Grab bag of goodies for Texas writers

My (multiple) inboxes are overflowing with more goodies than I can categorize, so I’ll toss them out for whoever can use them. 

Contests:

February 1: Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest, 8,000 word maximum, set in the near future (no more than 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration. Free, but limited to one entry per contestant. See the site for details. And hurry – submissions must be received no later than 12:01 a.m. February 1, U.S. Pacific time! (If you’re unsure what that translates to in your part of the world, check out this time conversion site.)

February 2: The Masters Review announced that all of its contests in 2020 will end on Sundays, starting with its Winter Short Story Award for New Writers, closing February 2. (This is an updated submission date, but I can’t find an exact time for this one.) Entry fee: $20. First, second, and third-place winners receive cash prizes, publication, and agency review.

February 3: On a personal note, my query + first 5 pages is among those editors will be tweeting about in Revise & Resub’s #10Queries posts on Twitter. Thankfully, all participating writers will be granted anonymity!

image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Whew! Now get started on your submissions for D.L. Hammons WRiTE CLUB readers’ choice contest. Although Hammons is currently busy revising a novel for his agent (and writing a sequel) he promised at the recent group critique meeting we attended to hold the annual WRiTE CLUB contest in 2020, with celebrity judges to be announced on his site March 23. 

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Literary events:

March 7: African American Book Expo + Mixer-Dallas, Grace Banquet Hall, 7111 Marvin D. Love Freeway, in Dallas. Noon – 10:30 p.m. See Eventbrite site for tickets and details.

Not yet on the FenCon website but workshop organizer says I’m free to spread the word that the Dallas-area sci-fi/fantasy convention’s September 18-20, 2020 workshop instructor will be author Kevin Ikenberry. Keep an eye on the FenCon site (and this one!) for specifics.

Also up – registration is now open for the North Texas WORDfest’s March 21 “all-you-can-meet” festival of creative connection. Free is always an option – registrants get all the activities plus a map. But WORDfest now offers $10 premium and $35 ultra-deluxe options. These include raffle tickets, discount codes for other Dallas-Fort Worth-area writers events, goodies from the treat counter, and more. Whichever way you decide to go, you can feel good about making this event even better!

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What else have I left out? Drop me a comment, and I’ll consider updating. Still to come, I haven’t forgotten about all those class/workshop events I promised earlier this month. (Where has the year gone?) 

Beyond the dog days – fall lit events coming to North Texas!

Is it too early to talk about autumn? With temperatures here in Dallas still flirting with the 100-degree mark, the realization that fall’s abundance of literary events is around the corner, gives me an incentive to crawl out of my air-conditioned hibernation, beginning this weekend with:

August 24: The African American Museum at Fair Park, Dallas, hosts the Tulisoma Book Fair,10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – but stay for a Hip Hop Gospel Extravaganza on the museum lawn from 4-6 p.m.! The literary festival includes panels, author talks, book signings and more. This year’s guest authors include Caldecott Honor-winning Carole Boston Weatherford and author/journalist ReShonda Tate Billingsley. Free. See the site for details. 

September 5: Dallas Museum of Art taps author Salman Rushdie to open its Arts & Letters Live 2019-2020 season. Booker Prize-winner Rushdie’s most recent book is Quichotte, a Don Quixote for the modern age. Tickets (including book copy) start at $60 for the public, $50 for students. This opener will be held in the Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora Street, Dallas. 

Wondering how the rest of the Arts & Letters season can compete with Rushdie’s opening? How about appearances by Tracy Chevalier, former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Margaret Atwood, Ann Patchett, John Grisham, Tim O’Brien, and more!

image: Pixabay

Unless otherwise indicated, events will be in Horchow Hall of the DMA, 1717 N. Harwood, Dallas. Ticket prices vary for events. See the site for complete schedule.

September 20-22: FenCon, the science fiction/fantasy convention showcases a plethora of area and regional authors, at the Sheraton DFW Airport, 44440 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving. Programming includes gaming, panels, author talks and signings, costumery, and more. Weekend tickets online and by mail: $45 by September 1, $50 at the door. Discounted tickets available for children (ages 6-12) and young adults (ages 13-21). See the site for details.

