Bookseller and writing group updates, January 2017
The close of one year and the debut of another always brings word of important transitions, and bookish Texas life is no exception. While we’ve learned of changes in some of our favorite bookstore destinations from the east side of the state to the west, we’ve also gotten wind of a new bookselling enterprise in the south.
Beauty and the Book closes; founder Murphy shifts plans
Kathy L. Murphy, founder of the long-running Beauty and the Book hair salon and bookstore in Jefferson and, later, Hawkins, Texas, posted on her Facebook page December 4, “A chapter is closing in my book of life, yes, Beauty and the Book, my shop that was my dream come true has come to an end. It's time . . . 16 years of my life I gave it my all, 2000–2016, but sometimes that is just not good enough. I have to let it go and move on.”
Murphy reports that she has ”been working on completion of my B.F.A Art degree at the University of Texas in Tyler since then and will graduate Fall 2017. . . . Beauty and the Book lives on through my amazing book club, the spectacular Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Reading Nation. But it's time to move on to my next career move and find work in something I am very passionate about through my love of the arts, one in which I can make a living.”
She is working on her next book, “The Pulpwood Queen Goes Back to School.”
Murphy’s fans are invited to follow her Artist page on Facebook. But most important, followers will be keen to know that the Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriend Weekend is alive and well, returning to Nacogdoches January 12–15, 2017.
The event has always been held on Martin Luther King Weekend each January, “a celebration of authors, books, literacy and reading” and a generous dose of fun, including the annual Great Big Ball of Hair Ball, with revelers dressed as literary characters.
For more information contact thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com, (903) 769-3400.
Lubbock indie store Hester Books closing its doors—for now
Oldies977 Radio of Lubbock reports Dec. 29 that “the doors of Hester Books will be closing . . . as owner Renee Hester has decided to pursue a new direction.” Hester, who has managed the shop since 2006 following the death of her father, Ross Hester, who founded it in 1997. The Hester family has served Lubbock community with office supplies, office machines, and a printing company going back eight decades.
Hester said she has a prospective buyer she hopes will reopen the store by Spring 2017 under a new management.
The storefront on 34th Street has welcomed customers in search of local, out-of-print, and other secondhand volumes—of which it stocked some 80,000. Stay tuned for new developments this spring.
Panhandle Professional Writers rebrands as High Plains Writers
The Amarillo-based Panhandle Professional Writers, one of the state’s oldest writers’ groups, changed its name in 2016 to Texas High Plains Writers, an identity reflected in its new Facebook page.
The group began in 1921 as Panhandle Pen Women, founded by teacher and historian Laura V. Hamner.
John Schmidt of Amarillo emailed us on Dec. 29 with “a fairly detailed explanation of what is going on here” among the “Big Four” of the writers’ groups in Amarillo. For those of you looking for a community to start your 2017 writing with, we’ve summarized it here.
- Hi-Plains Poetry Society of Texas
“The purpose of this organization is to explore the dimensions of poetry and how it relates to and improves our lives. For the last several years we have been studying the types of poems at the meetings. We also have a critique time. Time permitting, we finish each meeting with a round robin where each person reads a short poem they have created.”
Meeting place: Amarillo Senior Citizens, 1220 S. Polk Street, Amarillo, Texas 79101
Phone number is 374-5500
2:00 PM on the third Saturday of even numbered months—February, April, June, and August; the fourth Saturday in October; and the first Saturday in December. October is our Luncheon Month, so places we meet may vary.
You don’t have to be a member of the group to attend, but if you want to join the local dues are $15.00 for the year, starting July 1 of each year. You can also join the state poetry society through us, for an additional $25.00.
For more information: Lana Velasquez: 654-5109; lana.velasquez@att.net.
- Inspirational Writers Alive!
“The purpose of the organization is uplift readers everywhere by creating inspirational writing that explores God and morality to a needy world. At the first ten meetings of each year, participants have the opportunity to share their current writing—usually one to three pages, double-spaced. They are asked to bring about eight copies for listeners to follow along and write down comments. But reading to the group is not required. At the last two meetings of each year we have potluck, in celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas—no critiques.”
Meeting place: Kingswood United Methodist Church, 4801 S. Austin St., Amarilo
Meeting times: 7:00 PM on the second Thursday of each month.
