Sunday Schedule, Saturday Summary

This is my schedule for tomorrow... I'm reading 2 of the 3 series that Susan Wittig Albert has written, so that's why I'll be there. The comics forum is being moderated by a friend's husband, so I am hoping more to see her, and the handmade places book looks like an interesting one; we might be able to take some ideas away from it to incorporate on the homestead.

11:30-12:30 Women Writers of the Southwest:

Janis P. Stout, author of Picturing a Different West, is professor emerita of English at Texas A&M University as well as dean of faculties and associate provost emerita. Other works include Willa Cather: The Writer and Her World, A Calendar of the Letters of Willa Cather, Willa Cather and Material Culture, and Coming Out of War: Poetry, Grieving, and the Culture of the World Wars.

Susan Wittig Albert is the co-editor of What Wildness Is This: Women Write about the Southwest as well as the founder and president of the Story Circle Network, a non-profit organization that encourages women to write about their lives. She has written over two dozen mysteries (in three mystery series, including the China Bayles herbal mysteries series) and also writes a regular column called "The Herbal Thymes" for Country Living Gardener.

12:30-1:30 The Texas Comics Scene

We've asked four of the state's hottest graphic novelists and comics creators - both writers and illustrators - to talk about their latest works and what's going on in the Texas comics scene. Come hear how Texas is influencing the comics world.

2-2:45 [plus signing time] Yard Art and Handmade Places

Relatively few people in America build their own homes, but many yearn to make the places they live in more truly their own. Yard Art and Handmade Places profiles twenty homemakers who have used their yards and gardens to express their sense of individuality, to maintain connections to family and heritage, or even to create sacred spaces for personal and community refreshment and healing. Jill Nokes, an authority on native plants and ecological restoration, traveled across the state of Texas, seeking out residents who had transformed their yards and gardens into oases of art and exuberant personal expression. In this book, she presents their stories, told in their own words, about why they created these handmade places and what their yard art has come to mean to them and to their communities. Krista Whitson, the photographer who collaborated with Nokes on the book, will also be at this session.

I wound up leaving about 20 minutes later than I'd planned--Anthony had woken up and needed a start on his morning routine before his daddy got up--but I still made good time and arrived at the first session with enough time to eat my breakfast (juice and protein bar) and to finish labelling the books I'd be releasing that day. I received three books in the free totebag ("Read, read, read. Read everything." (Faulkner) it says), all bound galleys or manuscripts: The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz, The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and Songs Without Words by Ann Packer. The talk by authors Jane Hamilton and Valerie Martin went well [details to follow in Monday's blog]. It ended a bit early, so I had plenty of time to walk over to the Methodist Church (which is a historic landmark--so I snapped a picture of the plaque) for the Tribute to Molly Ivins. The sanctuary was pretty well packed, even the upstairs. After this, I dropped by the BookCrossing table, and said hey to Heather and Bruce, and I was really surprised that they remembered me, as I hadn't seen them in a few years. I ate my lunch on the capitol grounds, and was eventually joined by a little boy who was polishing off a yummy-looking cookie. On my way over to Rick Riordan's reading, I walked through a few of the tents, and picked up a copy of the Texas Observer (Molly Ivins contributed to them for 6 years, I believe). Riordan was promoting the latest in his Young Adult series, so I was surrounded by many school-age kids. The series looks promising, though, maybe even good enough to start collecting for Anthony. Finished there, I walked back over to the BookCrossing table, and gave Heather a much-needed break. I received another free book (Rituals of the Imagination by Thomas Moore) and a nice handful of labels. The last forum of the day, Lit Crit, was semi-informative, but I was a little disappointed with some in the panel. One was (IMO) too full enough of herself to be taken seriously, but then again, she's getting paid for what she does, so what does this little blogger know?

Texas Book Festival, Capitol grounds, Austin

Events officially begin today, but this year I'm focusing more on the talks and treating this like a professional development weekend. This is my schedule for Saturday (all descriptions are from the festival web site):

10:00 - 11:00 Vintage/Anchor Books Presents: Writers on Reading [totebags and free books!]

