Texas Pages

Book lovers and aspiring writers, mark your calendars for the upcoming Best Southwest Bookfest, scheduled for March 27-29 at the Cedar Hill Rec Center. Most author events are free, but there is a charge to attend some of the writers' workshops and author lunches and dinners. The event is sponsored by the public libraries in Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville and Lancaster and the UNT Dallas Campus Library.

Find a schedule, ticket information, directions and information on participating authors here.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers in New York, Laura Bush today called books her "greatest love affair" and warned that a "nation that does not read for itself cannot think for itself," The Associated Press says.
She cited such fictional characters as the Brothers Karamazov and "an intriguing man named Gatsby" and worried that many Americans had never heard of them.
"A nation that does not read for itself cannot think for itself and a nation that cannot think for itself risks losing both its identity and its freedom," she said. She called the passion for reading "learned behavior that should be taught at home and at schools."

You don't have to have voted for her husband to appreciate her literacy efforts. And as I've said before, I'm hoping that the rumors of the Bushes' pending relocation to Dallas are true -- because I would love to see her jump-start the local book scene.

It's a big day for punditry -- and we're not even talking about last night's primary results. We're discussing fallout from "Love and Consequences" by Margaret B. Jones, who turns out to have been Margaret Seltzer, and a very creative liar.

I think Bob Thompson of The Washington Post wins the award for succinct sanctimony with his memo:

To: The publishing industry.

Two words: Fact check!

Also weighing in from a journalistic angle, the Romenesko page at Poynter.org cites a courant.com column by Colin McEnroe that says someone needs to look into The New York Times' handling of the book:

"One has to think it has something to do with Seltzer's editor, Sarah McGrath, who worked for three years on this book without ever noticing that it was 100 percent hooey and who is the daughter of Times writer-at-large Charles McGrath. .... the Times kind of covers up who he really is -- the editor emeritus of the Times Book Review."

The Times had its own story on how everyone was duped.

The North Texas Romance Writers of America is marking it's 25th anniversary with something special. Something with yearning. Something that will gaze into your eyes an pierce you to the soul, igniting a passion that ...

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. But if you're a romance fan, help yourself to a copy of Love, Texas Style, an anthology of 12 short-story romances, all set in Texas. The writers all live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It's available now as an e-book and will be in print later this month.