Spring into summer with Texas literary events

 April showers bring out literary events in Texas! Here's a sampling of upcoming ones:

April 25: Oak Cliff Book Crawl -- one day, six bookstores, plus music, food, drinks and community. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Participating bookstores: Whose Books, Pan-African Connection, Blush Bookstore, Poets Books, The Wild Detectives, and Lucky Dog Books.

No charge except to buy books, eats and drinks. Parking is limited, so consider walking, bike riding, or using a ride share if you're out of the area. All stores are located at or near the Bishop Arts area in the Dallas Oak Cliff neighborhood, although Pan-African Connection, one of the oldest Black-owned bookstores in the area, does require a short drive. Organizers recommend using it as your starting or ending point.

Please note, the parking lot at Whose Books will be used for vendors and outdoor festivities.

Check individual store websites for more information. And yes, feel free to stop by any of the other Bishop Arts restaurants and shops!

May 6-9: Dallas Is Lit!, A project of the Dallas Writers Garret, has everything from slam poets to literary organizations, to local bookstores. Located (where else!) in the Dallas Bishop Arts district, it offers activities for a variety of ages and interests. See the site for specific programs, venues, and ticket purchases.

May 26-August 4: The Young Authors program returns to the Richardson Public Library for students entering grades 5-9. This one's just for residents of Richardson, Texas, but it's one of my favorites. Free, but participants must be Richardson residents with Richardson Public Library cards. Registration runs from May 26 to June 9, with classes running through August 4. 

With the help of guest speakers, including children's book author Nancy Churnin, participants will learn to write and illustrate their own picture books. They'll get one glossy, hard bound copy to keep, while a second goes into the library's permanent collection. All for free!

To register, call 972-744-4358 or visit the Youth Services Help Desk at the library. Librarians can also help with library cards for eligible students who don't already have one. For more information, visit the library website at  www.cor.net/Library

June 11-13: Reading to find writing inspiration in the local that inspired a Texan to invent one of fiction's most iconic characters? That would be Conan the Barbarian (or Cimmerian, as his creator, Robert E. Howard, preferred). 

Howard Days is the annual festival held in Howard's hometown of Cross Plains, Texas. Technically, the festival runs June 12-13, but this year organizers have added an Emerging Writers Workshop on the 11th at the Cottonwood Downtown Cafe, 240 Main St., in Cross Plains, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Note that, despite the term "emerging writers," the workshop only means the manuscript submitted to it must be unpublished. Also, the submission does not need to be heroic fantasy but may be any of the fiction genres in which Howard wrote, including sword & sorcery, western, historical fiction, boxing tales, horror, detective, or comedic versions of these.

Instructors are authors Adrian Simmons, Jason Waltz, and Howard biographer Mark Finn. Cost: $50, which includes workshop, discussion, and written critique. Most of the proceeds will be used toward the ongoing Howard House Preservation Project.

image by suki for Pixabay

See the Robert E. Howard page on Facebook or the details at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly for more information. 

But get a move on, pardner! The submission deadline is May 10.

Note: updated April 30, 2026, to add proper link to Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.

June 11-14: For the young or young at heart, CALF aka, Children's Art and Literacy Festival, features the classic stories and art of Winnie-the-Pooh, with readings by Young Audiences of Abilene. See the site for additional information and events around the city of Abilene.

Early registration until May 15 is $12 for children ages 3-12, $20 for adults age 13 and older. 

June 26-28: The Writers League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference takes over downtown Austin from its perch at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Conference registration is open but going fast. From now through June 28 (as seats are available), registration is $549 for WLT members, $599 for nonmembers.

Perks are days filled with panels, meet-ups, and chances for information talks with agents, book editors, and fellow writers. For writers with finished manuscripts, consultations with agents or editors are available for individual purchase as space allows. See the site for details and registration.

Now - July 10: The Writers League of Texas manuscript contest  is also open for submissions, separately from the conference. See the site for details and submission requirements. It is not necessary to have a completed manuscript, only the first 10 pages plus a synopsis. Winners in a number of fiction, nonfiction (including memoir), and children's writing categories will meet virtually with a top literary agent (the final judge in their category) via Zoom. All contestants, winners or not, can opt to receive a written critique from an experienced editor.

Fee: $65 WLT members/$85 for nonmembers, which includes the written critique. Or writers can opt out of the critique for a fee of $25 for WLT members, $35 for nonmembers.

See the site for details.

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Want more literary events? I like Lone Star Literary Life for its state-wide lists! Plus, still to come at this site -- fall events including ArmadilloCon, the Dallas Hay Festival Forum, the Archer City Traditional Workshop (held in the hometown of another great Texas writer, Larry McMurtry), and the DFW Writers Conference, among others.

This is your brain on summer’s literary blitz!

Thunder and lightning rumble across Texas as I write this, lighting the skies the way this summer’s literary events will light up our brains. I’ve mentioned some of these earlier but you put off thinking about them, didn’t you? Now they’re here! 

