Friday Filler: Literary Links

Author Rachel Caine is ArmadilloCon's guest of honor this weekend.

In newspaper jargon, “filler” is a short piece used to fill a space in the publication. Here at the Writers’ League of Texas, we’re redefining that slightly: Friday Filler is going to be a regular feature in which we post interesting links about publishing, books, the craft of writing, resources, contests, calls for submission, plus literary events around and about Texas. We also want to include news from our members. So when you submit Member News items for Footnotes, we’ll also include them here.

So onward with our first Friday Filler!

Writer’s Resources

The WLT’s August Third Thursday program with author Chris Barton and publicists Lisa Lawrence and Marilyn Carter came up with a great list of tools authors can use for publicity and social media:

For more details, see “Third Thusday Outtakes.” And if you missed the program, you can watch the video! We’ve just posted videos of the program on the WLT’s YouTube Channel — look for “Your PR Team,” clips 1-10.

Author Publicity Opportunity

CityRoom.com is beginning a series on interesting, young (under 35) authors of literary fiction. English must be their primary language. While it is important that their books have received some level of critical acclaim, we are looking for authors who lead interesting lives. Each segment will be about 500 – 700 words, with photos. Contact Dennis Payne at query-jqs@helpareporter.com

Texas Literary Events

  • Tom Grimes, director of Texas State University’s MFA program, signs Mentor: A Memoir at 7 p.m. tonight (Aug. 27) at Barnes & Noble at the Arboretum in Austin — more details are here
  • ArmadilloCon 32 runs today through Sunday (Aug. 27-29) at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. If you’re into scifi/fantasy, beam yourself on up — great authors, great books, great conversation.$50 for the entire weekend. More details are here.

Member News

  • George Arnold’s (Fredericksburg) new novel, ENIGMA: A Mystery, written with Ken Squier, will be released September 1. Barnes & Noble in the River Oaks Shopping Center in Houston will host a release party forĀ  the novel on Sept. 24.

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Third Thursday Outtakes

The WLT had another great Third Thursday “Build Your Buzz” panel on Aug. 19. Publicists/marketing mavens Marilyn Carter and Lisa Lawrence joined author Chris Barton for “Your PR Team.” Here are some quick outtakes (note the list of resources at the bottom of this post!):

  • Tips for developing your marketing plan:
    • Who’s your audience?
    • What’s your product (book)?
    • What’s your objective/purpose?
    • What’s your elevator pitch describing you and your book?
    • What media and information channels can Continue reading