Texas Pages

The Borders at Preston Road and Royal Lane (10720 Preston Road to be precise) will welcome former President George W. Bush 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. He'll be signing his new book, Decision Points.

Here's how the store is handling access and security:

Lori Ann Stephens will read excerpts, discuss, and sign her book, Songs of the Orange Moons 5 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the SMU Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 3060 Mockingbird Lane.

From the store's press release:

Brandon Sanderson fans have a chance to meet the author 7 p.m. Thursday Nov. 4 at Borders, 10720 Preston Road at Royal Lane, Dallas.

The specific book being promoted is Towers of Midnight. His publisher, Tor, notes that "Brandon has a huge and loyal fanbase that will turn out in spades for this event, so much so that we've organized teams of Wheel of Time fan volunteer 'Tower Guards' ... to help organize games, trivia, giveaways, and other activities for the nearly 500 strong who come out for each event. "

Actor and singer Rick Springfield signs his book, Late, Late at Night at Barnes & Noble in Dallas. (Video by NATHAN HUNSINGER/The Dallas Morning News)

See Rick Springfield again from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Books-A-Million at 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway in Grapevine.

Here's an event that almost slipped past me:

Peyton and Dorothy Budd will be signing Tested: How Twelve Wrongly Imprisoned Men Held Onto Hope 7 tonight at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway.

You can read more about the book in this column by Steve Blow.

Karl Marlantes will be signing Matterhorn 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas

We'll have an interview with him tomorrow on the books page. Meanwhile, you can read our review of the Vietnam novel that was decades in the making here.

Free tickets will be available starting 9 a.m. Friday for Sandra Brown's appearance at Barnes & Noble, 2201 Preston Road, Plano. She'll be speaking about her role in the new series on the Investigation Discovery network, Hardcover Mysteries.

Her appearance is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13. (Caveats from the store: "Ms. Brown will sign any of her books bought at the event. She will sign only two copies of backlist brought from home. Photos may be taken as the line progresses. Please, no posed photos.")

Her latest book, Tough Customer, is reviewed here.

Gary Noesner will be discussing Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Dallas, 1717 N. Akard St. (Ticket info is at www.dfwworld.org -- although as I write this, the site is down.)

Here's a review -- albeit not a particularly enthusiastic one -- from Associated Press writer Summer Moore. (He also spoke at length on NPR's Fresh Air.)

You can pick up your wristband to get Jenny McCarthy to sign your copy of Love, Lust & Faking It: The Naked Truth About Sex, Lies and True Romance starting 9 a.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Hwy.. She'll be there 7 p.m. Wednesday.

But that's not what I'm here to tell you.

I'm here to note that in addition to the usual restrictions -- You must purchase a book to receive a wristband, you must have a Barnes & Noble receipt to receive a wristband -- is this one, the first I have seen for an author event:

"... (no nude photos allowed to be signed.)"

Let me just come right out and say that I am 100 percent in favor of stopping the idea of nude author photos before the trend catches on. I mean, let's face it -- a keyboard is not a Nautilus machine. The only place we want these people stripped bare is emotionally, on the page, right?

I mean, what if this guy decided he needed to sell a few more books:

Jason Henderson, a comic book writer and novelist from Grapevine, will be touring in October to promote his book, Alex Van Helsing.

Oct 18 - 20, Jason Henderson at Irving ISD schools. IISD Students only. Jason will be meeting with students to talk about writing and books.

Friday, Oct 29, 7 - 9 p.m. Jason Henderson at Mansfield Public Library. Open to the public, Jason will be presenting on young adult novels, vampire novels and how new series are created

Tuesday, October 26, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Jason Henderson at "Frisco Reads," Heritage High School. Open to the public, with four, twenty-minute breakout opportunities include two book fairs, activities for all ages, and sessions of interest to readers and writers.

After the jump, read a feature on Jason from our summer intern, Ashleigh Heaton.

Here's a reminder that author Debra Monroe will be appearing 3 p.m. tomorrow at Barnes & Noble, 7700 West Northwest Highway.

