north of Cesar Chavez.
This month, the Writers' League of Texas is proud to partner with Austin Community College and other area organizations on The Big Read, the NEA-funded community reading program. ACC is hosting a series of events focused on Claudia Rankine's award-winning, bestselling book
Citizen.
The Writers' League's April Third Thursday panel discussion will dig into the idea of
citizenship and the ways that writers approach it in their work as well as the challenges they face when exploring this very personal and often political topic.
How does identity shape the way people's
citizenship is viewed by both the general and reading public? What are the different groups one can be a
citizen of? How does one tell a story about moving between different groups? What issues are posed by translation and the ways that stories and poems include multiple languages? How do artists approach stories that disrupt a group's sanctioned or "official" narratives?
Our esteemed panelists will be:
- Dr. Kathleen Brown, a historian working on a project about anti-war and peace activists (including artists and writers) in California during World War I.
- Christen Smith, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Anthropology at the University of Texas and author of the book Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence and Performance in Brazil
- Irwin Tang, author or co-author of four books, including How I Became a Black Man and Other Metamorphoses
- Liliana Valenzuela, acclaimed Spanish language translator of works by Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and many others.
Come hear what our panelists have to say about these challenging questions of citizenship, and we'll have 200 copies of Claudia Rankine's books Citizen and
Don't Let Me Be Lonely available to give away
! (Big thanks to ACC and the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies for making this giveaway possible.)
See you there!
|
|
REMINDER: See you in Dallas on Thursday!
April 12, 2018, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The Wild Detectives, 314 W. 8th Street, Dallas, TX 75208
One Page Salon (called "the best literary evening in town" by the
Austin American-Statesman) is the brainchild of novelist, screenwriter, and comedian Owen Egerton. During the course of the evening, several writers will read a single page from a work in progress (goodbye, literary readings that go on and on and on) and answer three questions from the host (hello, witty banter with Owen). Midway through, there's a break for eating (tacos!), drinking (coffee, beer, Topo, oh my!), and talking (this. is. the. best. part.).
This special presentation of One Page Salon is brought to you by Owen Egerton and the Writers' League of Texas as part of WordSpace Dallas Lit Hop.
The current line-up of readers includes: Sanderia Faye, Sarah Hepola, Jeramey Kraatz, Alex Lemon, and Samantha Mabry. Come for the tacos and beer, stay for the sneak peek at some terrific writings-in-progress.
Find this event on Facebook
here
.
This event is part of Wordspace's Dallas Lit Hop Event. Find more info on the Dallas Lit Hop on the
Wordspace website
.
|
|
IN-PERSON CLASS
Saturday, April 14, 2018
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
Want to learn longform nonfiction structure from one of the best magazine writers in Texas?
In this class, award-winning Texas Monthly journalist Michael Hall will talk about strategies to break down your words and ideas and put them together into a structure that makes sense and a finished piece that flows smoothly.
Online registration closes Thursday, April 12, at midnight. Walk-ins will be accepted, as space allows.
|
|
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
The Writer's Field Guide to the Craft of Fiction
Saturday, April 14, 2018
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
ACC Riverside, Austin, TX
As Program Director, Michael doesn't get to teach that often, and so we're thrilled to offer this special presentation of exercises from his book. In this 1 1/2 hour special presentation, Michael will offer a series of exercises that can be used for transforming rough drafts into more exhilerating versions of themselves. Using excerpts from award-winning and bestselling authors, he will demonstrate techniques for making setting dramatic (and not just a backdrop), clarifying character, organizing plot, tightening scenes, and sharpening your prose. Expect to walk away with practical tools for revising any manuscript.
Everyone who registers will receive a copy of The Writer's Field Guide to the Craft of Fiction. If you already have a copy, you will have the option of donating the copy from the class to Free Minds, the ACC-affiliated program that offers people with limited incomes the opportunity to take college humanities classes for ACC credit and start or restart their college careers.
Online registration closes Thursday, April 12, at midnight. Walk-ins will be accepted, as space allows.
|
|
ONLINE CLASS
Crafting Believable Characters with Dialogue
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST
This class will look at novel and short story excerpts where characters and dialogue help to create a believable narrative. The instructor will examine how the authors of selected works create characters that are complicated and layered and how dialogue is so much more than a conversation between characters. Attendees will complete writing exercises that give them the opportunity to create characters and dialogue for new or existing work.
