Texas Institute of Letters 2018 literary contests open for submissions
The Texas Institute of Letters (TIL) literary contests now open, with prizes totaling more than $22,000.
TIL has named its judges for its literary contests, which are now open for submissions. Judges will select finalists and winners in twelve categories for the best works published in 2018. Winners will be awarded a total of more than $22,000 at TIL’s annual meeting, to be held on April 26–27, 2019, in McAllen, Texas.
To submit works for award consideration:
1. Complete online contest entry form and pay entry fee ($20 for book awards / $10 for short story & short nonfiction awards): https://form.jotform.com/TexasInstituteofLetters/til-contest-form-2018
2. Submissions of works must be mailed to the appropriate judging committee members. Addresses are listed below. Since there are three members for each committee, you will need to send a copy of the work to each judge. Include a brief note inside each copy of the book or clipped to the article explaining for which contest the book is being entered.
3. Authors or their representatives should not have any contact with judges other than to submit work to each judge.
4. A book can only be entered in one category.
5. Submissions must be postmarked no later than January 15, 2019.
6. All works entered must be published in a print format during 2018: Unpublished manuscripts and online publications will not be considered.
7. To be considered, an entry must be the first published version of the work.
8. A person or publisher may enter only one work per author per contest category for the writing contests; a person or publisher may enter only one work per designer for the book design contest. In other words, a publisher may enter different works by different authors or designers in one category but cannot submit more than one book by the same author or designer in one category.
Contest categories and judges
Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction ($6,000) and Sergio Troncoso Award for Best Work of First Fiction ($1,000)
Jose Skinner, 2308 S 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78704
Ann Weisgarber, RR 4, Box 225-E4, Galveston, TX 77554; for packages shipped by UPS, FedEx: 22309 Vista del Mar, Galveston, TX 77554
Bret Johnston, 702 E Dean Keeton, Austin TX 78705
Carr P. Collins Award for Best Book of Non-fiction ($5,000)
Judyth Rigler, 1735 Avenida Alturas NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110-4944
José A. Rodriguez, 2512 Dallas Avenue, McAllen, TX 78501
Hugh Aynesworth, 3828 Townsend Drive, Dallas, TX 75229
Ramirez Award for Most Significant Scholarly Book ($2,500)
Jerry Thompson, Regents Professor, Department of Humanities, PLG 216E, 5201 University Blvd., Laredo, TX 78041
Rita Urquijo Ruiz, 3614 Windgap Drive, San Antonio, TX 78230
Gary M. Lavergne, 509 Victoria Drive, Cedar Park, TX 78613
Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Best Book of Poetry ($1,500) and John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry ($1,000)
Kurt Heinzelman, 6106 Cherrylawn Circle, Austin, TX 78723
Sheryl Luna, 5755 W. 37th Avenue #201, Wheat Ridge, CO 80212
John Blair, Department of English, Flowers Hall, 601 University Drive, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666
Edwin “Bud” Shrake Award for Short Nonfiction ($1,000)
This prize is for the best article or essay appearing in print newspapers, journals, or magazines. Multiple articles by a single author may be submitted — with a total not exceeding 10,000 words.
Kathryn Jones, 5597 Highway 144 South, Walnut Springs, TX 76690
Michael Hurd, 1 Maywind Court, The Woodlands, TX 77381
Marcia Daudistel, (until November 1st) 413 Valplano Drive, El Paso, TX 79912; (after November 1st) 11400 Penfield Lane, Albuquerque, NM 87111
Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story ($1,000)
Christine Granados, 608 Tanya Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Betty Wiesepape, 1706 North Cheyenne Drive, Richardson, TX 75080
T. Lindsay Baker, P.O. Box 507, Rio Vista, TX 76093
Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Book ($1,000)
Renee Dyer, Weslaco East High School, 810 S. Pleasantview Drive, Weslaco, TX 78596
Evangelina Vigil, 4834 Rockwood Drive, Houston TX 77004
Jan Reid, 2107 West 11th Street, Austin, TX 78703
Jean Flynn Best Middle-Grade Book ($1,000) Texas Institute of Letters Best Picture Book ($1,000)
María Elena Ovalle, 219 Santa Fe Street, Edinburg, TX 78541
Oralia Garza de Cortez, 1901 Running Brook and Drive, Austin, TX 78723
Kathi Appelt, 1907 Comal Circle, College Station, TX 77840
Fred Whitehead Award for Best Design of a Trade Book ($750)
Note that this award is not based upon the book’s size or financial support from sponsors. It is an award for a trade book – emphasis on trade book – showing the designer’s craft including ingenuity of concept restrained by a limited budget, i.e. the usual amount a press might spend on book production without any extra funds. Please do not submit expensive, over-sized art, coffee table, etc., books for this award.
