Texas Book Festival announces dates for 2017 weekend; submissions open Jan. 9
“We are thrilled with the success of the Texas Book Festival and all our programs,” says Lois Kim, executive director of the Festival. “We are excited for 2017 and look forward to sharing our upcoming plans for unforgettable and impactful Festival experiences.”
Book lovers can expect to see more of what 2016 offered during this year’s Festival Weekend – a great author lineup, book signings, food trucks, cooking demonstrations, author sessions and panels, live music, a Saturday night Lit Crawl, and more.
Submissions to participate in the 2017 Festival will open on January 9. For book submission guidelines, please visit http://txbookfest. wpengine.com/submit-book/. Visit www.texasbookfestival.org for more information.
(Information from organization’s press release)
Chelsea Clinton slated as 2017 TLA Annual Conference closing speaker
The Texas Library Association (TLA) will welcome Chelsea Clinton to the 2017 TLA Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Clinton will deliver the closing General Session at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Saturday, April 22, 1:30–2:10 p.m.
Author of 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth, Clinton will share stories about inspirational young people who are making a difference in the world today and talk about her own lifelong activism. Clinton will also answer questions by Sam Houston State University assistant professor Rose Brock and will discuss ways to help children become informed, inspired global citizens.
Clinton is vice chair of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, where she helps lead the organization’s various initiatives, with a particular focus on work related to health, women and girls, creating service opportunities, and empowering the next generation of leaders.
“We are thrilled to have Chelsea Clinton join us at the TLA Annual Conference,” attests TLA president Walter Betts. “Her dedication and work in the Clinton Foundation are inspiring, motivational, and informational — all qualities Texas librarians and libraries strive for.”
At the 2017 TLA Annual Conference, more than 7,000 industry professionals will gather over four days, with 200 information and library leaders, policy experts, and authors to cover topics including technology trends, makerspaces, literacy initiatives, advocacy, administration sessions, and explorations of today’s most pressing information and education issues. Continuing its tradition of serving as the premier marketplace of ideas and information services, the TLA Annual Conference will also host approximately 500 companies, publishers, media outlets, and professional library services organizations.
For more information and registration details on the 2017 TLA Conference, visit www.txla.org/annual-conference
TLA is the largest state library association in the country with approximately 7,000 members who work in public, school, academic, and special libraries and who support educational institutions. TLA offers a wide range of services, including advocacy, continuing education, research, and public relations. To learn more about TLA, visit TLA’s website www.txla.org, or call 512-328-1518.
Pulpwood Queen's Girlfriend Weekend slated for Jan. 12–15 in Nacogdoches
The annual Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriend Weekendreturns to Nacogdoches January 12–15, 2017, with the theme "Diamonds Are a Gir;s Best Friend."
For more information contact thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com, (903) 769-3400.
Lone Star Literary Life's GO Calendar updated with 2017 conference and festival dates
As soon as organizers return to their desks after the start of each new year, annual book events start populating their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds with dates readers and writers are eager to mark on their own calendars.
We’ve saved you some of the work — compiling a list of key recurring events in the state by month, along with locations and precise dates as soon as we learn them. This week alone, we've added and updated more than a dozen. Check them out at LoneStarLiterary.com/Go, and bookmark the calendar for use in planning your travel, book promotions, and visits to more than 100 readings and events each week, statewide.
Writers Resist events slated for Jan. 15, 2017, grow to five Texas cities
Writers Resist, a literary collective born of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election that publishes creative expressions of resistance by diverse writers and artists, has prompted the grass-roots organization of events around the nation. If you have information about a #WritersResist event not listed here, please email us and we’ll add and promote it.
The idea of poet and cofounder of VIDA Erin Belieu, Writers Resist aims to create events in support of democracy across the country and internationally on January 15, 2017. Belieu, along with several other organizers, are planning with local groups to hold events using the framework “Writers Resist:___.” This will allow the local group to focus the event on a specific theme pertinent to the social justice issue(s) they would like to highlight.
According to the organization’s event guidelines, “Writers Resist is not affiliated with a political party. We wish to bypass direct political discourse in favor of an inspired focus on the future, and how we, as writers, can be a unifying force for the protection of Democracy. In order for us to heal and move forward, individually and as a nation, we believe people need something to be for in this anxious moment. The only thing we ‘resist’ is that which attacks or seeks to undermine those most basic principles of freedom and justice for all.”
The flagship Writers Resist event, co-sponsored by PEN America, is being held on January 15, 2017, in New York City. Prominent writers, including American poet laureates Robert Pinsky and Rita Dove, will gather on the steps of the New York Public Library to “re-inaugurate” their commitment to the fundamental principles of democracy.
Events in Texas to date include:
Austin
Sun., Jan. 15, 6 pm
BookPeople
Austin #WritersResist A Counter-Inauguration: readings with Sarah Bird, Elizabeth McCracken, Cyrus Cassells, Sasha West, Tammy Gomez, Chaitali Sen and many more including surprise guests
Malvern Books: National Poets Protest Against Trump – Austin, Texas, Jan. 15 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
On January 15th poets across the country will gather to voice their fears and concerns about a Trump Presidency. Join us at Malvern Books for the Austin event, organized by Justin Booth in association with the Chicon Street Poets.
Dallas
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, DFW #WritersResist readings, 7PM
El Paso
El Paso Public Library - Main, El Paso #WritersResist readings, 2PM
Houston
Sun., Jan. 15, 5:00-8:00 pm
Holocaust Museum Houston, Tintero Projects' "We Too Sing America" #WritersResist readings with 70+ Houston poets and writers, 5PM
Co-sponsors: Calypso Editions and Librotraficante
San Antonio
Sun., Jan. 15, 2017, 1:00 pm
Alamo Brewery, 415 Burnet St., San Antonio, Texas 78202
Call for info: (210) 734-9673
Voting open to grades 3–6 statewide for Texas Bluebonnet Awards through Jan. 31; Midland added as new voting site, hosts Bluebonnet Brunch Jan. 28
Let the reading and voting begin! Voting is open once again for the Texas Bluebonnet Awards, a unique program that encourages reading for pleasure and is aimed at students in grades 3 through 6.
Each year, 20 books are chosen as the “Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List” by the TBA selection committee. If students read a minimum of five books from the current master list (or have the books read aloud to them), they have the opportunity to vote for their favorite title during the month of January each year. The author of the book receiving the most votes statewide is declared the winner of the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
More information about the Texas Bluebonnet Award is available at www.txla.org/TBA-about, and a list of resources for parents, students, teachers, and librarians is also available.
Also, for the first time in recent memory, Midland residents are being invited to vote at the Midland County Public Libraries.
On Jan. 28, 2017 from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., the Centennial Library will host its first ever Bluebonnet Brunch. It will be open for all students in grades 3-6 to vote. The event is a valuable opportunity for children to experience and learn what it means to cast a vote, and that their vote and voice matter.
Midland County Public Library director and former Bluebonnet Master List selection committee member John Trischitti III describes the importance of the event, “Many children lack the basic, or functional, reading skills needed to read the menu at their favorite restaurant. If kids are behind reading level in 4th grade 78% of them will never catch up. Our incredible library staff continually strive to support the school districts efforts by helping to remind students and parents that reading is cool. The libraries’ first ever Bluebonnet Brunch is geared towards bringing families together to celebrate the power of reading, voting, and their importance to our country and its future. I hope everyone attends to cheer on our community’s youngest voters.”
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