We reviewed her book, On the Outskirts of Normal, here. And you might recall the excerpt that we published here.

The book is published by SMU Press.

Lynette Norris Wilkinson will be at Dallas' Concord Church Sunday to sign copies of her new book "UNTOLD: The New Orleans 9th Ward You Never Knew."

She's a New Orleans native who resolved to tell the story of the city's Lower 9th Ward - her part of town - after its devastation by Hurricane Katrina

The author says, "I watched the events of Hurricane Katrina unfold on TV from my home near Dallas that morning. As the flood waters rose, my heart sank."

She'll sign books at the Concord Baptist Church bookstore, 6808 Pastor Bailey Drive, after the 8 a.m. 10 a.m. and noon services. Concord is the author's church, and took in many Katrina refugees.

The book costs $13.99.

Wordspace, the Dallas literary organization that focuses on the spoken word, has announced a series of events at the Kessler Theater.

The group's press release says the series "will feature emerging and experienced writers, poets and literary artists on the second Wednesday of the month, beginning Sept. 8. The readings will dovetail with The Kessler's Residency Program concerts, so audiences can enjoy a literary experience upstairs in the gallery followed by an intimate session with the artist-in-residence downstairs."

That first event is scheduled to include Alex Lemon, Christopher Carmona, Scooter Smith and Janaka Stucky.

A reader wrote me last week to ask about an author who had been scheduled to appear at Legacy Books. I've just learned that the author, David Herlihy, author of Lost Cyclist, is planning to appear 7 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 24) at Trinity Bicycles, located at 207 S. Main St. in Fort Worth.

He's also slated to be interviewed at 1 p.m. Tuesday on KERA-FM's always fine Think.

The New York Times offers a review here.

Rock fans rejoice: Pat Benatar will be at the Uptown Borders (at 6300 Mckinney Ave.) tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. to sign copies of her memoir, Between a Heart and A Rock Place.

The event does require a wristband for entry, and only books will be signed (so don't bring your old vinyls or electric guitars.) For more information, call 214-219-0512.

Michael Merschel and staff writers Chris Vognar, Sarah Perry and Joy Tipping are at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine today through Sunday, and they're letting you know what's going on. Look for their tweets, and others', on the Mayborn below.

Actress/model/Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn is not likely to be remembered primarily as an author. But she made a memorable appearance in Dallas last night while promoting her book, Suck It, Wonder Woman! The Misadventures of a Hollywood Geek.

Staff photographer Courtney Perry, who shot this video of the event, says that the most of the reading couldn't be aired on the website of a family newspaper because of language issues.

What kind of language?

The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction conference, probably the most significant annual literary event in North Texas, opens a week from today. We plan to be blogging and tweeting away, but if you're still hoping to get there yourself, here are links:

You can see the entire Mayborn lineup via this link. Tickets can be purchased via this link.

You can purchase tickets to the Mary Karr keynote via this link. Watch for Chris Vognar's interview with Karr on Sunday's books page.

Daily Show correspondent and Oklahoma nerd goddess Olivia Munn will read from and sign Suck It, Wonder Woman: The Misadventures Of A Hollywood Geek 7 p.m. Thursday [July 15] at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway.

Here are the rules, fanboys and girls:

"Tickets will be given out the morning of her signing (Thursday, July 15th), starting at 9 am. However, in order to be given a ticket for the signing, her book MUST be bought at a Barnes & Noble store. A B & N receipt must be shown in order to get a ticket. Olivia will sign and personalize an unlimited amount of her book, Suck It Wonder Woman, and up to 3 pieces of memorabilia, in addition to posing for pictures. "

For the truly devoted -- she's having a contest where the prize is getting to hang out with her for the day. Don't sprain your wrist reaching for that mouse.

Venus Williams is appearing 2 p.m. Sunday [July 11] at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas.

