Dallas Writer’s Garret back and better than ever

Thea Temple

Dallas literary institution, the Writer’s Garret, welcomed a standing-room crowd to its new quarters at Metropolitan Press, 1250 Majesty Dr., with an open house, readings, and discounts on new classes Saturday. A change in ownership of the building in the Lochwood neighborhood that the Garret had shared with the Lucky Dog bookstore last December, a move I announced in a December 8, 2016, post at this site, “The end is nigh – make way for the beginnings.”

John and Marquetta Tilton, owners of Lucky Dog and its sister store, Paperbacks Plus, had given the Garret a home since its inception in the mid-1990’s by Thea Temple and her late husband, former Texas poet laureate Jack Myers. The Tiltons were on hand Saturday to wish the Garret well in its new home. (Lucky Dog remains in business at the Lochwood address, as well as in Oak Cliff and – under the Paperbacks Plus name – in Mesquite.)

The Garret’s new space at Metropolitan Press includes office, reception, and supply space, as well as a common room where the open house was help, and other spaces shared with Metropolitan Press’s other tenants. In addition to printing services, Metropolitan Press provides office space for a number of nonprofit organizations, and a rotating gallery of work by local artists.

Thea Temple, now the Garret’s executive director, introduced a panel of writers – some fostered by the Garret – several of whom will be conducting classes this spring – beginning February 11 with a workshop on partner zines led by poet/zine maker Lisa Huffaker. (Registration for Huffaker’s workshop closes tomorrow, February 8. Cost is $45 for Garret members, $60 for nonmembers. See the Garret’s site for membership and registration.)

Although the Garret has a special place for poets (Although the Garret has a special place for poets (“Jack won my heart by reading poetry to me over the phone,” Temple said) its classes cover a number of other genres.

l-r, Randel, McCullagh, Young, Kent

Additional February classes/workshops for writers are “Poetic Imitation & Innovation,” February 13, led by poet/creative writing instructor Logen Cure; Storytelling for Nonprofits and Grant Writers, February 18, with Robin Myrick; and “The Elements of Creative Writing,” February 21, with Darcy Young.

Later this spring, editor/blogger/memoirist Melissa T. Schultz, teaches “Finding Your Voice,” March 4 and historical novelist Weina Dai Randel, (author of The Empress of Bright Moon and The Moon in the Palace) teaches “Strategies in Writing the First Ten Pages” April 30.

Other authors on the panel – fostered by the Garret and past or possible future instructors --- were book artist Kendra Greene, essayist/novelist Julianne McCullagh (The Narrow Gate), actor/playwright Erin Burdette, and New York Times bestselling novelist Kathleen Kent (The Heretic’s Daughter and others), reading from her latest novel, The Dime.

“I wrote three books of historical fiction that did very well,” Kent told the crowd, “so it made sense that I would jump off the tracks and write crime (in The Dime, based on a character she invented for a short story anthology.)”

Randel lauded Kent’s instruction in a previous class at the Garret, leading Temple to speculate that the group could lure her back for a repeat.

In addition to classes for writers, the Garret also offers programs for readers, adult learners, children and schools, and the community. See the site for complete information.

Wordcraft – The end is nigh – make way for the beginnings

It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2016 – what a long, strange year it’s been! And as it gallops furiously toward its close, I’m also facing endings – and some new beginnings. This past weekend I answered an email from beloved Dallas literary institution, the Writer’s Garret, to help it move out of its present home and into a new one. This will be its second move of the decade, and the end of its space-sharing partnership with independent bookstore Lucky Dog Books (previously Paperbacks Plus) as the building in the Lochwood neighborhood of Dallas that has been the two institutions’ joint home is under new ownership.

Writer's Garret moving in!

It’s not the end for either Lucky Dog (which has two other locations in the Dallas area), and certainly not for the Writer’s Garret, which has new digs in at Metropolitan Press, 1250 Majesty Dr., in Dallas. Metropolitan Press is a commercial printer which also describes itself as “passionate about helping nonprofit organizations.” In addition to housing ArtSpace, a revolving gallery for local visual artists, it houses the offices of Shakespeare Dallas and – beginning January 2, 2017, the Writer’s Garret. The new space looks great, and includes use of a shared meeting room and kitchen/dining area.