September 24: Richardson Reads One Book features Texas author Attica Locke’s Edgar-winning mystery novel Bluebird, Bluebird, 7:30 p.m., in the auditorium of Richardson High School, 1250 West Beltline Road, in Richardson, Texas. Free tickets available at the Richardson Library, 900 Civic Center Drive, in Richardson, starting at 9 a.m. September 3. See the site for details.

October 4-5: Roanoke Writers’ Conference, Roanoke Public Library, 308 South Walnut Street, Roanoke, Texas. Keynote speaker is award-winning author Sanderia Faye. Keep your eye on the site for details and registration opening September 2.

October 8-November 7: Authors LIVE! opens its fall season at 7 p.m. with Stephen Harrigan’s presentation of his latest book, Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas, in Wesley Hall of Highland Park United Methodist Church, 3300 East Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. See the site for calendar and details. All programs are free or make reservations for an author’s reception at 6 p.m. for $30 (includes meal and signed copy of book). Register for the reception at stanfordr@hpumc.org.  

October 12-13: If you’re a writer (or wonder what they do when not pecking on a keyboard), hie thee to Writers in the Field for expert advice, demonstrations and activities in weapons, period clothing, military life, medicine, horse handling, crime scene investigation and more. Weekend passes $65, primitive campground available on site for $25 (payable at registration), or check into local hostelries for 21^st century comfort! See the site for details and tickets. 

October 26-27: The statewide bookapalooza, Texas Book Festival, features hundreds of nationally and critically recognized authors for adults and children, exhibitors, food trucks, family activities, and more. Most events are on the grounds of the State Capitol Building in Austin. The south entrance facing 11^th Street is the busiest, so consider trying the north, east or west entrances if lines on 11^th Street get lengthy -- they probably will!

Entrance to the capitol grounds is free, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. October 26; 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. October 27. Additional festival venues include The Contemporary Austin, 700 Congress Avenue, and First United Methodist Church Sanctuary at 1201 Lavaca Street. A Saturday evening Lit Crawl takes place in venues in and around East Cesar Chavez. See the site for details.

October 31-November 3: Bouchercon 2019 welcomes local and international authors of mystery, thriller, and crime writing to Dallas for its “Denim, Diamonds, and Death” presentation. At the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas. Registration is $175, with special hotel room rates available to attendees. Guest authors include James Patterson, North Texas writer Deborah Crombie, Sandra Brown, Charlaine Harris, and more! Check out the site for registration and details.

November 1-30: NaNoWriMo all month long! Write from your home or with friends. See the site for details in your area. 

November 11-12: It’s not often that a theological conference makes my list of literary events, but the annual convocation of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University is known to add literary figures to its list of keynote speakers. This year’s speakers include best-selling travel author Rick Steves, November 11, 7:30 - 9 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium on the SMU campus, 6405 Boaz Lane, followed by a book signing. Tickets for Steves’ lecture only are $15. A printed receipt is required for entry, and no payments can be accepted at the door. 

See the site for details, including other keynote speakers and complete schedule. 

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But, you ask, where are the writing contests? I’ll give them a post of their own – as well as tidbits from the recent ArmadilloCon and online Mystery and Thriller Summit.

Dallas Book Festival bigger and better than ever

Last year I was amazed at the huge change for the better in the annual Dallas Book Festival. Dozens of wonderful authors in multiple genres, thousands of enthusiastic readers, even food trucks. My only gripe – I had to leave early because the Dallas festival was scheduled for the same day as the also-fabulous North Texas Teen Book Festival.

This year, the Dallas Book Festival reigns supreme tomorrow, April 29, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the J. Eric Jonsson Central Library (link) , 1515 Young Street. OK, it does share the date with the Dallas Festival of Ideas at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Both events are free. For those who can’t make up their minds which to attend, it’s only a few blocks of walking in between.

I’ll stick with the Book Festival, and I’ve already made a list of which writers/panels I want to hear, which will only require me to clone myself a few times to cover.