The store tells me: "She will be signing, not personalizing her book, Come to Win. There is no limit for how many books she will sign. However, she will NOT be signing any memorabilia. We will be handing out tickets for the signing starting this Friday morning (July 9th) at 9 am. Also, she will allow photos to be taken from the line, but will not be posing for them. She's on a pretty tight schedule, so we'll need to keep the line moving."

Arts & Letters Live's Texas Bound series teamed up with the Dallas Theater Center for the Monday-night installment of the series of readings. DTC is presenting It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, so the theme was "Heroes and Anti-Heroes." DTC artistic director Kevin Moriarty was on hand to tell the audience how pleased he was to work with Arts & Letters, and to expect more collaboration during the 2011 festival honoring Texas playwright Horton Foote.

DTC resident acting company members Matthew Gray and Lee Trull were among the readers, with a program rounded out by Matthew Stephen Tompkins, Raphael Parry and Sally Nystuen Vahle (Vahle did a phenomenal job filling in for Harriet Harris, who was originally scheduled to read "Mother in the Trenches," but was ill). Texas Bound suspended its usual stories-with-Texas-ties theme for a broad range of heroes, anti-heroes and folks caught in between--from a professional eater to a mother who sets off to find her son in the trenches. But, as usual, the series showed the life that a single actor can bring to a piece of writing.

In honor of the Independence Day weekend, Barnes and Noble is holding an online sale on select titles. Everything listed is 45% off - including the complete seasons of Sex and the City and Naruto, cooking books, and Sudoku kits.

The offer ends soon, so get your steals online as soon as you can - they'll be gone with a boom before you know it.

Abilene is fair stretch of highway from Dallas, but if you find yourself headed that way this summer, you might be interested in "Golden Kite, Golden Dreams," an exhibit opening July 13 at the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature.

According to their press release, the exhibit will feature more than 75 pieces of artwork by the likes of Barbara Lavallee, Barbara McClintock, Don Wood and several others. The exhibit's curator is David Diaz.

It's only taken me nearly two full seasons of faithfully attending Arts & Letters Live, the Dallas Museum of Arts' amazing literary series, to fully figure out why I love it so much. Of course, every offering has, in some way, to do with books, which are the things other than pets and husband that I would save if the house was burning. I'd have to make several trips just to save the precious "keeper books" that I refuse to part with. Anyway, it occurred to me after the last two A&LL events, one with NPR's Ira Glass and the other with Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein, that I also learn an incredible amount about writing and storytelling through these sessions. It's like graduate school, without having to take the math portion of the GRE!

PHOTOS: Ira Glass (left) and Jake Silverstein, two of this season's speakers at Arts & Letters Live.

It's been less than a week since Universal Studios in Orlando opened up their newest attraction, The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter (or, as I like to call it, "Potterworld"), to the general public, but it already feels like the whole world has already visited.

I'm not sure that words can describe how much I want to be there, eating at the Three Broomsticks. Or how torn up I am that I missed the ultimate Daniel Radcliffe sighting when he and other Potter actors visited for the opening celebration on Friday. But most of all, how cool I think it is that they captured the world from my childhood and made it real.

I've never heard of a better success story for a book. Sure, it's been a bestseller and inspired a huge movie franchise, but really: how many books are popular enough to spawn a theme park?

Local author Louise Hicks will be signing A Hill to Climb: A Teenager's Battle with Cancer, Depression, and Drug Addiction 1 p.m. Saturday (June 12) at the Barnes & Noble at Irving Mall.

More information on her book is available here.

Addison's Steven Clevenger will be signing America's First Warriors: Native Americans and Iraq 7 p.m. Saturday (June 12) at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas.

The book is being released by Museum of New Mexico Press, which says that "Clevenger, a registered member of the Osage tribe, has documented numerous wars and conflicts over the past 30 years and has long been intrigued with the warrior traditions and values perpetuated by Native American service men and women. In 2006 he began a three year project following Native American soldiers into war in Iraq and back home again."

Photo is courtesy of the publisher.

