7th annual Dobie Dichos to celebrate works of J. Frank Dobie Nov. 3

Bring a lawn chair, eat a bowl of chili, and listen to top Texas authors and storytellers read from/tell stories from the works of noted folklorist J. Frank Dobie under the stars at the Historic Oakville Jail town square


Presented by George West Storyfest Association, Inc., the annual Dobie Dichos event honors Live Oak County’s most famous son, author J. Frank Dobie, to celebrate his works and contributions to literature, folklore, and storytelling. This year, the Dobie Dichos evening is slated for Sun., Nov. 3, 2017, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.00–$15.00 per person.


Featured presenters are Cary Clack, Sarah Cortez, Dudley R. Dobie Jr., Stephen Harrigan, Stan Mahler, Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, Taylor Tomlin, and Bill Witliff. Screenwriter William Jack Sibley will serve as master of ceremonies.

Texas writers/authors and storytellers read from or tell stories from Dobie’ works under the stars on the grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, located on IH-37 in Live Oak County. The meal consists of a bowl of chili, pan de campo, a bottle of water, and dessert. Beer is available for purchase.

“If Dobie had left instructions in his will,” said author and poet Nan Cuba, “the Dobie Dichos readings would be exactly as they are now. Stories told around a countryside campfire, friends eating barbecue and feeling blessed by the stars. Listen, our literary father’s clapping.”

Author Robert Flynn described Dobie Dichos as “the next best thing to hearing Dobie tell his stories around a campfire.”

And as Dobie himself said, “Any tale belongs to whoever can best tell it.”

Proceeds benefit restoration of the Dobie-West Performing Arts Theatre in George West. To learn more about the Historic Oakville Jail, visit www.oakvillejail.com. For more event tickets, visit www.georgeweststoryfest.org/events/2017/dobie-dichos.

(Information from organization’s website and press release)

Oct. 15–21 marks National Friends of Libraries Week across America

Libraries across Texas will be spending the week of October 15–21, 2017, celebrating their Friends of the Library groups as part of the 12th annual celebration of National Friends of Libraries Week.

National Friends of Libraries Week is coordinated by United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has partnered with United for Libraries to provide annual group membership benefits and resources for all Texas public libraries with Friends, Foundations, advisory boards, and/or Trustees. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united.

(Information and image from organization’s press release)

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Odessa Council for Arts & Humanities offers drawing for two tickets to “An Evening with David Sedaris”

ODESSA — David Sedaris, award-winning author and critic, will appear at the Wagner-Noël Performing Arts Center in Midland Tues., Nov. 7, 2017, at 7 p.m.

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris has become one of America’s preeminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. Sedaris is the author of the collections of personal essays Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, and Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, all of which have become bestsellers. Sedaris’s pieces appear regularly in the New Yorker and have twice been included in Best American Essays. Since 2011, he can be heard annually on a series of live recordings on BBC Radio 4 titled “Meet David Sedaris.”

Sedaris’s new book is a collection of his diaries, titled Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977–2002).

Reserved tickets are still available at the Wagner-Noël website, ranging from $11 to $52. But you can register to win tickets by emailing us here by OCTOBER 18, 2017. The winner will be notified by email or phone and announced in the Oct. 22, 2017 issue of Lone Star Literary Life. Questions? Email us at info@LoneStarLiterary.com.


Schedule posted for Lubbock Book Festival, Oct. 28

S. C. Gwynne to headline with The Perfect Pass; Hank the Cowdog author John R. Erickson keynoter for children

Lubbock enters the book festival arena this fall with the all-day Lubbock Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 28. More than three dozen best-selling authors and regional favorites have been confirmed to read, sign books, and greet fans at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, a cornerstone of the Lubbock Cultural District.

Keynoters include S. C. Gwynne, author of the nonfiction bestsellers Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches (2010) and Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson (2015). Most recently, Gwynne explores how throwing passes revolutionized Texas’ most popular sport in The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football (2016)‎, including a nod to the innovations of Mike Leach, former Texas Tech University head coach.

More than 20 regional and national bestselling authors are scheduled to attend the Lubbock Book Festival, including Jodi Thomas, a member of the National Romance Writers Hall of Fame, and John R. Erickson, creator of the beloved Hank the Cowdog series for young readers.

Fans can also look forward to appearances by writers Terry Jennings, author of the heartfelt memoir/biography Waylon: Tales of My Outlaw Dad (2016); Adán Medrano, cookbook author of Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes (2014) and Angelina LaRue, author of The Whole Enchilada (2015), with a luncheon cooking demonstration; and Patrick Dearen, Western Writers of America Spur Award winner for The Big Drift (2014), as well as newcomer to the book scene Karin McCay, news co-anchor of Lubbock’s KCBD-TV, with her Magic Mommy series of titles for children.

The Lubbock Book Festival will play a key role in the 20th anniversary of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, known locally as LHUCA (pronounced Luka). The center’s studios, galleries, and performance spaces host a busy schedule of film screenings, exhibitions, concerts, and dance performances. With the new book fest, the center will strengthen its connection to the literary arts, Executive Director Jean Caslin said.

Moreover, the new festival is in keeping with a quote from George Washington, appropriately lettered above the door of LHUCA’s Firehouse Theatre: “To encourage literature and art is the duty that every good citizen owes to his country.”

Festival admission is free and open to the public; tickets will be required for some free events as well as Saturday's cookbook luncheon. A full schedule and lineup is in progress at www.LubbockBookFestival.org, with further events to be announced as festival time approaches.

(Information from organization's press release)

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