Jeff Chang

Headliners listed on the festival site (link), include Jeff Chang (Who We Be), Jeff Guinn (Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson), Greg Iles (Natchez Burning), Eric Litwin (Pete the Cat series), Kristen Radtke (Imagine Only Wanting This), modern quilt designer Denyse Schmidt, Wade Smith (Smitty Tackles Bullying), and Andrew Solomon (Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change).

There will be storytelling, panels featuring dozens of local and Texas authors in all genres, musical and theatrical performances, children's activities, meditation, bookbinding, quilt designing, photography, and more – even baby chicks (along with a discussion of urban chicken keeping appropriate to this Year of the Rooster). Some authors may have books for sale and signing.

Denyse Schmidt

Now about getting there. A limited number of places in the library’s parking garage will be reserved for drivers with disabled placard/license plate only. The rest of the parking garage will not be available to the public. Otherwise, parking is available at surface lots on Harwood, Griffin, Wood and Jackson Streets, as well as parking meters in the area. Parking lot costs vary.

Considering the crowds last year – which I anticipate will be even bigger this year – I recommend, and personally plan to arrive via the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. The Akard DART light rail station is the closest to the library, at about seven blocks. It’s a lovely walk in fine weather, perhaps not so fine if Saturday’s forecast for rain is fulfilled. 

Wade Smith

Besides bringing umbrellas, a couple of DART vehicle add-ons will help you get closer, drier. The free pink buses of the D-Link system are accessible within a block of the Akard Station, and stop within about a block of the library. D-Links stop at all Dallas bus stops, every 15 minutes, from 11 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Or consider taking light rail to the West End Transfer Station and catching a southbound No. 2 bus to within a block of the library. When you’re ready to leave, a northbound No. 2 will take you from Ervay Street on the library’s east side back to West End. Please note that fares are required to ride both DART and standard buses. A basic all-day local pass good on both buses and DART light rail is $5. See the DART site for information on ticket purchases and discounts.

April lit fests, classes & contests – no foolin’

North Texas literary events increase as the weather warms up. Even more have popped up since I blogged earlier this year about spring events, workshops and contests, so here’s a spring-fresh roundup!

April 1: Brush up on your dialogue-writing skills at the Writers Guild of Texas Spring Workshop, The Language of Dialogue: How to use your characters’ voices to amp up your story. 9 a.m. – noon, at the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road, in Richardson, Texas. Texas writers Melissa DeCarlo (The Art of Crash Landing) and Rosemary Clement-Moore (Texas Gothic, and more) provide a crash course in effective dialogue for fiction. Cost: $35, $25 for WGT members. Register here.

April 1-May 15: Carve Magazine’s annual Raymond Carver Short Story Contest offers $2500 in prizes for literary fiction. Cost: $15 by mail per story; $17 for online entries. Literary stories only, no genre fiction. This year’s guest judge is Pinckney Benedict (Dogs of God). Winning stories will be read by three literary agents. Mail entries to Carve Magazine/Raymond Carver Contest/PO Box 701510/Dallas, TX 75370. See the site for online entries and complete rules.

April 4-July 18: Dallas Arts and Letters Live continues, with children’s authors Erin and Philip C. Stead opening April events, April 4, 11:30 a.m., at the Dallas Museum of Art , 1717 N. Harwood, Dallas, Texas. The Steads speak 3:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets $8, $5 for DMA members.

April 6: African Diaspora: New Dialogues with Tyehimba Jess. Award-winning poet Jess (leadbelly and Olio) speaks at two events: Richland Literary Festival, Richland College, 12800 Abrams Road, Dallas, Texas from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; and 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. at the South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave., Dallas, Texas, sponsored by Wordspace. See the site  for details.

April 8: WORDfest, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. This one day, all-you-can-meet festival of writers groups from across North Texas, was originally scheduled for March, but postponed due to technical difficulties at the venue. Luckily, the delay allowed for even more writers groups, classes, and programming to be added. At Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus, Student Union Building, 828 N. Harwood, Hurst, Texas. It’s free, but register here to secure a place.