Headed to New York this week for BookExpo America? Our own Michael Merschel and Chris Vognar are, and they plan to keep you updated on who they see and what they read. Expect some good titles and celebrity sightings, so keep it right here on the Texas Pages blog, on on Twitter #dmnbea. The conference is May 25-27.

Continue reading for a live Twitter feed.

Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell spoke at a local book store to promote her new book, The Carrie Diaries, on Thursday.

Watch this video as she reads a bit from the book and answers reader questions. Then share your thoughts in the comments section below. Where you there?

Sex and the City 2 hits movie theaters May 27.

The Friends of the Mansfield Library is holding a free workshop for writers 10 a.m. Saturday at the library.

Guest of honor will be Matthew Pearl, author of The Last Dickens, The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.

If you're interested, the library asks that you send an e-mail to Friends@FriendsofMansfieldLibrary.org.

There's no better time to get down to your local comic book shop than this Saturday. Why? Because you get FREE issues, and may get to meet some hot talent. It's a good time to get the kids interested in reading, or just dip in the comics realm yourself. Here's some options:

Zeus Comics (4411 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, 214-219-TOYS) Saturday, 10am-6pm
Bid farewell to PVPonline cartoonist Scott Kurtz. This is Scott's final signing before moving to Seattle. James O'Barr, Joe Eisma and David Hopkins will be present too. Plus thousands of free comics and the return of the mighty quarter comic sale.

Lone Star Comics (6780 Abrams Road, Suite 109, Dallas, 214-553-2555; click link for other locations) Saturday, 10am-8pm
In the spirit of encouraging kids to read, Lone Star Comics will give away $250 worth of graphic novels to the elementary school and high school libraries of the schools that have the most kids attend any of the store locations. Local author and comic book fan A. Lee Martinez will sign copies of his new book Divine Misfortune from 1pm to 4pm. Gearbox Softare, the people that brought you Borderlands, Brothers in Arms D-Day, and Halo: Combat Evolved will also be present signing people up to focus test new games, giving away Gearbox swag and copies of some of their games as prizes.

Keith's Comics (5400 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 120, Dallas, 214-827-3060; click link for other locations) Saturday, 11am-9pm
Meet a mystery actor, who plays a bad guy in the upcoming Jonah Hex movie, from 1pm to 2pm, and Greg Ingram, from Robert Rodriguez's Machete.

Read on for more on the annual event and noteworthy free titles will be available.

Author Eric Schlosser, who wrote Fast Food Nation, is speaking Wednesday in Denton as part of Earth Day Events at the University of North Texas.

Here's an interview by staffer Sarah Mueller.

While you're there, the English Department has some Earth Day-related readings in the works. Read all about them at their Facebook page.

Just be sure to recycle that page when you are done.

Meet comic book mega-star artist Ben Templesmith at Zeus Comics on Saturday, April 3rd, 12-6 pm.

Templesmith's works include 30 Days of Night, Fell, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse and many others, including Doctor Who, GI Joe and Silent Hill.

Any fans out there?

Here's a story about author Brandon Mull, whose Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison will be available Tuesday.

You can meet him 6:30 p.m. April 1 at Barnes & Noble, 2201 Preston Road, Plano.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- As he toiled away in the basement of his home, Brandon Mull quickly ditched the mundane for a world teeming with zombies, trolls, imps and centaurs.
The result has been the popular "Fablehaven" series, or what the author describes as "Jurassic Park meets Harry Potter." The fifth and final installment, "Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison," arrives in stores Tuesday.
Beginning with book one in 2006, each has been a New York Times best-seller -- the series has sold more than 650,000 copies, according to Nielsen Bookscan -- and Mull says a movie is now in the works.
Still, the series doesn't have the national profile that it could and certainly hasn't risen to the enormous success of other fantasy series, such as "Harry Potter" or "Twilight," Mull says.
"My agent likes to call it the best-selling series you've never heard of," he says.
But "Fablehaven" fans are ready for the next adventure in Mull's enchanted sanctuary, where magic and magical beasts exist hidden from the outside world.

