Texas Pages

Brock Clarke, who appears in Dallas tonight, says his Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England was an attempt to write a novel that plays with the memoir genre. But as he points out, "Who can tell the difference these days?"

Along those lines, here's an interview that Hillel Itale of the Associated Press conducted with James Frey:

Joe Nick Patoski will be signing Willie Nelson: An Epic Life 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 20 at Borders, Preston Road at Royal Lane. He'll also appear 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 at Borders, 4601 West Freeway in Fort Worth.

(You can still read our review and an excerpt from the book.)

I wrote Joe Nick and asked him how the book is doing. Here's some of what he had to say:

Joy Tipping spoke with Brock Clarke ahead of his appearance with "Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art" tomorrow. We'll have that story in tomorrow's GuideLive.

For those of you planning ahead, here's the review of The Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England.

And here's a complete list of the evening's activities, provided by our friends at The Dallas Museum of Art:

This just in .... Thomas Friedman will be speaking to the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth Sept. 12 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. His book Hot, Flat and Crowded, will be released in August.

Why am I telling you this now? Because tickets go on sale today.

Local writer Jenny Block is planning a release party for "Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage" 7 p.m. May 29 at Buli Cafe, 3908 Cedar Springs.

Not surprisingly, given the topic, she has been generating some national attention, from the likes of the respected Bookslut blog and even Library Journal.

She discusses the book in this YouTube video. (The video itself is tame, but the related videos on that link are of a hide-the-kids variety.)

SMU's Darryl Dickson-Carr will discus "Satire & African American Literature" 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Denton South Branch Library, 3228 Teasley Ln., Denton.

The Writer's Garret says: "Prof. Dickson- Carr will define some of the key terms needed to understand what satire is and is not, and will offer a brief outline of satire's place in African American literature. Open and interactive discussion will then explore why satire has waxed and waned at different points in time, and why it is especially important now."

Here you go, Stephenie Meyer fans -- video of the author in Frisco.

You can see additional video, and links to our story, here.

Lisa See makes an appearance 4 p.m. Tuesday (May 13) at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. Your $25 ticket includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Call 214-443-4747.

I saw Lisa speak in New York last year at Book Expo America. It was an interesting presentation. We have an excerpt from her book here. You can also read our review of her book below.

Almost lost in an e-mail outage here -- The Writer's Garret kicks off a celebration of Texas Writers month with Julianne McCullagh and Beatriz Terrazas, 7 p.m. at Paperbacks Plus
6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas.

The newly rediscovered e-mail says: "Bill Marvel will be our MC ... There will be wine and cheese to loosen our tongues, and friends, old and new, to brighten the atmosphere."

Rick Barrick files these reports:

James "Boobie" Miles (left) and author H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger recount events during the tumultuous 1988 football season at Permian High School at an event in Mansfield on April 25. Mr. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights, a nonfiction book centered on Odessa, was the subject of the One City, One Book program sponsored by the Friends of the Mansfield Public Library. Mr. Miles was the star running back of the Permian Panthers whose injury ended his football career and derailed his team's quest to win the state championship. Friday Night Lights, published in 1990, has become a film and a current television show.

First lady Laura Bush and her daughter, Jenna Bush, add their signatures Wednesday to the book they wrote, "Read All About It." The Bushes appeared at the Borders store at Preston Road and Royal Lane beginning at about 6:25 p.m. Borders issued about 800 wristbands that entitled each holder to as many as three signed books. The store began passing out wristbands at 9 a.m., but the rush of buyers caused Borders to ran out of books temporarily at about 10 a.m. More books arrived shortly afterward.

Author Stephenie Meyer has a huge teen following for her "Twilight Saga" vampire novels. She's hoping to win adult fans with The Host, which she'll sign 2 p.m. Saturday at Frisco's Centennial High School. Here's the catch: You have to buy the book at Barnes & Noble, Stonebriar Centre, to get tickets. The store is allocating 1,000 tickets, one ticket per book, one book per person. So everybody who wants a ticket must be present at time of purchase. It's available at 7 a.m. Tuesday. For details, call 972-668-2820.

Here's a reminder that "Hecho en Tejas" is coming to town Saturday.

And two tickets are available for the claiming by e-mailing me at mmerschel@dallasnews.com.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger visited the Mansfield Public Library on April 26 and offered a lively discussion on life, the economy, the Olympics, and most of all, Friday Night Lights, the book he wrote that chronicles a season in the life of the Odessa Permian High School football team. He also brought along a friend, former Permian running back James "Boobie" Miles, whose story forms the emotional core of the book Sports Illustrated ranked as the fourth-greatest book ever written about sports.

For photos from the Mansfield Reads! event, visit neighborsgo.com. For the neighborsgo story, take a look here.

Catch mega-selling author Mary Higgins Clark Monday morning on "Good Morning Texas," which airs at 9 a.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8.)

Later in the week, GMT has scheduled comedian Chelsea Handler, who will be in town to sign the memorably titled "Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea?" 7 p.m. Friday at Borders, Preston Road at Royal Lane.