As the illustration for this post shows, there’s still a lot of unpacking and rearranging to do before the Writer’s Garret opens in its new location. And believe me, there’s a lot more stuff still at the Lucky Dog location. The Garret will continue operations at Lucky Dog, 10809 Garland Road in Dallas, until December 17, closing temporarily for the last two weeks of the year to put the finishing touches on its new home. I hope to keep readers posted about the transition, with a peek at what the new space looks like with everything in place, early next year.

***

And then there’s NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month organization whose aim is to prompt writers to put 50,000 words of their novels on the page (or screen) each November. But November has ended, hasn't it? Not quite. My local Dallas-Fort Worth region has a final event scheduled for 2016 – “Commiseration and Relaxation,” a time for writers to read excerpts from their manuscripts and celebrate their accomplishments. Drop by the Nicholas P. Sims Library, 515 W. Main St., in Waxahachie, Texas, this Saturday, December 10, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to meet some of the 1,891 novelists who collectively wrote 28,535,801 words during this past month. (My contribution was a modest 13,047 words.)

And then prepare for the “Now What?” months of January and February when all those words get edited and revised. See the site for details of upcoming “What Now?” events and use these long winter nights to browse some of the material. (I’m looking at “5 Ways to Keep Me Reading Your First Chapter,” in the NaNoWriMo blog section.)

***

My blog at this site will also undergo some endings and some beginnings. The Adventure classics portion of this blog will come to an end on the last Friday of 2016 (December 30) to make room for more reviews of current books in 2017. The Wordcraft portion will effectively continue, with regular updates each Tuesday, beginning January 3, 2017, but without its subtitle. Although I’m keeping Tuesdays as the anchor day for posting, I hope to publish additional posts during the week as time and material permits, without committing to further scheduling. I hope this will allow me to post some of the reviews authors have been requesting, as well as keep readers posted on current literary events in a timely manner. When great stuff happens at a convention or festival, I intend to post about it not only on Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday as well, maybe even Friday, instead of holding it all in until the next week.

***

Finally, speaking of literary events, I couldn’t resist the lure of the last two “Dear Lucky Agent” contests of 2016 from Writer’s Digest blogger Chuck Sambuchino. My last Tuesday’s post was about writing memoirs, which are known to be hard manuscripts to impress agents with. How great would it be to get feedback – maybe even land an agent – for our memoirs, and do it all for free? Through December 31, 2016, we can, and all it costs is two mentions in any form of social media. There’s nothing to lose!

Oh, and for writers of historical fiction – like me! – there’s a sister contest. Again, two social media mentions. Sambuchino even provides sample wording for those mentions. Easy TinyURLs to use are http://tinyurl.com/j4d3kqz for memoirs and http://tinyurl.com/zodcsgo for historical fiction.

A literary agent will judge each contest. The top three winners in each will receive a critique of the first 10 pages of their manuscript from their agent/judge and a choice of Sambuchino’s two literary marketing guidebooks coming out in September 2017. See the sites for details.

Wordcraft – Independent bookstores in Dallas, a new edition

Clicks on my December 2, 2013, post “Independent bookstores in Dallas,” led me to realize the list needed some serious updating. In a world of big, big, big, sometimes small is best, especially when it’s live and local and within Dallas city limits.

First, the best news: the arrival of The Wild Detectives, brainchild of Spanish civil engineers Javier Garcia del Moral and Paco Vique. In Dallas for a job, they decided to stay and open a space based on their love of books, music, and yes, food and drink. The result was The Wild Detectives, housed in a bright orange bungalow at 314 W. Eighth Avenue in Oak Cliff, Dallas.

Open from 2 p.m. to midnight daily, the store shelves about 1,500 books in English and Spanish, included translated works from authors around the world – and local authors.

And since what is reading without a cup of coffee, a bite to eat, a beer or a glass of wine, The Wild Detectives serves drinks and light snacks for in-house enjoyment. It also hosts readings, panel discussions, music, and children’s storytellings. Check here for upcoming events, including a reading tonight (April 19) by Nick Scott and Noa Gavin, authors of Practical Applications for Multiverse Theory. (Your high school science teacher might not approve.)

