Jack Myers, professor of English at Southern Methodist University and Texas Poet Laureate for 2003-2004, passed away on November 23. Jack won the Writers’ League’s 2001 Violet Crown Book Award for The Glowing River: New & Selected Poems. He was also the chairman of the Writer’s Garret in Dallas, which he co-founded with his wife, Thea Temple.

The Writers’ League sends our condolences to Jack’s family and the Writer’s Garret.

Here’s more on Jack:

JACK MYERS, Professor of English and creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, was the author of eighteen books of and about poetry. His most recent collections included Routine Heaven; the college textbook, The Poet’s Portable Workshop; and The Glowing River: New & Selected Poems, winner of the 2001 Violet Crown Award for “Best Literary” book in Texas. Other popular titles were OneOnOne; Blindsided (winner of the 1993 Texas Institute of Letters Award–his second TIL); and an anthology of contemporary poetry co-edited with Roger Weingarten, New American Poets. Jack’s many honors included two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts; multiple university residencies; 1st place in the National Poetry Series; and selection as the 2003-04 Poet Laureate of Texas. Jack served as the co-Vice-President for Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) from 1993-95, as well as Chairman of The Writer’s Garret, a Dallas literary center founded by his wife Thea Temple. Jack’s writing lives on, seeking to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary by fusing Eastern influences to Jungian psychology, while being grounded in an ironic humor and working class sensibility.

Relax and Prepare for the New Year with Saundra Goldman

Saundra Goldman

(Advanced reservations must be made through the Writers’ League.)

This winter’s retreat will help you set the tone for the season with a day of writing practice and meditation. While the media tells us to shop, party and overeat, the Earth gives us a different message, that it is time to withdraw, to go under. May Sarton wrote that, “Winter is the season when both animals and humans strip down to the marrow.”

Topics and exercises at the retreat are designed to help you go deep inside yourself, to strip to the marrow, and get grounded for the weeks and months ahead.

A macrobiotic lunch is included in the registration price. We will be breaking for lunch, so students also have the option to leave campus and purchase food during that time.

Open to all levels of writers.

Who Should Attend?

• Anyone interested in starting a writing practice
• Writers who want to deepen their writing experience
• Students of past “Build a Writing Practice” classes

Writer and art historian Dr. Saundra Goldman brings years of experience in writing practice, including intensive study with Natalie Goldberg. Her short stories, essays, and reviews have been published in literary journals, museum catalogs, textbooks, anthologies, and professional journals, including Art News, New Art Examiner, Art Papers, Theater and Drama Review, and the Texas Observer. She also served as art critic to the Austin American-Statesman and the Austin Chronicle. She is currently writing a book about the feminist performance artist and sculptor Hannah Wilke.

Interested? Register here.

Just in case we have any filmmakers in our Writers’ League midst:

Faces of Austin is conducting its 3rd Call for Entries!

MARY Magazine is in search of great work to publish! They’re sending out a last-minute call for poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and art for their Winter Issue.  Writers selected for standard publication are awarded $50. The NouVeau section, which is dedicated to unpublished, emerging writers, are not paid.

Deadline: December 1
There is no fee to submit.

MARY Magazine is the online arts journal sponsored by Saint Mary’s College of California’s MFA in Creative Writing program. Since 2002, MARY has published contemporary poetry, prose, and new media arts from a diverse group of established artists and talented emerging writers. MARY Magazine has conducted interviews with award-winning writers.

Student-run, MARY Magazine grants MFA candidates the opportunity to work on all aspects of a small-press literary journal, while publishing some of the Bay Area’s most prestigious writers and writing.

When you’re ready to submit, email MARY your work.

Interested? Check out their site.

You’re Invited!

Come celebrate the holidays with us and fellow Writers’ League members! We’ll enjoy complimentary appetizers and the cash bar at Nuevo Leon Restaurant, and then we’ll raffle a few writer-worthy prizes.

The price of entry is one raffle ticket ($5 each or $20 for 5 tickets) either purchased at the door or contact the Writers’ League to purchase tickets prior to the event. You do not need to be present at the party to receive the raffle prizes. The only prize you must be present to win is the WLT Agents’ Conference registration. Please contact us if you have any questions about the event!

RAFFLE PRIZES INCLUDE:

• One free registration for the 2010 WLT Agents Conference (must be present to win)
• One free session with an agent at the 2010 WLT Agents Conference OR $50 towards any WLT class
• Two hour Social Media consultation (courtesy Nettie Hartsock)
• Dinner for 6 with Angela Shelf Medearis (courtesy Frances Townsend)
• Italian dinner with H. W. Brands (courtesy Louis Brusatti)
• Two hours of editing (courtesy Sheila Allee)
• $50 Gift Certificate from BookPeople
• A two-hour publicity consultation with Jennifer Hill Robenalt of Hoopla Media

For more information, visit our website.

Monthly Program from our “Build a Book” Series

Tweed Scott

David Marion Wilkinson

You’ve written your book, landed at a publisher, and now it’s time to meet your public at book signings and events. Authors who’ve been there will share their experience about how to prepare for readings and signings; plus, we’ll hear from a bookseller to see what works from the store’s perspective. Arrive early; seats fill up fast!

Panelist: president of the WLT Board of Directors, Tweed Scott and public relations specialist, David Marion Wilkinson.

Please join us beforehand 5 – 7 PM at Doc’s Motorworks Bar & Grill, 1123 S. Congress (two blocks south of the WLT office) for a Mix and Mingle Happy Hour!

John Pipkin presents how to create a successful pitch!

