The Google Settlement: Opt Out or Stay In?

We’re just as puzzled by authors as to what the Google Book Settlement really means for them and whether they should or should not opt out of the settlement. Although the Writers’ League of Texas cannot advise our members one way or another, we can provide some resources to help authors make an informed decision.

O. Henry Museum inaugural Short Story Master Class

Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Love Stories in This Town, will teach the inaugural Short Story Master Class at the O. Henry Museum, in Austin, Saturday, October 3rd and Saturday, October 17th. Students will leave the two-part class with a finished story that will be judged by a Texas Book Festival author for the chance to be acknowledged at the festival and published on the O. Henry Museum website. More information can be found by going here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ohenry/programs.htm.

Goodbye to a Gentleman of Texas Letters

Elmer Kelton, one of Texas’ most prolific and beloved authors, passed away on Saturday. Here’s a link to the story in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

He was the author of more than 40 books, including The Time it Never Rained, The Wolf and the Buffalo, The Day the Cowboys Quit, and The Good Old Boys, which became a TV movie directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. Kelton was named the number-one Western writer of all time by the Western Writers of America and won seven WWA Spur Awards. The Texas Book Festival honored Mr. Kelton in 2003 with the Bookend Award.

The family requests that donations be made to the giver’s favorite charity or the Tom Green County Library’s Elmer Kelton statue fund through the San Angelo Area Foundation at 2201 Sherwood Way, Suite 205, San Angelo, TX 76901-3081.

Update: Here’s a great tribute on The New Yorker’s “Book Bench” blog.

“Glimmer Train” Short Fiction Deadline Is August 31

Got a short story in you? Check out Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers.

Deadline: August 31, 2009

Prizes:

• 1st place wins $1,200, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies.
• 2nd-place: $500 and possible publication.
• 3rd-place: $300 and possible publication.

Reading fee: $15 per story.

Results post on October 31, 2009. Winning story will be published in Issue 77.

Other considerations:

• Open only to writers whose fiction has not appeared in any print publication with a circulation over 5,000. (Entries, of course, must be unpublished.)
• Stories not to exceed 12,000 words.

To submit, click here.

August Meeting Is TONIGHT!

Tonight is the Writers’ League’s monthly happy hour and meeting. Tonight’s program in Austin is “Legal Mumbo Jumbo: The Ins and Outs of Contracts” with a media attorney and CPA. Details are here.

And don’t forget the happy hours in Austin and Houston:

• Doc’s Motorworks in Austin (5-7 p.m.)
• Cafe Express at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (5:30-7:30 p.m.)

Hope to see you there!

Kristy’s Magical Discovery

Here are a couple of web resources you may need to look into:

1. McSweeny’s
2. Fiction Factor
   
3. Everyone Who’s Anyone

Come to the monthly program tomorrow, say hi, and check out the office! You know members get to check books out of our robust lending library, right?

Kristy’s Magical Discovery

Heads up – the Texas Book Festival exhibitor booth price jumps after the first of September. If you’re thinking about selling your book (and roping in a fellow author to defray the cost) now’s the time to jump on it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Also, the next WLT happy hour will be held…drumroll please….inside! Doc’s has tables in the crisp, dry air conditioning saved for us. Come join us for a beer or salad and lots of great writer chat!

Added Member Benefit

Writers’ League of Texas members now receive a $50 discount off the price of the 2009 Austin Film Festival conference badge or producer badge. Members will need to call the AFF office (512-478-4795) and speak with Alex McPhail in order to register with the discounts.

*Discounts are not valid with any other discount or promotional price offered by the Austin Film Festival

Film Pass-$42 (no discount)
Lonestar Badge-$95 (no discount)

Weekend Badge-$200 (regularly $225)

Conference Badge-

• Through September 28th: $300 (regularly $350)
• After September 28th: $325 (regularly $375)

Producers Badge-

• Through September 28th: $535 (regularly $585)
• After September 28th: $600 (regularly $650)

Call the AFF at 1-800-310-FEST(3378) to find out about discounted hotels and airfare. For information about the events included in each registration level please visit the AFF website at: www.austinfilmfestival.com

Subscribe to Footnotes

Footnotes is the Writers’ League’s weekly email newsletter. It’s the best way to keep up on all the goings on in the Texas writing community. To subscribe, email the office at wlt(@)writersleague.org, and put “subscribe” in the subject line.

*Remove parenthesis from the email address – they’re there to foil spambots.*

Kristy’s Magical Discovery

If you’re on LinkedIn, join the Writers’ League of Texas group. It’s a nice networking tool.

I just finished Oliver Sacks’ “An Anthropologist on Mars,” and  started “The Dancing Wu Li Masters,” by Gary Zukav. The “Wu Li” book is for book club…I’m skeptical so far.

I’m obligated to inform you that it’s my birthday which is very, very exciting.