Other indie bookstores still open for our reading enjoyment in Dallas include:

Keith’s Comics, 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 120, in a shopping mall across from Mockingbird Station, on the courthouse square in Denton, and at select other North Texas location. It offers comic books, books about comic books, and comics-related toys and gadgets.

Lucky Dog Books, with locations in the Oak Cliff (911 W. Jefferson) and Lochwood (10801 Garland Road) neighborhoods of Dallas, as well as its Paperbacks Plus affiliate at 108 E. Davis Street in Mesquite. Although Lucky Dog’s major focus is on used books and music, it hosts a number of community events, including tomorrow’s Wednesday night open mic storytelling at its Oak Cliff branch.

And then there’s Half Price Books. Yes, this is a chain. Yes, it has stores outside Texas. But at least in the store closest to me, at 5803 E. Northwest Highway in Dallas, it hosts a stream of community events as well as signings by new, local and offbeat authors, including an appearance this Saturday, April 23, by actress/author Amber Tamblyn.

Both Half Price Books and The Wild Detectives feature food as well as books, knowing how much reading and eating go together. Lucky Dog Books also offers limited beverage service and is exploring a possible café opening. Sad to say, however, food and books were not enough to save Chapter Two, the chic lifestyle-oriented bookstore in Highland Park Village which I reported in the 2013 post. Despite its affiliation with an adjacent café, it closed within the next year. Its site is now occupied by a grocery store.

…

So many literary events this coming weekend, I wish I could clone myself. Along with Earth Day, The Wild Detectives celebrates World Book Day this Saturday, April 23, 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and offers children’s storytelling, “Kids in the Cliff – A Bad Case of Stripes,” from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. the same day.

The North Texas Teen Book Festival is also April 23 in the Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving (near the Irving DART station). Panels start at 8:15 a.m. – 3 p.m. Check the books for sale (from Half Price Books) and budget accordingly!

And don't forget the DFW Writers Conference April 23-24, with additional workshops Friday, April 22. Or the North Texas Book Reviewers Preview, also on April 23.

Wordcraft -- It takes grit to get the word out on Big D Reads

True Grit

by Charles Portis

***

If somebody offers you a free book next month, take it. Take it, that is, if it’s Charles Portis’ classic, True Grit, because that’s the 2015 pick for Big D Reads, the annual event that aims to put a classic novel for young people in the hands of every ninth-grade student in the Dallas Independent School District during the month of April.

Last year, volunteers book bombed copies of the 2014 Big D Reads pick to DART passengers. This year, the organization plans to distribute 20,000 copies of the current pick, True Grit, to students, DART riders, visitors in hospital waiting rooms, and at all branches of the Dallas Public Library system.

The event starts with a Paint the Town Well-Read light show in downtown Dallas beginning at 8 pm. Wednesday, April 1. Look up, take a picture of the city skyline as the Omni Hotel, Bank of America, Reunion Tower and Hunt Building participate in the light show.

Then check out Dallas library branches for additional activities during the month. Guess the number of grits, check out books, pick up some great recipes for grits, and more. See http://bigreaddallas for a complete schedule of activities.

Need more incentive? The Alamo Draft House in Richardson, Texas, will offer a $4 showing of the 1969 film based on the novel, Monday, April 6, at 7:45 p.m. See http://drafthouse.com/dfw for ticket reservations.

Big D Reads is underwritten by D Magazine and organized by its arts leadership group, D Academy to address a national decline in literary reading, especially among young people. D Academy has raised enough money to buy 17,000 of the books it hopes to distribute this year. It’s hoping for donors, through the Big D Reads site, to pledge the $5 it takes to put a book in the hands of a Dallas student.

Arkansas journalist/novelist Charles Portis’ True Grit is the story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross, seeking to avenge the murder of her father at the hands of outlaw drifter Tom Chaney. Mattie arrives in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the late 19^th century to claim her father’s body and track down the killer. It was Mattie’s perseverance¾ her grit¾ and the exploration of what “true grit” means, that prompted its pick for this year’s Big D Reads.