Writers on Reading is a special event presented by Vintage/Anchor Books featuring Jane Hamilton and Valerie Martin. The event is not like a regular reading; it's an intimate seminar for readers interested in reading groups. Hamilton and Martin will talk about reading and writing, or more specifically what they personally read, how they decide what to read and how they write. Vintage/Anchor Books will be handing out special tote bags with complimentary new Vintage/Anchor paperbacks at the event. The session's moderator, Russell Perreault, is the director of publicity for Vintage and Anchor Books.

11:15 - 12:15 A Tribute to Molly Ivins

We pay tribute here to Molly Ivins, who died earlier this year and was one of the nation's most iconic political commentators and humorists. At this session, we'll hear from Lou Dubose, Ivins' frequent co-author (their new book is titled Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights); humorist Roy Blount, Jr.; and noted documentary filmmaker Paul Stekler will screen never-before-seen footage of Ivins that appears in Remembering Molly Ivins, a short film he recently made.

Ivins' friend Ellen Sweets will also speak about Ivins - Sweets recently retired as a food writer with the Denver Post, but met Ivins shortly after moving to Dallas to become a reporter for the Dallas Morning News. Their friendship was built around an interest in progressive politics; French, Mexican, Italian, Greek, African, and Southern food; dinner parties, movies, lots of laughter and, of course, some sadness.

1:30 - 2:15 Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan's latest entry in his myth-tinged bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been called "a winner of Olympic proportions"; the adventures of Percy and his array of often clashing pals have to find Annabeth (the daughter of Athena) as well as Artemis, not to mention deal with the all-consuming prophecy of the Oracle. Riordan will be giving the world premiere reading from the yet-to-be-released fourth entry in the Percy Jackson series at this event!

3:00 - 4:00 Lit Crit: The State of Book Criticism

The amount of editorial space (and broadcast time) devoted to coverage of books and writers - and cultural reporting and criticism in general - always seems to be under threat. It's understood that breaking news trumps arts coverage, but with the layoff earlier this year of the respected book editor from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the publishing industry reacted with more fear than usual about the declining coverage of books in mainstream media. What kinds of books are getting reviewed now? How is the book industry adapting to that coverage? Are informed and well-written reviews only showing up on blogs and boutique literary journals? These panelists, all insiders in the literary scene, will talk about what's at stake in current literary criticism and whether the scene is all gloom-and-doom.

I'll be posting Sunday's schedule and a very short wrap-up tomorrow. More detailed notes about the talks will follow in future posts starting on Monday.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that BookCrossing will have a presence there for the first time! Here's the announcement from CEO Scott Sorochak:

"BookCrossing and Ghirardelli Chocolate are teaming up at the Austin, Texas Book Festival, November 3rd and 4th at the State Capital Building to promote reading and literacy awareness. With over 50,000 attendees and 1,400 authors expected to attend this exciting 2 day event, this is a bibliophile’s dream!

Please join BookCrossing and Ghirardelli’s “Savor Every Page” campaign and realize the simple pleasure of curling up with a good book and great chocolate. Ghirardelli reminds us, “Whether you’re losing yourself in the latest Amy Tan, indulging in the newest Mitch Albom, or reaching for that dog-eared Jane Austen that’s never far from your nightstand, this is the joy of reading--a pleasure as deep as indigo ink, and as rich as the finest chocolates ever made. At Ghirardelli, we’ve been crafting fine chocolates for the past 150 years--Chocolates that cater to all literary tastes. So if you’re ready to escape for a few hours in that novel you’ve been dying to read, indulge with Ghirardelli chocolate. It’s the perfect complement to your favorite page-turner. “

Of course, we are encouraging all BookCrossers in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio to stop by the Ghirardelli tent this weekend at the Texas Book Festival for a complimentary chocolate sample and $1 off coupon for chocolate. Co-Founders Heather and Bruce Pedersen will be there to welcome you with free BookCrossing labels, bookmarks and other items. Drop by, say hello and help turn the Texas Book Festival into a BookCrossing zone!"

Well, I think that the pairing with Ghirardelli is fate tapping me on the shoulder... that is where my great-grandfather got his first job in America (nothing spectacular, I think he was a janitor or somesuch). Anyway, my family has a fondness for the place. If I'd prepared better, I would have gathered a stack of Texas-authored or -set books, or maybe some reading- or writing-themed books. I'll have to settle for what's in my regular Panera pile, and hope that my printer will behave itself/make the labels I need.