Now – August 11: The Dallas Mayor’s Summer Reading Club works like this: Each day kids ages 0-18 read or are read to at least 20 minutes counts. So do ebooks and audiobooks. Sorry, video games and websites don’t. After logging 10 days of reading, kids earn the free book of their choice PLUS a pass or coupon to events and attractions to make the summer even more fun! 

image: pixabay

For each 10-day mark, kids can pick up another prize, up to five times over the summer. Kids who read at least 50 days by August 11 will be entered to win the grand prizes!

Grownups can participate too. Earn one entry in the grand prize drawings for every 10 days logged. Earn one entry in the weekly and grand prize drawings for each book read. Plus, post on social media about your reading and tag @dallaslibrary, you get entered in weekly drawings to win movie passes to Alamo Drafthouse. Adults can also earn drawing entries by completing online Learning Tracks - a series of thematic activities designed to encourage a deeper exploration of a fun and popular topic. Learning Tracks are accessed through your account when you sign in to the Mayor's Summer Reading Challenge.

For both kids and adults, ebooks and audiobooks count as reading. Sorry, videogames and websites do not. Sign up for the clubs online or at any Dallas Library branch. Not a Dallas resident? Check with your local library – many others have their own summer reading programs.

Now – July 31: Half Price Books has its own Feed Your Brain summer reading club. Kids and teens ages 14 and younger can log every 15 minutes of daily reading. Once you’ve accumulated 300 minutes of reading in June and July, bring your log (initialed by an adult) to your local Half Price store to claim Bookworm Bucks good for credit against store purchases. Bookworm Bucks must be redeemed by August 31.

June 6 – August 1: Rejebian returns! This weekly summer book group showcases the lighter side of Texas books and authors, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in Wesley Hall of Highland Park United Methodist Church. Presentations are free or make reservations for an optional dinner at 5:30 p.m. for $13. You can pay at the door for the meal, but please make reservations by calling 214-523-2240 so they’ll know how much food to cook! 

June 8 – 9: Robert E. Howard Days commemorate the life and tragic death of the creator of Conan the Cimmerian and other iconic fantasy adventures, in Howard’s hometown of Cross Plains, Texas. Events include tours of the REH Museum, Cross Plains and its environs (fictionalized as many of the settings for Howard stories), original Howard manuscripts at the Cross Plains library, and banquet with this year’s guest of honor, “Indiana Bill” Cavalier, a mainstay of Howard fandom. All events except the banquet are free. See the site for details and banquet registration.

June 8-July 27: The Young Author’s Program returns to the Richardson Public Library, 900 Civic Center Dr., Richardson, this Friday with an overview by children’s book author Nancy Churnin. Then on Fridays (except July 6), return to the library for followups on how to make your own picture book. Registration is open to Richardson residents entering 5^th – 9^th grades this fall at the library’s Youth Services Help desk or by calling 972-744-4358. A valid RPL library card is required. Don’t have one? Apply STAT!

June 9-10: There’s still time to sign up for the DFW Writers Conference. This is a multi-genre conference with agents, workshops and panels and inspiration galore, including keynote speaker Scott Westerfield. At Hurst Conference Center, 1600 Campus Drive, in Hurst. Each registration includes a pitch session with an agent, and additional pitch sessions are available for $40. Registration for both days is $399, Saturday-only $269, Sunday-only $229 (which includes the conferences infamous Gong Show lunch). Know a young writer? Teens 15-17 can get in both days for $149 (with adult ticket holder). And yes, teens also qualify for the agent pitch sessions.

June 15: It’s the deadline to enter Austin’s ArmadilloCon writing workshop. See additional information about ArmadilloCon below.

June 29-July 1: Writers’ League of Texas 2018 Agents and Editors Conference, Hyatt Regency Austin, 208 Barton Springs Road, Austin. It’s HUGE! At this time, there are at least 20 confirmed agents and four publishing editors (some accepting unagented submissions). At this time, the registration fee ($449 for Writers’ League members, $509 for nonmembers) does not include pitclhes to agents or editors, but pitches may be scheduled for an additional fee as time and space permit. Plus, again, lots and lots of presentations and panels with at least 100 publishing professionals. 

July 20-22: The Mayborn Literary NonfictionConference is the place in Texas for narrative nonfiction writers, with workshops, panels, keynote speakers and yes – agents! At the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center, 1800 State Highway 26, in Grapevine. Registration $425. See the site for details.

August 3-5: ArmadilloCon is Texas’ summer heat-busting science fiction/fantasy convention with a writing workshop. Sure, you can attend the myriad panels and presentations with all your favorite speculative fiction authors and artists for only $45 (current price), but why not spring for the writing workshop too? Submit your original, unpublished science fiction, fantasy or horror short story and get info on writing craft plus critique sessions for $90, which includes full convention membership as well. But hurry – writing workshop submissions are due June 15! At the Omni Southpark Hotel, 4140 Governor’s Row, in Austin.  

Oh, you wanted to be part of ArmadilloCon’s pro-led writing workshop? Get those stories in by the June 15 deadline!