***

Well, that’s the good news on the reading front in Dallas. The bad news is that the city is losing still another independent book store venue, Lucky Dog Books. After losing the lease at its Oak Cliff location, 633 W. Davis, the store needs help packing its thousands of books on its last day of business¾ today. For every half hour of work, Lucky Dogs will offer a $5 in-store credit good at the Oak Cliff location or either of its two remaining outlets, 10801 Garland Road in Dallas and Paperbacks Plus, 108 E. Davis in Mesquite. It’s open until 9 p.m. today. For more information and ways to help, see
www.luckydogbooks.com/.

Wordcraft -- Independent bookstores in Dallas

My usual December resolutions for writers involve appreciating those who help us. And who better for writers to appreciate than those who sell books--our own or those that inspire us? Even more so if they’re our neighbors.

With that, here’s a list of independent booksellers with physical as well as internet addresses, all within the Dallas city limits. Despite the frequent demise of brick and mortar stores, I found so many, often with inventive ways of maintaining their presence, that this post will give only the briefest information. See booksellers’ websites for more details, although I’ll post more pictures at my Pinterest page, www.pinterest.com/melissaembry01/.

I’m first listing the stores with street side locations, either freestanding or within shopping centers, then those sharing space within other stores.

Chapter Two -- A brand new lifestyle-oriented store at 2 Highland Park Village, facing Preston Road. Small but select, it’s affiliated with adjacent organic café, Number One, with access from the café as well as street side. It offers books and U.S. and international magazines on art, design, interiors, and cooking. What I bought: interior design magazines so difficult to find in Dallas. See http://hpvillage.com/store-listings/chapter-two/.

Keith’s Comics -- I visited the shop at 5400 E. Mockingbird Land, Suite 120, crammed cozily into a shopping mall near Mockingbird Station, but Keith’s also has locations in North Dallas, Garland, and Denton (as More Fun Comics). It offers comics, books about comics, and comics-related toys and gadgets. My grandsons love the Spider Man figure in the front window, but on my visit, the shop was filled with adults, like customer Oliver Puzon, whose picture illustrates this post. What I bought: the day’s splurge -- a volume of 1930’s era Terry & the Pirates comic strips.  Info at 
www.keithsneatstuff.com/.

Lucky Dog Books -- Among the few freestanding bookstores, with Dallas locations in the Lochwood and North Oak Cliff neighborhoods. Under the name Paperbacks Plus, it also includes a store in downtown Mesquite. It offers mostly used but also new works in general fiction and nonfiction, music, and periodicals, and hosts frequent author signings and community events. I visited the Lochwood store, 10801 Garland Road, which also houses the Dallas Writer’s Garret. What I bought: a 1949 LP of "Porgy and Bess," with original cast members.  For information and list of events, go to
www.luckydogbooks.com/.

Now for the “inside jobs” -- the shops with inventive ways of sharing space to maintain their presences:

David Grossblatt Bookseller -- Inside the Forestwood Antique Mall, 5333 Forest Lane, owner, David Grossblatt called himself “the oldest fulltime professional bookseller in Dallas County,” with fifty years of experience. His location inside the enormous mall (ask for directions at the front counter) hosts three thousand books. A separate room within the mall houses including volumes on Texana, the Civil War, and Native American cultures, but more shelves hold general fiction and nonfiction as well, with
prices ranging, Grossblatt said, from “$25 to thousands.” What I bought: The Outlaw Trail, by Robert Redford, actually only priced at $14.49!  Contact on Facebook and at
dgrossblatt@att.net/.

The Dust Jacket -- Another of the surprising number of collectible book nooks nestled inside antique stores, this one inside Lost Antiques, 1201 N. Riverfront Blvd. The Dust Jacket offers antique children’s books, cookbooks, gardening, Texana, classic and modern fiction. I coveted the 1929 edition of “100 Best Detective Stories.”  For more information, including mall Lost's hours, see
www.thedustjacket.biz/.