If there was any doubt that Texas author Rick Riordan was hitting it big with kids with his Percy Jackson series (which started with The Lightning Thief), the author has just signed a multi-book deal with Disney Publishing Worldwide which includes a new, original fantasy series. In the meantime, a 1 million copy first printing has been announced for the fourth in the projected five book series about a boy who discovers his father is Poseidon (yes, the Greek god of the sea). Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth comes out Tuesday, May 6. I've got an advance copy in hand and Greek god fan that I am, I'm thoroughly getting into it...And while Mr. Riordan won't be in town for the big release, his cousin Minette Riordan, will be at the Barnes & Noble at 7700 West Northwest Highway Tuesday, May 6 from 4 to 5 p.m. to read from the book and host lots of myth-themed activities. Call 214-739-1124 for information.

The Black Academy of Arts and Letters plans a discussion of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart at its African Thinkers Roundtable Writers Breakfast 10 a.m. Saturday at the Dallas Convention Center Theatre Complex (at the corner of Canton and Akard Streets), Room T-203. $10 for the breakfast buffet. The box office can be reached at 214-743-2400.

If you are planning to see Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas-Mexican Literature in Dallas 7:30 p.m. May 3 at the Latino Cultural Center, you should probably act quickly in one of two ways.

Organizers tell me they are expecting the event to sell out. So if you want to see Tony Díaz, Joel Garza, Dagoberto Gilb, Tammy Gomez, Christine Granados, Macarena Hernández, Diana López and Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, as well as musicians Santiago Jimenez Jr. and David Garza, you should call Ed Gonzales at 214-671-0045. Tickets are $5-$15.

But if you act really quickly, our friends in the Hecho crew are graciously providing two free tickets to readers of Texas Pages. Just be the first to e-mail me at mmerschel@dallasnews.com.

For those wondering what the fuss is, here's a review of the book.

Check out Joyce Sáenz Harris' story about the Market Street Book Club here.

I know that many of you have been enjoying Michael Grabell's "Morning Verse" selections.

So be sure to catch him, along with Jack Myers, Tammy Gomez and Charlot Nace at The Writer's Garret's National Poetry Month Reading 7 p.m. Friday at Paperbacks Plus 6115 La Vista Dr.

The Friends of the Mansfield Public Library will present "Friday Night Lights" author H.G. Bissinger at 6 p.m. Friday as part of the organization's One City, One Book program. The Pulitzer Prize winner will speak and sign copies of his books. A very limited number of tickets are available for this free event. Mr. Bissinger also will host a writer's workshop on Saturday. Call 817-453-2273 for information.

(Thanks to Rick Barrick for noting this.)

Here's more from Rick Barrick:

Texas author Joe Nick Patoski takes questions Tuesday afternoon from "Think" program host Krys Boyd at the KERA-FM studio . They talked about Mr. Patoski's new book, "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life." (Here is the GuideLive review and excerpt.)

(UPDATED -- another KERA personality, not Ms. Boyd, called the book "exhaustively researched" and "567 pages of greatness.")

From roving blog photographer Rick Barrick:

Jasper Honaker of Midlothian and daughter Samantha talk with Herschel Walker Tuesday night at Borders in Dallas as the former Dallas Cowboys running back signed a copy of his book, "Breaking Free." The book is about football, but mostly about Mr. Walker's struggles with dissociative identity disorder, which caused him to have multiple, alternate personalities. The Heisman Trophy winner will also sign books at 2 p.m. Saturday at Sam's Club, Market Place Boulevard in Irving, and at 6:30 p.m. May 6 at the TCU Bookstore in Fort Worth.

When the members of the Texas Institute of Letters gather, it's always a remarkable collection of people. I doubt they've ever gathered amid a collection as remarkable as the one tonight.

Tomorrow, the venerable institution's annual awards will be given; you'll be able to find a list of winners right here. Tonight, their reception was held at the private library of businessman Harlan Crow.

I was aware of Mr. Crow's interesting taste in statuary -- he owns a collection of fallen communist leaders that he has arranged along an tree-shaded walkway. It's known as the "Garden of Evil." (A massive head of Winston Churchill stands in a sunny space near the garden -- "On the high ground," Mr. Crow noted to me.)

And I was prepared to see some interesting historic bric-a-brac befitting a zillionaire. Dallas historian Darwin Payne wrote in the TIL newsletter that the library contains artifacts such as Eisenhower's five-star helmet, a silver tankard created by Paul Revere, the deed to George Washington's Mount Vernon estate and paintings by Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Rembrandt Peale and more.

But that was just the beginning.

David Taylor sends along this link to the presentation made by Robert Michael Pyle, keynote speaker at last Friday's conference. (It opens with RealPlayer.)

David himself has a new book of poetry, Praying Up the Sun. He'll be giving a reading 7 p.m. Saturday at Salon Mijangos, 1906 S. Flores in San Antonio.

I slipped away this morning to catch the first half of "Writing a Wide Land -- Writing a Wide Land: A Conference on Texas Nature Writing."

More on that later. But first, a reminder that you can catch a Webcast of speaker Robert Michael Pyle this evening at 6 p.m. Central time at the conference homepage.