You can find all the details about what Borders has in store for Twilight fans this Friday night over on The Screening Room. Get there by 10pm for the fun activities (quote contest, anyone?), and get a New Moon T-shirt for $5 when you buy the DVD or a copy of Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 before March 22.

Tell us, which Borders location will you be at Friday night?

Here's a local writer to watch: Shilpi Somaya Gowda is the author of Secret Daughter, a book that was developed in part during a continuing education creative writing program at Southern Methodist University.

Secret Daughter has already garnered some impressive reviews (watch for our take soon). You can meet the author at an official launch party 7 tonight at Barnes & Noble, 7700 W.Northwest Highway. She also has an event scheduled for 6 p.m. March 22 at the Dallas Institute of Arts & Humanities, 2719 Routh St., and with the SMU Writer's Salon 7 p.m. April 9 at Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano.

Karl Rove, who will be speaking with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth about his pending autobiography, Courage and Consequences, My Life as a Conservative in the Fight, has added a Plano event to his itinerary.

He'll be at Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, 4 p.m. March 15 for a three-hour event.

Full details on how to get your book signed are after the jump.

Tobias Wolff will be speaking tonight as part of the Highland Park Literary Festival. The free event takes place 7 p.m. at Highland Park High School.

Can't make it? Organizers have posted some audio from a prior reading. You can also catch him in the 1 p.m. segment of Think on KERA-FM (90.1).

Rockwall writer Mary DeMuth, will be offering an "instructive free evening ... teaching the elements of writing a memoir" and signing her new book, Thin Places 7 p.m. Thursday at Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano.

Her publisher, Zondervan, says that Thin Places "is about her journey to find hope and healing from the traumatic events of her childhood. According to DeMuth, thin places are 'snatches of time, moments really, when we sense God intersecting our world in tangible, unmistakable ways.' DeMuth shares her own story of being raised in a broken home and the loss of her biological father when she was ten. She was stripped of her innocence growing up in an unstable environment but learns to overcome through faith and writing."

Sam Hodges has full details over on the Religion blog.

I know that a lot of you books blog readers are big fans of Ozzy Osbourne. After all, he is sitting at No. 2 on The New York Times Best-Sellers List.

So here are full details of the rules for his book signing on Feb. 27 at Barnes & Noble on Northwest Highway. Note that the time has just been moved to 3 p.m.

Barnes & Noble says:

· Book signing only, no memorabilia

· No personalization

· Photos allowed from the line

· Wristbands will be available on a first come, first serve basis

· Wristbands will be available starting at 9:00 AM 2/27

· Wristbands will be organized in letter groups of 50.

· I Am Ozzy must be purchased from Barnes & Noble to receive a wristband (bring receipt if purchased prior to 2/27)

· No more than 4 people in a group per wristband (only the person with the wristband will interact with Ozzy)

· Limit 4 books per person to be signed

· Line up for signing starts at 1:00 PM 2/27.

I'm told that previous events have drawn more than 3,000 people. The Orange County Register did a lengthy interview and has video of what the scene was like there. Dallas, you have been warned.

American Short Fiction, an Austin-based literary magazine, will be honoring the late J.D. Salinger with a lineup that includes literary stars and the author's own work.

The event, 7 p.m. Feb. 26 in the Prothro Theater at the
Harry Ransom Center, will feature: ZZ Packer (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere), Nick Flynn (Another Bullsh-t Night in Suck City) John Pipkin (Woodsburner ), Elizabeth McCracken (The Giant's House) and more.

The press release says they'll be "reading excerpts from his book-length publications as well as selections from the Ransom Center's archive of the author's unpublished correspondence." A small display of Salinger manuscripts, letters, and inscribed books will go on display as well. They'll remain on view until March 12.

Speaking of his letters, another stash is about to go on display in New York. According to The New York Times:

The letters furnish what may be the most specific description yet of Mr. Salinger's writing habits in the years after 1965, when he stopped publishing. Even in the 1980s, he describes a highly disciplined writing regimen, starting each morning at 6, never later than 7, and not brooking interruption, "unless absolutely necessary or convenient." This in-his-own-words account may bolster the conviction and hope of some that he left additional works behind.

