Literary events like autumn leaves in Texas

 For some creatures, hibernation is a winter event. For Texans, it occurs during the deadly heat of late summer. But while I've struggled to keep my garden alive, other Texans have prepared an autumn-long list of state literary events. 

Note: Updates are now available for AuthorPalooza, Mayborn, Tulisoma and the Texas Book festival.

September 1: The Dallas Mystery Writers Laree Bryant Memorial Scholarship contest is this Monday. It's a contest dear to many Dallas-area writers, celebrating Laree's life and legacy. As I've posted previously, the rules are simple:

• Be on the DMW mailing list. It's free, by clicking on the link at the website.
• Don't have published fiction for the public (traditional or self-published) within the last five years
• Open to all genres. 

See the site for formatting details of your writing sample and a brief biography, sent to sandysteenwrites@gmail.com. The prize is a ticket to the DFW Writers Conference (see more below) valued at $500. The winner will be announced at the DMW's meeting September 6.

September 12-14: ArmadilloCon is Austin's convention for science fiction, fantasy, and horror fans, now in its 47th year. See the site for details and registration. Entries for the associated writers workshop are now closed, but I plan to attend. If you see me, say hi!

September 13: Trinity River Book Festival is a Fort Worth multicultural event with multiple books, authors, ad running. Yes, get your heart pumping with the run-to-read event. Free, but see the site for event schedule and to register for promotional giveaways, updates, and notifications.

September 16: Tickets (free!) for the Richardson Reads One Book event are now available. Or add a $35 luncheon ticket with Rowan Jacobsen, author of the 2025 RROB selection, Wild Chocolate, about the quest to revive ancient cacao and produce the world's finest chocolate. 

The deadline to purchase luncheon tickets is September 10, but space is limited. 

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. lecture are available (limited to 2 per order) on a first-come, first-served basis. Again, space for the event at First United Methodist Church Richardson, 503 N. Central Expressway in Richardson, is limited.

See the site for details or email richardsonreadstx@gmail.com for additional information.

Image by Carlos Villada for Pixabay

September 27-28: AuthorPalooza 2025 fills the Ley Student Center, 6100 Main St., Houston (on the Rice University campus) with favorite authors and books. Sponsored by the Houston Writers Guild. See the site for tickets and additional information.

Update: Houston Writers Guild reports AuthorPalooza 2025 was cancelled for reasons beyond its control. Ticket holders should have already received notification and full refund. For additional questions or feedback, contact the Guild.

October 4-5: The DFW Writers Conference returns to the Hurst, Texas, conference center 1615 Campus Drive, in Hurst. Events include keynote speakers Kelly Bishop (The Third Gilmore Girl) and literary agent Carly Watters, more than a dozen literary agents and editors (one complimentary pitch session with ticket) and classes and workshops galore.

See the site for details and registration.

October 24-25: Registration for The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is now open. More details still to come. See the site or visit maybornconferenceinfo@unt.edu.\

Update: Registration for the Mayborn is due by October 13. Full conference pass to all events including $20 documentary film series day pass is $150. The film series pass may be purchased separately for $20. Full pass registrants may also add a $50 writers' workshop registration. Registration for the writers' workshop closes October 1, and materials must be submitted by October 3. See the site for additional information, including hotel accommodations.

November 7-8: The 21st Tulisoma: South Dallas Book Fair connects readers with Black authors, publishers, and storytellers from across the country. At the African American Museum in Dallas Fair Park, 3536 Grand Avenue. Free. See the site for details.

Update: Tulisoma hours are 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Events include workshops, more than 40 authors sharing their work, and featured speaker Dr. Linda Hall Searight, author of I Am God's Property, sharing insights that led to the creation of her award-winning choir in the 1990's. See the site under "events" for additional information. 

November 8-9: The 30th Texas Book Festival returns to multiple venues in and around downtown Austin and around the Texas Capitol. Check the site for ongoing details, including the author lineup to be unveiled later this fall.

Update: More than 300 authors are lined up for the November 8-9 Texas Book Festival. The festival is free but tickets may be required for some events and activities. Tickets to headliner talks are now available for purchase. Best sources of information seem to be the festival's social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X.

