Allende, Meacham, Benson at ticketed events this week at Austin’s BookPeople

Many new books of Texas interest are out this month—and authors of several of them will make tour stops at BookPeople this week. Tickets for these high-demand events are available in the store, 603 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, 78703, (512) 472-5050, or at www.bookpeople.com.

Isabel Allende

Bestselling Author Isabel Allende will be in conversation with Antonio Ruiz-Camacho about her new novel The Japanese Lover (Atria Books, November 2015) Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.

Tickets to this event include a pre-signed copy of The Japanese Lover. Allende will speak and take questions; there will be no public signing. Priority seating at this event will be reserved for the first 100 ticket holders. Standing room will be available.

Tickets cost $30.31, including tax, and are now available in-store and via

Allende’s books, all written in her native Spanish, have been translated into more than 35 languages and have sold more than 65 million copies. The Japanese Lover is a love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War.

Jon Meacham

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham will be speaking and signing Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush (Random House, November 2015) Tues., Nov. 17, at 7 p.m.

Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion, turns his eye to recent president and Texas resident George Herbert Walker Bush in his most recent book. He paints a vivid and affecting portrait of a man from the Greatest Generation. The speaking portion of this event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the signing and are available only with the purchase of a copy of Destiny and Power from BookPeople.

Ray Benson

Grammy Award–winning cofounder of Asleep at the Wheel Ray Benson will be speaking and signing Comin’ Right at Ya: How a Jewish Yankee Hippie Went Country, Or the Often Outrageous History of Asleep at the Wheel (University of Texas Press, October 2015) Wed., Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.

A six-foot-seven-inch Jewish hippie from Philadelphia starts a Western swing band in 1970, when country fans hate hippies and Western swing. It sounds like a joke, but more than forty years, twenty-five albums, and nine Grammy Awards later, Asleep at the Wheel is still drawing crowds around the world.

The speaking portion of this event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the signing and are only available with the purchase of a copy of Comin' Right at Ya from BookPeople.

Benson cofounded Asleep at the Wheel in 1970 and is the only remaining original band member. When he isn’t playing with the Wheel, he’s producing records, TV shows, and commercials; acting in movies; doing voiceover work; running a studio; and raising funds for numerous charities. He was named Official Texas State Musician in 2004 and Texan of the Year in 2011.

(Information from organization’s website)

Writers’ League of Texas offers group write-ins throughout November

Whether you are doing NaNoWriMo or just need a kick in the pants to finally finish that draft, this is the opportunity for you. One ticket for $25 gets you admittance to all write-in sessions. Come to as many as you need and stay as long as you can. There are 15 different sessions at three different locations.

Each session will provide quiet, chairs, tables, and fellow understanding writers. (WLT staff may even surprise you with complimentary coffee on occasion.) A WLT staff person or volunteer will be present at each one, but there will be no planned instruction, no speeches, no exercises — just quiet time to work!

There are still seats available for this momth's remaining events; feel free to show up and register at the door. If you have questions, please call the Writers’ League of Texas at 512-499-8914.

ACC Highland Campus

Rm. 2219, 6101 Airport Blvd., Austin TX 78752

• Sun., Nov. 15, 12:00-3:00 pm
• Mon., Nov. 16, 6:00-9:00 pm
• Wed., Nov. 18, 6:00-9:00 pm
• Mon., Nov. 23, 6:00-9:00 pm
• Mon., Nov. 30, 6:00-9:00 pm

St. Edward's University

Trustee Hall Rm. 303, 3001 S. Congress Ave., Austin TX 78704

• Sat., Nov. 21, 1 pm to 4 pm

(Information from the Writers’ League of Texas)

Sachse Public Library offers NaNoWriMo opportunities

That recurring dream of walking across the stage and accepting the National Book Award for the novel you wrote in just one month could actually happen, says Sachse Library manager Mignon Morse. “It’s possible,” she said. “There just may be that exceptional writer out there.”

The Sachse Public Library is participating in the National Novel Writing Month campaign, providing support, guidance, inspiration, and motivation to local writers and non-writers who participate in the unique program. The month-long campaign, known as NaNoWriMo, encourages would-be novelists to start writing their novel on Nov. 1 and complete their 50,000 words manuscript by midnight, Nov. 30.

“We’ll be offering support in several ways,” said Morse. “In addition to being their principal cheerleaders, we will also offer some specific assistance in the way of speakers and workshops. And, of course, we are always available as the perfect place to write.”

The library is located on the grounds of the Sachse Municipal Complex, 3815 Sachse Road, Building C, adjacent to Sachse City Hall. Directions can be obtained by calling 972-530-8966 or by visiting www.cityofsachse.com/library.

Last year, the NaNoWriMo program attracted over 325,000 participants worldwide who started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle-school English teachers and walked away novelists.

Over 250 NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published. They include Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Hugh Howey’s Wool, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Jason Hough’s The Darwin Elevator, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.

That recurring dream may finally come true. Now comes the question, what will you wear?

Events to come:

November 16, at 6 pm: Lost and Found: Has Anyone Seen Where My Plot Went? Author Michelle Munzeler will  help with motivation as you have reached the halfway point of the month of November. Also, there will be time for writing afterwards.

November 23, at 6 pm: Library Program Room open to those who would like to have some time to brain storming with fellow writers or just a new space to be able to write. (Please bring your own electronic device for writing.)

November 30, at 6 pm: Library Program Room open to those who would like to have some time to brain storming with fellow writers or just a new space to be able to write to have that final push to finish your story by 11:59 pm. (Please bring your own electronic device for writing.)

(Information from organization's press release)