Laura Wilson, 10621 Strait Lane, Dallas, TX 75229
Cliff Hudder, 85 W. White Willow Circle, The Woodlands, TX 77381
Steven Schneider, Creative Writing Program -- ELABS 326, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539
The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit established in 1936 to promote interest in Texas literature and to recognize literary achievement. TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most recognized and serious writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, and scholarship. The membership includes winners of the Pulitzer Prizes in drama, fiction, and nonfiction, as well as prizes awarded by PEN and dozens of other regional and national award and grant-giving institutions.
The Texas Institute of Letters values diversity, and affirmative action towards that diversity guides its policies and its programs. Its goal is to provide equal opportunity and representation to all distinguished writers without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. To truly reflect the population and the experience of all peoples living in Texas, TIL seeks and values the benefits of diversity in membership, awardees, and administration.
(Information from organization’s press release and website)
Boerne Book & Arts Fest Brings Authors, Art, Crafts, Music & More to Boerne Main Plaza
Kinky Friedman to share stories and perform from new album
Another chapter of the Boerne Book & Arts Fest will open October 6 on Boerne’s Main Plaza with a celebration featuring live artist demos, author discussion panels, children’s activities and an appearance by Texas’s beloved singer, songwriter, humorist, and politician Kinky Friedman. Admission is free.
The one-day literary and arts celebration offers a little something for every age group, including seven engaging discussion panels of authors who will cover topics ranging from the Houston Astros’ World Series-winning season to one of Texas’ best Honky Tonks, The Broken Spoke. Kinky Friedman will appear at 3 p.m., performing songs from his new album, Circus of Life, and sharing readings from Heroes of a Texas Childhood in the Main Plaza gazebo. Panels will take place throughout the day at Main Plaza and upstairs at the Dienger Trading Company.
In addition to panel discussions and book signings, the festival will feature several Texas publishers’ books by showcased authors available for purchase, and a special “Family Campfire” area where appearances by Clifford the Big Red Dog will delight readers of all ages and provide fun photo opportunities alongside storytelling and hands-on crafts led by professional artists.
“We’re excited to have such a unique venue to showcase amazing Texas talent and also Boerne’s vibrant arts community,” said Kelly Skovbjerg, director of the Patrick Heath Public Library. “Our festival truly has something for everyone, from the avid reader to the sports enthusiast, to those interested in Hill Country history and conservation.”
Featured panelists include Diana Lopez, author of the novelization of Disney’s motion picture; James White, owner of the Broken Spoke; Emma Virjan, author of the Pig in a Wig series; legal thriller and mystery author Jay Brandon, and many more.
For more information please contact Caren Creech at creech@boernelibrary.org or (830) 249-3053, or visit the festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BoerneBookFestival/
(Information from organization’s press release and website)
IN MEMORIAM | TEXAS LITERARY LIGHTS
Debra Winegarten 1958–2018
Read Lone Star Literary Life’s 2017 interview with author Debra Winegarten here:
6.4.2017 Words of wisdom from Austinite Debra L. Winegarten
Debra Lou Winegarten was born in Dallas on December 29, 1957 to Ruthe and Alvin Winegarten, and passed from this life on September 10, 2018, the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5779. Debra was an author, publisher, educator, flutist, and all-around rabble-rousing feminist who delighted in inspiring and challenging others.
Winegarten received her undergraduate education at Texas Woman’s University, where she discovered her passion for sociology. She appreciated the skill and confidence that came from her experiences at TWU, and she served as president of the Austin TWU Alumni chapter for several years. Winegarten received her master’s in sociology from The Ohio State University, and taught sociology at the college level, most recently at South University and The Art Institute, both in Austin. She also founded Sociosights Press, whose mission is to publish books that “transform society one story at a time,” in accordance with the principles of tikkun olam.
Winegarten reveled in being a Jew in Texas; she found comfort and inspiration in the practice of Judaism, and was a member of Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin. A third-generation Dallasite, Winegarten pursued a strong interest in Jewish history that her to become involved in the Texas Jewish Historical Society, where she took on leadership positions, including a term as president. She made a point of visiting Jewish historical sites wherever she traveled, from Cairo, Egypt to Dublin, Ireland and Waco, Texas.