Hunter’s Bookcase -- Close to Grossblatt’s booth inside Forestwood Antique Mall, 5333 Forest Lane. Specializing in hunting memorabilia, volumes on big game hunting, and hunting trophies. What I coveted: the fabulously fanged skulls! The shop’s website also offers an extensive collection of hunting DVDs, www.huntersbookcase.com/.

Rosedale Rare Books -- Inside Jackson’s Armory, 3416 Rosedale, off Snider Plaza. Co-owner Wrenda Coughran noted that Rosedale’s location inside the armory, a gun shop, is actually appropriate for its emphasis on military history, Texana, exploration and hunting. Also offering literature and antiquarian books. What I bought: Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer. See www.rosedalerarebooks.com/.

Russell Light Books and Art -- Just inside Snider Plaza Antiques, 6929 Snider Plaza, Russell Light offers beautifully bound literary and historical sets, signed presidential books, children’s books, and fine art. I coveted the beautiful editions of Winston Churchill’s histories. The antique shop itself hosts periodic signings by authors of books on antiques. Contact Light at russelllight@charter.net/.

(Next Monday -- independent bookstores beyond Dallas)

#

Reminder -- Registration for Mystery Writers of America University is due Wednesday, December 4. Tuition is $50 for the December 14 taught by the likes of Hallie Ephron, Charlaine Harris, and other award-winning mystery writers. See
http://mysterywriters.org/mwa-university-dallas/.

Tuesday, December 3 -- A email today informs me that the MWA university is sold out!  -- Melissa

Wordcraft -- Writer's Garret: readings & a new home

Is it possible to find “evidences of grace in a mental hospital ward?” Dallas writer Tom McClellan asked the crowd last weekend at the Writer’s Garret.

His own answer was yes, in abundance. The Garret paired readings from his published essays with a sweet and saucy side of memoir from UNT professor Bonnie Friedman for the first public reading at its new home in the Lucky Dog (formerly Paperbacks Plus) bookstore at 10809 Garland Road in Dallas.

McClellan, a Dallas teacher and writer, chose two essays from his book, Reflections from Mirror City. His writings, described as “Thomas Merton interpreted by Hunter S. Thompson,” by Washington Spectator editor Lou Debose, have appeared in publications as diverse as D Magazine, The Texas Observer, and Christian Century.

After a friendly tussle with Friedman over who would read first, McClellan allowed his wife Carolyn to read for him because of his emphysema. His selections dealt with the ironies of finding grace in the midst of illness, death, and disaster; McClellan spoke with both frankness and humor about his personal struggles against mental illness.

At the end, he took the lectern for the final words himself, concluding an essay on the death of a friend met in a psychiatric ward: “Say these things so your hope will grow, your charity increase.” (For more about McClellan and his writing, see http://reflectionsfrommirrorcity.wordpress.com/.)

The second writer, Bonnie Friedman, comes to Texas by way of the Bronx. Her first book, Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer’s Life, was a Village Voice bestseller. Now an assistant professor in the University of North Texas’ creative writing program, she chose excerpts from a work in progress for the audience.

Despite the differences in background between Friedman and McClellan, their writings harmonized on the theme of grace: hers included a minutely-observed description of her elderly mother, in her words, -- a “sheitel jew” with the mien of a Russian aristocrat. (And enough chutzpah to outface a revolution.)

“At the age of eighty-five,” Friedman began her reading, “my mother lost her job and started running.”

Not running away from anything, of course. Instead, running “for her health” -- a regimen of pre-dawn shuffling up and down the halls of her apartment house that first entangled her and her elderly husband in a lawsuit and ended by charming her persecutor.

A listener, laughingly aghast at Friedman’s vivid descriptions, asked what her mother thought about being the subject of her writing.

Her mother, she assured the audience, has given her permission to write anything she pleases (although without reading the words herself). “I hope she would like it,”
Friedman said. She travels back to New York frequently to keep in touch with her parents (and perhaps to gather more material). For more about Friedman’s works, see
http://www.bonniefriedman.com/.

The Garret will sponsor its next public readings in April. For information about the Garret and its programs, see www.writersgarret.org/. Some online information still references a previous address, but please note the current address is 10809 Garland Road, in Dallas.