Thursday's lecture by Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Book and Special Collections Division at Library of Congress, has been canceled. Bad weather in Washington is to blame.

The Bridwell Library plans to reschedule the event, which was to be focused on Thomas Jefferson's personal library. We'll offer details on that when they are sorted out.

From the press release:

Borders stores in Texas will host fun-filled in-store parties designed specifically for fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series by Rick Riordan on Feb. 6 beginning at 2 p.m. The first book in the series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief will be released as a major motion picture in mid-February and Borders' in-store parties, scheduled for the Saturday prior to the movie, will provide fans the opportunity to come together to celebrate Percy, their favorite trouble-prone teen demigod.

During the parties, fans will enjoy a spirited debate on topics surrounding the books, the upcoming film, movie cast and more. Party attendees will also enjoy an adrenaline-pumping trivia challenge, as well as "Olympian" style games that could include a toga wrap race, arm wrestling, discus and javelin throwing and more. Activities may vary by store. Visit the Store Locator tab on Borders.com to find a participating location."

Continue reading to find out about a free gift with purchase and exclusive online content available from the event and Borders.com. And to prep yourself for it, read Bridgette Williams' take on Book 1.

Is Percy Jackson the new Harry Potter?

The Pulpwood Queens 10th Anniversary Girlfriend Weekend Author Extravaganza takes place this weekend in Jefferson, Texas. Founder Kathy Patrick tells me via e-mail that "This is the first year we are SELLING OUT of ALL THE EVENTS!" (Kathy writes like that.) With a collection of 40 authors that includes Pat Conroy, Ron Hall and Elizabeth Berg. it's easy to see why.

Kathy will also be releasing her club's 2010 reading list. She has a knack for getting great material into the hands of lots of readers -- it's one of the reasons publishers are so eager to send their authors to East Texas in January -- so queens and others looking for book club ideas will be interested in this preview, which she graciously shares.

The Pulpwood Queen Book Club Books of the year have been announced, along with a final schedule for their annual riot -- make that Girlfriend Weekend -- in Jefferson, Texas.

The prizes are:

Pulpwood Queen Book of the Year - South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Pulpwood Queen Bonus Book of the Year - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Pulpwood Queen Children's Book of the Year - Poppy's Pants by Melissa Conroy

Those awards and others will be presented Jan. 16 at the 10th Anniversary Girlfriend Weekend Author Extravaganza.

I woke up this morning thinking about this Edward S.Curtis exhibit at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. (Probably because of this Jerome Weeks piece on KERA.)

Curtis was the subject of To Catch the Lightning, a historical novel by Alan Cheuse -- who, as luck would have it, is well known as a contributor to both public radio and the book review pages at this very publication. The new paperback edition arrived on my desk not long ago.

You can read Si Dunn's review here.

Your Sunday paper has the official announcement of the 2010 Arts & Letters Live season.

Tickets are scheduled go on sale 1 a.m. Monday at www.tickets.DallasMuseumofArt.org.

Here's the official schedule, including bios and event descriptions as written by the A&LL staff.

For those who hadn't heard, Sarah Palin signed books on Friday.

Reporter Theodore Kim was there, while fans waved signs and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" played.

So was columnist James Ragland, who opined on the event. (Notable observation: ".... when she started signing books, the folks at the bookstore cranked up the music, making it nearly impossibly for anyone to eavesdrop. I hate when they do that.")

Fans will be delighted to note that her book hit the million-copy sales mark last week. The Associated Press notes that Going Rogue "joins a select club of million-selling political memoirs that includes Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, Hillary Rodham Clinton's Living History and Bill Clinton's My Life
.

If you were there, I'd love to hear your comments. And if you weren't -- I have a hunch we'll hear them anyway.

Jenkins teaches at Penn State University and at Baylor University in Waco. His book "The Lost History of Christianity: The Untold Story of the Church's First Thousand Years" is just out in paperback from HarperOne.