Membership contact: Helen Luecke, hlue@suddenlink.net, 376-9671
- Texas High Plains Writers (formerly Panhandle Professional Writers)
“Purpose of the organization: to establish a network for writers so they can grow and pursue a wide variety of genres and creative experiences. Visitors are welcome, but expect a $10 attendance fee—free if invited by a member. Be sure and contact someone in the organization to find out who the guest speaker is. Ask also about seminars or other special events that the organization sponsors each year.”
Meeting place: (New Location) OASIS Amarillo
Bi-monthly meetings/programs will be held at the OASIS Church, 8201 Canyon Drive, Amarillo
Meetings are held on the third Saturday in odd-numbered months: January, March, May, July, September, and November. A typical schedule begins at 9:30 a.m. with Check-In and Meet & Greet; a program/presentation from 10:00 a.m. to Noon; business Meeting from noon to 12:15 p.m; lunch 12:15–1 p.m.; and critique session 1:00–3:00 p.m.
The group must occasionally switch meeting location, or may need to change the date to avoid conflicts. So, please check the address and date for each meeting. The public and THPW members are invited to hear speakers on selected writing or related topics. Yearly dues are paid by Jan. 31; they are only $30. This includes six meetings, with interesting guests and a critique session each afternoon.
For information, e-mail Janet Taylor at janetcoopertaylor@gmail.com or call Molly McKnight at 806-803-1011.
Texas High Plains Writers
P.O. Box 19303
Amarillo, TX 79114
- Southwest Cowboy Poets
“For more than twenty years, the cowboy poets have been gathering to entertain themselves and visitors, who are always welcome. Cowboy poetry was established in 1991 when Mary Ann Lee, Marianne Logan, and Jake Holster founded the Southwest Cowboy Poets group. Monthly meetings, once held at the Big Texan Restaurant, have been moved to the Northwest Library in Amarillo.”
Meeting place: Northwest Library, 6100 W 9th., Amarillo, TX
Poets furnish a potluck, followed by the program, where each poet reads. For more information, contact Liz Kemp, 356-0775, liz.ann.kemp@gmail.com.
Houston welcomes new bookstore to Talento Bilingüe de Houston
As the Houston Chronicle reports recently, the new Nuestra Palabra Arts & Books is “tucked in a side room at Talento Bilingüe de Houston, the Latino cultural arts center just east of downtown.
Founders Tony Diaz and Richard Reyes offer a carefully curated selection of books in Spanish and English, teaching guides and literary journals.
“Nearly 20 years ago,” reports the Chronicle, “Diaz founded the literary nonprofit Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, an organization that promotes Latino literature and literacy. Reyes started Talento Bilingüe de Houston in the ’80s and has been a force in the community for decades.”
Beginning this month the store will be open 3–7 p.m. weekdays
Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Dock Bookshop, Fort Worth, Dec. 26–Jan. 1
The Dock Bookshop will host its annual seven-day celebration of family, community, and culture Mon., Dec. 26, 2016 through Sun., Jan. 1, 2017
The Dock Bookshop - 6637 Meadowbrook Dr. Fort Worth, TX 76112. All Kwanzaa events are open to the public. Here is the schedule, published on the Dock website:
Day 6 Sat. Dec. 31 - Kuumba (Creativity)
The Dock Bookshop will be open 11 am–6 pm
- 4-6 pm - Kwanzaa-NYE Family Night
- The Dock Bookshop invites you to an evening of free fun for the entire family as we celebrate Kwanzaa, close out this year and get ready for 2017. Enjoy drumming, libations, overview of Kwanzaa, candle lighting ceremony, story telling, artistic expressions, speakers, discussion.
- Also purchase a shopping bag for $5.00 and fill it with as many children's books as it can hold.
Day 7 Sun. Jan 1 - Imani (Faith): DAY OF REFLECTION & REST
For more information call (817) 457-5700.
* * * * *
Writers Resist events slated for Jan. 15, 2017, in three 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.
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:
San Antonio
Sun., Jan. 15, 2017, 1:00 pm
Alamo Brewery, 415 Burnet St., San Antonio, Texas 78202
Call for info: (210) 734-9673
Houston
Sun., Jan. 15, 5:00-8:00 pm
Co-sponsors: Calypso Editions and Librotraficante
Austin
Sun., Jan. 15
BookPeople
* * * * *