John Pipkin

This two-part class is designed to teach you how to write a concise, interesting, one-page synopsis of your novel or nonfiction book and how to compose a pitch-perfect query letter that will attract the attention of an agent. Whether you are just starting to write your book or have already finished writing, this class will help you see how the synopsis and query can not only help you sell your manuscript but can also help you develop and polish your work.

The class format will be primarily lecture with some in-class writing assignments and opportunities for class discussion and Q&A. Students will not be required to share work or critique work in class, although students are always welcome to share portions of their synopsis and query if they wish to do so.

By the end of class, each student will walk away with the following:

• a completed a synopsis
• a completed query letter
• a written critique from the instructor of their synopsis and query
• an understanding of what agents are looking for in the synopsis and query
• insights into how the synopsis and query can help you develop, edit, and polish your manuscript
• a written critique from the instructor to help him/her polish the synopsis and query

John Pipkin’s first novel, Woodsburner, was published to national acclaim by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday in April 2009 and recently sold his second novel to Doubleday based on just a query and synopsis. Woodsburner very recently won the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize! John received his Ph.D. in British Literature from Rice University in 1997 and was an Assistant Professor of Humanities and Rhetoric at Boston University, before working as an editor and content specialist in educational publishing. He is the former Executive Director of the Writers’ League of Texas.

This class is already very full, so please contact the office before registering. Or you can risk it and go ahead to register here. If the class reaches its limit, we will notify the registered students about potential cancellations.

November is National Novel Writing Month!

The goal is to write 50,000 words by the end of November. (Learn more about this fun and painstaking goal at the NaNoWriMo website!)

Wrimos are almost two weeks into their novels by this point. We know it can get stressful. Maybe it’s starting to feel like the end is nowhere near? Well, we believe in our Wrimos! The goal may seem unattainable, but it is perfectly attainable.

The WLT is hosting NaNoWriMo related events all throughout the month. Feel more than free to stop by our office, meet other Wrimos, and write non stop!

NaNoWriMo

Friday the 13th Lockdown

Come join fellow Wrimos for a “killer” all-nighter on November 13 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. here at the WLT offices. We’ll also snack, socialize a little, and play a game or two. The 12-hour lockdown is a great way to boost your word count.

Please:

• Be a registered NaNoWriMo participant
• Be actively working on a novel
• Be 18 or older – this is required by the Writers League insurance company
• Plan to stay the whole twelve hours – that’s why it’s called a lockdown!
• RSVP to receive the secret password.

Space is limited.

RSVP is first-come, first-served. Once we’re full, we’re full. After that, we’ll start a waiting list. If you RSVP and then can’t make it, please let us know so someone else can take your place. Please don’t show up without the password!

What you’ll need to bring/do:

• Bring potluck snacks to share during the long, long night
• Wear comfortable clothes, and bring a sweater in case it gets chilly
• If you think you’ll need a nap, bring a pillow/blankie
• Bring headphones – please make sure the sound doesn’t bleed through
• Arrive by 7 pm if possible. We’ll post the phone number at the door for emergency late arrivals.

No drugs or alcohol allowed.

What we’ll provide:

• Liquids – sodas, water, tea, and coffee, ice (there is also a soda machine in the building)
• Extension cords and surge protectors (though it wouldn’t hurt to bring one if you have it)
• Tables, chairs, and one small couch
• Access to the internet for folks who just can’t write without it
• Access to the Writers’ League library

Last Chance Write-In
November 30 from 9 a.m. to midnight. Use your final writing hours wisely by spending them at our WLT offices.

Additional NaNoWriMo Support
If you are a WLT member who receives the official NaNoWriMo Certificate of Completion, the WLT will give you 50% off of the submission fee for WLT manuscript contest.

Best wishes to our Wrimos!

Learn Effective Interviewing Skills with Suzy Spencer

Suzy Spencer

Effective interviewing is an art form essential to the success of all writers — whether you’re doing research for a novel or nonfiction book; writing newspaper, magazine, or journal articles; preparing your thesis or dissertation; creating web content; blogging; or promoting your own book.

In fact, if a writer doesn’t know what questions to ask, how to ask or answer them, as well as how to listen to glean information that no one else has, the writer could miss key opportunities to make an even better book, story, or article.

New York Times best selling author Suzy Spencer, a professional in the techniques of interviewing, will teach the course through lecture, discussion, and role-playing. This two-session class will teach writers how to prepare for an interview, how to conduct an interview, how to turn a bad interview into a good one, and how to follow-up after an interview.

The information from this class is useful for everyone, but especially if you are: a freelance writer or journalist who wants to bump up your interview skills to excel in a tight market, a blogger who wants to add original reporting to your blog, an authors who is — or who plans to be — interviewed to promote a book, or an author interviewing prospective agents and/or publishers.

Interested? Register here.

The Writers’ League of Texas will be at the Texas Book Festival this weekend. We will be located at booths 122 & 123 in the exhibits tent on Colorado between 12th and 13th streets.

Four Reasons Why You Should Stop by the WLT Booth:

1) Consider this an opportunity to meet and mingle with other literati-lovers in Texas. We know we’d love to meet you. Stop by and say hi!

2) This serves as a nice time for you to meet our new staff: Publicity and Programming Manager Jan Baumer, Office Manager Bethany Hegedus, and Bookkeeper Kate Meehan. We’re delighted to have these intelligent ladies working with us. Come welcome them!

3) We’re lucky to have WLT members who will be in our booth signing their books, click here to learn more about the member book signings. Come get your book signed!

4) We’ll be announcing the 2009 Book Awards winners! The ceremony will take place 3:30 Saturday in Room E.026 at the State Capital Extension. Come honor the winners and finalists!