April 15: North Texas Book Festival, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m., Patterson-Appleton Arts Center, 400 E. Hickory St., Denton, Texas. Meet dozens of Texas authors at this free festival, and hear guest speaker Nancy Churnin, author of The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game. Free. See the site or the festival's Facebook for additional information.

April 29: Dallas Book Festival, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., shares headline authors with both the Dallas Festival of Ideas and the Dallas Museum of Art’s Arts and Letters Live. Top authors will give TED-style presentations at Dallas City Hall, then cross the street for Q&A sessions at the Dallas Public Library’s Central Branch, 1515 Young St., Dallas. See the site  for details. The events are free, but at last year’s festival, the library’s parking garage was reserved for authors and presenters. Prepare to park offsite, or take public transportation.

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I’m still awaiting word on the 2017 Big D Reads programs for April, and the short story and young authors writing contests for the 2017 FenCon science fiction/fantasy convention, which should be open. I’ll post those separately as they become available.

Wordcraft – Winter is the new spring for literature

So many literary events coming up, especially in North Texas, I can’t wait for the new year to start announcing them. Here’s a list of upcoming contests, conferences, and readings, in order of urgency. I’ll post more later in the year, once spring really arrives. . .

image:wikimedia commons

December 16-18, 2016: Here’s one for us bloggers! From DL Hammons, the guy who brought you the WRiTE CLUB writing challenge, it’s Déjà vu Blogfest. Sign up at his site. Then during the weekend of December 16-18, re-post your favorite blog offering from earlier in the year, or one that you believe failed to receive the exposure it deserved. No fee, no writing required!

December 31, 2016: The final “Dear Lucky Agent” contests of 2016 from Writer’s Digest blogger Chuck Sambuchino focus on memoirs and historical fiction. All they cost are two mentions in any form of social media. See the sites for rules and sample wording for your social media mentions, using this TinyURL for historical fiction and this for memoirs.

January 1-June 1, 2017: Moonlight Mesa Associates’ Cowboy Up contest is back, with this year’s entries including both fiction and nonfiction. Fee: $25. Cash prizes. See site for details.

January 10, 2017: Authors LIVE! Presents a conversation with four great Texas writers, H.W. Brands, Stephen Harrington, S.C. Gwynne, and Lawrence Wright, at 7 p.m. in Wesley Hall of Highland ParkUnited Methodist Church, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, in Dallas. Free. No registration required. Some books will be available for sale and signing afterward. Sponsored by Friends of the Highland Park Library, Friends of the SMU Library, and Highland Park United Methodist Church.

January 12, 2017: The Writer’s League of Texas opens its 2017 season of Texas Writes – programs for rural libraries, in Edna, Texas. I’ll mention some later in my home region of East Texas, but see the site for complete schedule and details.

artist: van Gogh

January 14, 2017: Dallas Museum of Art opens its 26^th season of Arts & Letters Live with the appearance of Zadie Smith, discussing her new novel, Swing Time. In the DMA’s Horchow Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. $40 for the public, $37 for DMA members, students and educators. All tickets include a hardback copy of the book.

January 15, 2017: Closing date for the Writer’s League of Texas manuscript contest. Submit your first 10 pages plus synopsis for chances to have your work professionally critiqued and meet with a literary agent of your genre. Cost: $55 for WLT members, $65 for nonmembers. See the site  for details.

February 4, 2017: Writers’ League of Texas presents “Texas Writes” program at Mt. Enterprise Library, 201 NW 2^nd St., Mt. Enterprise, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pre-register at 903-822-3532.

February 10-12, 2017: ConDFW, a literary science fiction and fantasy convention, at Radisson Fossil Creek hotel, 2540 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth. Adult 3-day memberships $40 through January 31. Single day and children’s memberships also available. This year’s author guest of honor: Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires).

February 16, 2017: Writers’ League of Texas presents “Texas Writes” program at Lillie Russell Memorial Library, 200 E. Hubbard St., Lindale, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pre-register at 903-822-1900.

February 23, 2017: Highland Park Literary Festival, with guest author Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet). Book signing 5-6:15 p.m., Highland Park High School, 4220 Emerson; keynote address by Ford at 7 p.m. in the HPHS Palmer Auditorium. Free and open to the public.