Winegarten authored a number of books, specializing in biography and poetry, and her work garnered many awards. Her titles include There’s Jews in Texas?, Where Jewish Grandmothers Come From, Oveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist, Katherine Stinson: The Flying Schoolgirl, and, with Zvi Yaniv, My Life on the Mysterious Island of Nanotechnology. In June 2018, she was awarded Sarah Patton Stipend for non-fiction at The Writer’s Hotel for her memoir-in-progress.
Winegarten was especially proud of the books she published via Sociosights Press. Among its titles are the award-winning children’s book Almost a Minyan, written by Lori S. Kline and illustrated by Susan Simon, and Faces of the Matriarchs: An Artistic Depiction of Women in Genesis by Melanie Lewis, which was released while Debra was in hospice.
Winegarten leaves behind many who have been delighted and inspired by her. She was fond of saying it took three blackboards to draw out her family tree, and her extended family is large. She was predeceased by her mother, Ruthe Winegarten, father Alvin Winegarten, sister Martha Wilson, and stepmother Phyllis Putter, and is survived by her devoted wife, Cindy Huyser, her brother, Marc Sanders, uncle Larry Lewin, and her siblings Susan Picard, Josh Putter, Alan Putter, and David Putter as well as by her cats Orange Julious, Keyboard, and Sheina. At the time of her death, she was employed by the University of Texas, where she identified herself as the “first undersecretary of the American Astronomical Society.”
Donations in Winegarten’s honor may be made to the Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women’s History (www.womenintexashistory.org/support/), or to a charity that provides service to pets or to the homeless.
Graveside services were held Thursday, September 13 in the Agudas Achim Section of Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. Online guestbook and obituary are available at AustinNaturalFunerals.com. May her memory be for a blessing.
(Obituary edited from AustinNaturalFunerals.com)
Same Page Book Festival issues call for authors
DECATUR — The Decatur (Texas) Public Library has issued a call for authors to take part in the Same Page Book Festival. The event will take place on Saturday, September 29, 2018 from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the library, located at 1700 Highway 51 South in Decatur. Events will include an author fair for book sales and signings and author panels for readers and writers. The closing keynote speakers will be Carol and Doug Hutchison, authors of Behind the Texas Badge.
Authors who would like to participate should contact Decatur Public Library Director Patricia Peters at (940) 393-0290. For more information, visit www.decaturpubliclibrary.com
(Information from organization’s press release and website)
Nominations open for Texas State Artists
AUSTIN — “There is a government code that says that the legislature will name a Texas poet laureate, a state musician, and then state visual artists—one in two-dimensional art and one in three-dimensional art,” says Anina Moore with the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Moore says artists don’t receive money for this honor but there are other benefits. “We do see some recipients able to market themselves more widely or become invited to festivals and other events based on the fact that they’ve been named as state poet laureate or visual artist, things like that.”
(Editorial aside: While being named a “Texas State Artist” is certainly an honor, plumbers are paid for their work; accountants are paid for their work; crop dusters are paid for their work. Artists of all sorts are expected to work for free, for exposure, for “things like that.”)
Nominees must:
- be native Texans or five-year residents of the state
- have received recognition for a high level of excellence and success in their discipline
- have received critical reviews in state, regional or national publications.
The Texas State Artists nomination process is open through October 15, 2018. Texans can nominate multiple artists for Texas State Artist, and artists can nominate themselves. Moore says that during the last nomination period, the commission received 300 unique nominations.
For more information and a nomination form, visit https://txoriginal.com/
(Information compiled from media reports)
4th Annual Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop set for Oct. 13-14
Now in its fourth year, the Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop annual event will feature writing coaches, agents, and publishers from around the country, October 13-14, 2018.
The two-day workshop event will be held in Midland, at the Marie Hall Academic Building at Midland College.
The workshop will feature ten speakers, including Margie Lawson, Christie Craig, Manning Wolfe, David Farland, Reavis Z. Wortham, Kristen Marten, Stephen Graham Jones, Donna M. Johnson, B. Alan Bourgeois and Arlene Gale.
Twenty-one workshop topics will be covered, including deep editing techniques, character building, writing a thriller, how to launch your writing career quickly and marketing, renegade style.
The Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is organized by the Permian Basin Bookies in collaboration Midland College.
For more information, visit www.permianbasinwritersworkshop.org
(Information from organization’s press release)