Autumn in the air? Preview these fall literary events

Wow – temperatures in North Texas dropped in the wake of a weekend of drought-breaking rain. And although we haven’t seen the end of the heat, there’s a smell of fall in the air. So after dishing out bowls of hearty soup for lunch, my thoughts turned to autumn literary events. 

Starting with –

August 24-25: Tulisoma South Dallas Book Fair at the African-American Museum, 3536 Grand Avenue, in Dallas Fair Park. August 24 ticketed event is 7 – 9 p.m., family-friendly happenings August 25 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. are free, including writing and art workshops, book signings, open-mic poetry, children’s activities and more. The event concludes August 25 with a hip-hop gospel extravaganza 6 – 9 p.m.  

September 5 – March 21, 2019: Clements Center Evening Lecture Series 2018-2019 program opens with a presentation of Lawrence Wright’s God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State. Topics address Texas, the United States Southwest and the Texas-Mexico borderlands. Ticketed, but generally free, with the exception of author receptions. Venues on the campus of SMU, but times and sites vary. See the site for details and reservations. 

image: pixabay

September 9 – November 29: Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art features award-winning authors and performers. This year’s standouts include Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals, the basis for award-winning film Lincoln, among other books); Andre Dubus III (The Garden of Last Days, and other books); Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing); Caroline Fraser (biographer of recently-controversial children’s author Laura Ingalls Wilder); and many more. 

Unless otherwise noted, programs take place in Horchow Auditorium in the museum, 1717 Harwood, Dallas. Ticket prices vary, so see the site (link) for specifics.

September 19: This year’s selection for Richardson Reads One Book is The Circle, by Dave Eggers, who will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Richardson High School auditorium, 1250 W. Beltline Rd., Richardson, Texas. Free tickets available starting at 10 a.m. September 4 at the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Center Dr., Richardson, Texas.

September 21-23: Happy birthday, Frankenstein! Help Fencon, the Dallas-area fan-operated science fiction and fantasy literary and filk convention celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s classic monster mash! Author panels, artists, concerts, hands-on workshops and costumes. At the Westin DFW Airport, 4545 John Carpenter West Freeway, Irving, Texas. Adult memberships $45 till September 1 ($50 at the door), young adult memberships (ages 13-21) $25 through August 31 ($30 at the door), discounts for younger kids and military members. See the site for details. 

September 22: Writers Guild of Texas fall writing workshop with author Sarah Bale on “Self-Publishing: 10 Steps to Success,” 9 a.m. – noon at the Richardson Civic Center, 411 Civic Center Dr., Richardson, Texas. Online cost $25 for WGT members, $35 for nonmembers, $35 for members at the door, $40 for nonmembers, but seating is limited.

October 6: Texas Teen Book Festival on the campus of St. Edward’s University, 3001 S. Congress Ave., Austin. More than 30 YA authors plus the EPIC READS costume contest. Free. 

October 13-14: Writers in the Field, a hands-on research experience for writers of all ages. At Amber Academy of the Arts, 492 Cordes Dr., Mansfield, Texas. Tickets $65. See the site for details and ticket purchases.

October 27-28: Texas Book Festival. The big one, with lots of events in and around the Texas State Capitol, downtown Austin.

November 1-30: NaNoWriMo all month long! More to come on this annual event.

November 9-11: Readers & ‘ritas weekend getaway with romance authors, including guests of honors Christine Feehan, C.L. Wilson and Lori Foster. Author parties, book signings and author panels, at Hilton Garden Inn in Dallas/Allen, 705 Central Expressway South, Allen, Texas. Cost: $99 - $225. Come for a day or the whole weekend, which includes a writing workshop November 10, with classes led by Candace Havens and Deborah LeBlanc.  

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Wondering why Dallas author Ben Fountain (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk) isn’t included here, even though he has a new book out? Catch him September 8 at the Texas Monthly Edge of Texas event; October 1 at Interabang Books, 10720 Preston Road, Dallas; and December 6 at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, 2719 Routh Street, Dallas. And stay tuned for the unveiling of the Authors LIVE! series, Dallas Heritage Village’s Farina Lecture, and the Roanoke, Texas, writing conference.