February 28, 2017: Deadline for Writers’ League of Texas Book Awards Contest for books published in 2016. Fee: $40 per title for WLT members, $60 for nonmembers. See the site for details.

Wordcraft – Big D Reads: the diary of a young life cut short

“On Friday, June 12^th, I woke up at six o’clock and no wonder; it was my birthday,” begins the diary a 13-year-old girl named Anne Frank began in 1942. Although eager to open her birthday presents, she had to wait an hour for her parents to get up before she could open the gifts, including the diary (actually an autograph book she had requested after seeing it in a bookstore near her home in Amsterdam). “The first (gift) to greet me was you, possibly the nicest of all …we’re going to be great pals!” she tells the diary, which she would soon name “Kitty.”

Anne had only three more years to live. A few months after receiving her diary, she, her family and business associates of her father and their family members – eight people in all – went into hiding in the sealed off upper rooms of her father’s company’s building.

After the family was discovered in 1944 and deported to Nazi concentration camps, loose pages of Anne’s diary were rescued and returned to her father Otto after the war. He was the only one of the eight people in those upper rooms to survive.

Anne’s diary, translated in English as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, would remain as the record of one life lost too soon in the concentration camps of World War II.

Fittingly in a year more than usually marked by racism and religious intolerance, by war and persecutions and refugees left in the wake of war, Big D Reads, a community service project that every April immerses Dallas in a shared reading experience, has chosen Anne Frank’s diary as its book for 2016.

Special events inspired by the book opened with readings April 1 at the Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance. Other events include age-appropriate readings, interactive programs exploring Anne’s life an introduction to creating diaries, movie screenings, and more designed to explore the themes of diversity and tolerance. For a complete list, see the Big D Reads site here.

For younger children, Big D Reads suggests Dr. Seuss’s similarly themed The Skeetches and Other Stories. For teens and adults wanting more information about the period, suggested books are Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, and In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.  

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In addition to Big D Reads, other local April literary events include:

April 9 – North Texas Book Festival, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Patterson-Appleton Center for the Visual Arts, 400 E. Hickory St., Denton. Meet and buy from more than 60 Texas and Oklahoma authors. Free, except for all the books you buy!

April 23 – North Texas Teen Book Festival in the Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd. Free. Last year this event was so packed, I had to park miles away. This year, I’ll take DART.

April 23 – North Texas Book Reviewers Preview, Dallas Library Central Branch, 1515 Young St., Dallas. Meet more than 30 local book reviewers at this free event, starting at 1 p.m.

April 23-24 – DFW Writers Conference , Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St., Fort Worth. See the site for details and registration. Or consider pre-conference workshops on April 22.

April 30 – Dallas Book Festival, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Central Dallas branch, 1515 Young St., Dallas. After a couple of admittedly lackluster years, the lineup for the 2016 festival looks amazing, with nine speakers, including Pulitzer Prize winning Lawrence Wright. (Personally, I’m looking forward to hearing Joshua Hammer, author of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu.) At least two dozen additional authors will be on hand to sign and sell books.

Wordcraft – NaNoWriMo is nigh: Ready, set, write!

Well, I did it, registered my pledge to write a novel (or at least 50,000 words of one) through NaNoWriMo starting November 1. The acronym is short for National Novel Writing Month, the annual, now international Internet-based writing event that takes place each November.

The goal is to foster creativity by turning off our inner editors and pounding out the words. Last year, 325,142 participants worldwide started the month as housewives, students, mechanics and actors and ended as – novelists. More 250 NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published, including Water for Elephants, The Night Circus, Wool, Fangirl and more. But this isn’t the time to worry about publication, not even about how well you write or whether you think you can write at all. It’s about putting words down. Nothing else can happen until the words are out of our heads and on the page.

This year’s NaNoWriMo page lets you decide whether you’re a “plotter” – the person who starts the month with outlines and character sketches – or a “pantser” (as in flying by the seat of yours) who starts with nada. I’m probably cheating by starting with a few thousand words from a short story that participants at this year’s FenCon Dallas-area writing workshop said didn’t tell them as much as they wanted to know. So here comes the rest of the story!