Registration closes Wednesday, April 18, at 5 p.m. CST. Everyone who registers will have access to the class recording until April 26.
|
|
|
|
Meet our 2018 Agents & Editors
|
|
|
Vivian Lee
is an editor at Little A, Amazon Publishing's literary fiction and narrative nonfiction imprint.
Her list includes Matthew Salesses'
The Hundred-Year Flood
, Viet Dinh's
After Disasters
(PEN/Faulkner Finalist), Harold Schechter's
Hell's Princess
, and Naima Coster's
Halsey Street
. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BA in Literary Journalism and from the New School University in New York with a MFA in Creative Writing (Nonfiction).
For Little A, she is interested in language and character-driven literary fiction dealing with relationships and identity. For nonfiction, she is looking for personal memoirs, investigative journalism, and anything in popular science. In both genres, she is interested in the intersection of race/class/gender/ethnicity (etc).
Actively Seeking
Fiction: High Concept Commercial, Literary
Nonfiction:
Narrative, Current Events, History, Biography, Memoir, Pop Culture, Essays
View the full list of agents at the 2018 A&E Conference here! More editors to be added soon!
|
|
New Releases
Anne Keene's (Austin) debut WWII baseball history book comes out
May 1st
. The Cloudbuster Nine - The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win WWII (winner in the nonfiction category of the 2015 WLT Manuscript Contest) is receiving excellent reviews. Purchase
here
.
Events
Alison Macor (Austin) will be reading from and signing copies of her latest biography
Rewrite Man: The Life and Career of Screenwriter Warren Skaaren (a
Publishers Weekly Staff Pick) at Interabang Books in Dallas on
Monday, April 23 at 7 pm. Find more details
here.
Sumaiya Malik (Austin) of the Austin Arts and Drama Initiative (AADI) is hosting a British Style High Tea and book discussion at Brentwood Social House on
Sunday, April 15 at 3 p.m. Austenistan edited by Laaleen Sukhera is a collection of short stories from Pakistan inspired by Jane Austen. Find more details here.
Interested in having your news listed here? Current Writers' League members can submit their news to [email protected]. Announcements should adhere to the following guidelines: third-person, starting with your first and last name, followed by your city of residence, maximum 50 words. We may edit your announcement for style and clarity.
|
Special Discount for WLT Members
WLT members get a special discount on the Poetry Ride to Round Top, taking place April 21, 2018. Click here to learn more about this event. Register at the special WLT-members only link below to get a $25 discount.
Want to know more? Read an interview with Public Poetry Executive Director Fran Sanders here.
|
Writer Classifieds
Looking for a writing group or critique partner? Look no further than our Writer Classifieds. Current Writers' League members can submit their name, contact information, and additional details to be included as a listing on a private page on our website.
|
Thank You, Tocker Foundation!
A big thank you to the Tocker Foundation for allowing us to spend some time in their booth during last week's Texas Library Association Annual Conference. We met so many terrific librarians, we shared information about our Texas Writes rural library program, we bumped into some of our favorite Texas authors
(and two penguins), and we were reminded, once again, how special the Lone Star State's literary community is. Thank you, thank you!
|
|
|
|
Coming Up @ WLT
Classes, Free Programs, Deadlines, and Other Events Across the State
April 12
The Wild Detectives, Dallas, TX
April 14
St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
Online registration closes Thursday, April 12, at midnight. Walk-ins will be accepted, as space allows.
ACC Riverside, Austin, TX
Online registration closes Thursday, April 12, at midnight. Walk-ins will be accepted, as space allows.
"Historical Fiction 101: Mastering Research and Drama" with James L. Haley
St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
April 25
"Social Media 101 for Writers" with Shennnandoah Goodson
Online Class
April 28
"Creating, Using, and Selling Your Copyright" with Melynda Nuss
St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
Texas Writes with Becka Oliver and Michael Noll
Spicewood Community Library, Spicewood, TX
May 5
"Pacing the Plot of Your Novel or Short Story" with John Pipkin
ACC Highland, Austin, TX
May 9
Online Class
|
|
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.
|
Writers' League of Texas classes and workshops are also funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts - Investing in a Creative Texas. For more information, go to
www.arts.texas.gov
.
|
This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities,
|
|
|
|
|
|