NaNoWriMo participants in North Texas (aka DFW Rhinos) are already preparing, with more than 60 public write-ins on their calendars for November, including the upcoming midnight write-in from 8 p.m. October 31 – 4 a.m. November 1.

Not in Texas? Check the NaNoWriMo site for activities in your part of the world, including a virtual write-in, live stream event tomorrow, October 28, beginning at 3 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Let me know how you’re doing. I won’t even hate you if you write way more than 50,000 words!

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Maybe you think pounding out 50,000 words in November won’t leave you with time for anything else. But like saving room for a slice of pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving turkey, save a little time for some other literary events in North Texas. You never know when inspiration will strike.

October 27: Monthly scene readings sponsored by Dallas Screenwriters Association, Half Price Books, 5803 E. Northwest Highway, Dallas. Only DSA members may have work read, but the readings are free to the public. Pages must be submitted by 6 p.m., casting follows immediately, with readings usually started by 7 p.m.

Now through November 16: The Writers’ Guild of Texas first annual flash fiction contest. A thousand words maximum. Cash prizes. Submissions are limited to WGT members, but at only $25 for an annual membership, consider joining.

November 7: Texas Writes program on memoir writing, sponsored by the Writers’ League of Texas. Starting 1 p.m. at the Pottsboro Area Library, 104 North Main, Pottsboro, Texas (about 90 minutes north of Dallas on I-75). Free, but pre-registration suggested. Call (903)78607264.

November 14: The Writers’ Guild of Texas  also sponsors a fall workshop, 9 a.m. – noon, in the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson, Texas. Bestselling author Taylor Stevens is this year’s instructor. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers.

November 16: Pandora’s Box Poetry Showcase Dallas hosts readings by local and nationally-known poets. Margo Jones Theater in Dallas Fair Park, beginning at 8 p.m. Free.

November 20: First Annual 24-Minute Script Contest and Festival, sponsored by the Dallas Screenwriters Association. At Brown Lane Studios, 1499 Regal Row, Suite 505, Dallas, starting 8 p.m. The event is free to attend, but only DSA members may compete.

Wordcraft – Reading ‘n’ writing ‘n’ fall literary events

School has started in North Texas, and autumn’s literary events are coming as fast as the falling leaves already littering my lawn. The literary leaves are heaped so high, I’ll take two posts to blog about them, starting with today’s events:

August 25: (Yes, that’s today!) This year’s SMU Reads book is Emily St. John Mandel’s bestseller, Station Eleven, dealing with the aftermath of fictional pandemic. Don’t let the subject scare you away from today’s panel discussion about emergency preparedness, followed by book discussions, a pop-up performance of King Lear (yes, there’s a connection), and culminating in the September 9 visit by Mandel at Southern Methodist University. See the Dallas Public Library for events, and be sure to reserve a free seat for Mandel's appearance September 9.

August 25: Monthly script reading by Dallas Screenwriters Association. Only members may have their scripts read by local actors, but anyone’s welcome to drop in for a free listen, at 7 p.m., in the community room of Half Price Books, 5803 East Northwest Highway, Dallas. Event repeats the last Tuesday (usually) of each month.

August 28 - 29: The Tulisoma South Dallas Book Fair and Arts Festival, with most events at the African American Museum at Fair Park, 3536 Grand Avenue, Dallas. Events Friday (August 28), including the Tulisoma Heart and Soul tour, are free but require reservations. Events Saturday (August 29) are free, with no reservation required, beginning with the 10 a.m. Art Smart workshop on preparing children to learn. Author readings, entertainment, and discussions, continue through 4:20 p.m. Saturday. While you’re there, take advantage of the museum’s free admission to check out the galleries on black arts and culture in Dallas.

August 30: Don’t forget to contact points@dallasnews.com to reserve a seat for a free forum 2-4 p.m. at University of Texas at Dallas to discuss the Dallas Morning News Points Summer Book Club. This year's book is Being Mortal: Medicine and what Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande. A blog discussion is currently in progress.

August 31: Tickets for Richardson Reads One Book available at the first floor information desk of the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Center Drive, Richardson, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Free tickets are available for Richardson residents, but maybe a friend who lives there can snag you a ticket to hear author Laura McBride discuss this year’s book, We Are Called To Rise. McBride will appear September 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson High School, 1250 Beltline Road.

September 9: For SMU Reads, Emily St. John Mandel discusses her bestseller, Station Eleven, at McFarlin Auditorium, 6405 Boaz Lane, in Dallas. Free, but be sure you’ve RSVP’d for a reservation.

September 10: Deadline for the Young Author’s short story contest of fantasy/science fiction convention FenCon. No fee to enter, for authors in grades 3-12.

September 13: Dallas Arts & Letters Live continues its 2015 season with R.L.Stine and Marc Brown, author/illustrators of The Little Shop of Monsters, September 13 at 4 p.m. Horchow Auditorium, Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 North Harwood, Dallas. Tickets for the presentation are $20 for the public, $15 for DMA members, $10 for students and children (under age 5).

September 15: Richardson Reads One Book: We Are Called to Rise, by Laura McBride. Author reading 7:30 p.m. at Richardson High School, 1250 Belt Line Road in Richardson. Did you remember to get your free tickets?

(Next Tuesday: Wordcraft continues its preview of autumn 2015’s literary events in North Texas)

Wordcraft – Set a course for summer literary destinations

Events for writers – and readers – crowd the summer calendar. And in Texas, summer starts in May! I’m concentrating on conferences, reading clubs, and reviews in North Texas, plus a couple elsewhere too good to miss.

May 16-September 13: Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art. Yes, this series about books and writers begins early in the year, but it doesn’t slow down when temperatures rise. Inspired by the DMA’s annual hosting of a naturalization ceremony, the museum presents Oral Fixation – Destination America: True Stories of Immigration this Saturday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 for the public, discounts for DMA members. Most events are at the museum, 1717 N. Harwood, but see www.dallasmuseumofart.org for details.

May 19: Friends of the Sachse Public Library sponsor Author.con, a celebration of local authors. Free, at the library, 3815 Sachse Road. Books available for purchase (check or cash only). See www.cityofsachse.com/index.aspx?NID=457 for complete list of authors and genres.

June 3-July 29: Rejebian Summer Series each Wednesday in June and July, with author readings and reviews at 7 p.m. Free, or $12 to add a dinner reservation. Highland Park United Methodist Church, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. See www.hpumc.org/rejebian for list of programs.

June 6-August 1: Mayor’s Summer Reading Club at Dallas Public Library branches. It’s not just for kids! Sign up at https://dallaslibrary2.org/childrenCenter/summerReadingProgram or any of the Dallas Library's 29 branches for fun and prizes. See the website for guidelines.

June 26-28: Writers’ League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference, Hyatt Regency Austin, 208 Barton Springs Road, in Austin. This is the biggest general interest conference for writers in the state. Lots and lots of agents, craft workshops and panels. Registration is $489 through June 5 or until sold out (which can happen). See www.writersleague.org/Calendar/2015conference for registration, details, agent list.

July 17-19: Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, Hilton DFW Lakes Conference Center, 1800 Highway 26 East, in Grapevine. Basic registration $425, additional charges for contests and sessions with agents. See www.cvent.com/events/2015-mayborn-literary-nonfiction-conference/event/ for details and schedule.

July 17-19: LexiCon Writers Conference in Denton. My Writers Guild newsletter states that WGT members (membership $25) may attend LexiCon for $100 instead of the new attendee price of $150. See www.Lexi-ConwritersConference.com for details.

July 24-26: DFW Writers’ Conference moves to the Wyly Theater, 2400 Flora Street, in the Dallas Arts District. Agents, workshops, and inspirational speakers. One agent pitch session and catered lunches are included in the registration cost of $399. See http://dfwcon.org for details and schedule.

July 24-26: ArmadilloCon37, Omni Southpark Hotel, 4140 Governors Row, in Austin. A literary convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, with art, animation, science and gaming. Add a daylong writing workshop with critique of your work for $79.50. (Writing entries due June 15!) See http://armadillocon.org for details.