Coppell's spiritual memoir is just out. He'll sign copies this Saturday at Lee Harvey's, 1807 Gould Street, Dallas, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The book's subtitle: "Rethinking Religion to Find a Faith That's Real."

Legacy Books has 1,000 slots available for its Sarah Palin event on Dec. 4. As of the end of Wednesday, they had sold 850 books.

Kyle Hall, the store's director of marketing and events, says its easily the biggest event in his year-old store's history.

Just to put things in perspective, Stephenie Meyer sold 1,000 tickets at the Stonebriar Barnes & Noble on a single day in 2008. Carlo Rich, a national event marketing manager based at the Borders at Preston Road and Royal Lane, recalled that recent large events for him included Laura and Jenna Bush (about 1,500 people), Rachael Ray (more than 1,000), Lauren Conrad (1,000) and Steve Harvey (800-1,000).

(Being a good marketer, he also noted that his store will welcome Mike Huckabee, who regularly draws 500 to 800 people, at 5 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving to sign A Simple Christmas; Carlo suggested that many people reading this post might be interested in that fact. Point taken, Carlo.)

So no matter what you say what you will about her politics -- and many commenters certainly have already done that -- Palin knows how to sell books. Here is an Associated Press report on the scene elsewhere:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- College students ditched class, employees skipped work and some huddled in the cold overnight just to make sure they get an orange wristband Wednesday that would let them meet Sarah Palin.
A line of more than a thousand people -- some sporting Palin Power stickers and Palin T-shirts -- moved slowly into a Barnes & Noble store Wednesday to see the former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor on the first stop of her Going Rogue book tour. During the hours they waited, some broke out in chants of "Palin! Palin! Palin!"

Here's what the Associated Press thought of Sarah Palin's book, which we're talking about in advance of her visit to Legacy Books in Plano. (Tickets are available starting today.)

You can read The New York Times' take here.

The AP also scrutinized the book and exhaustively fact-checked it; that story is appended at the end of the review.

By MARK KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer
Going Rogue: An American Life (HarperCollins, 413 pages, $28.99), by Sarah Palin: There should be a feeling of palpable glee running through Sarah Palin's memoir: Now, finally, she gets to talk, unfiltered and unedited.
This is, after all, a politician convinced that the media twists her words, who says she's been parodied and mocked by establishment elites, and who complains she was muzzled by her own party.
Going Rogue: An American Life offers her a chance to answer back, without pesky interference from the likes of Katie Couric or GOP handlers. It is, to steal Nancy Reagan's memoir title, My Turn.
So why is there so little bloodletting, why no mustn't-miss gory bits? Her book, written with an assist from Lynn Vincent, is less the revealing autobiography of a straight-shooting maverick and more a lengthy campaign speech -- more lipstick, less pit bull.

Kyle Hall of Legacy Books sends details for people wanting to get a book autographed by Sarah Palin on Dec. 4.

In short:

Tickets that will enable you to buy a book go on sale tomorrow. Tickets will be required to get in the autograph line. She's not signing anything except copies of her book.

She's not expected to make any kind of public address.

The whole process, as explained in the press release, is posted below

If you were lucky enough to have scored tickets to Christopher Buckley's sold-out appearance as part of SMU's Tate Lecture Series tomorrow night, you can get caught up on his recent works with our reviews of Boomsday (see below) and Supreme Courtship.

You can also take it from me that you should be in for an entertaining evening. I caught the author at last year's Texas Book Festival, and in that pre-election, peak-of-financial collapse, pro-Obama- Austin atmosphere, he brought the house down.

He also explained the Texas connection to the lead character in Supreme Courtship.
And he even explained his personal connection to the book pages of The Dallas Morning News: He was once a contributor, back in the day. I let him know that if the best-selling author/scion of wealth and privilege gig doesn't work out, I'd be happy to have him back as a freelancer, once in awhile.

For some reason, he never called. But I wish him luck tomorrow anyway.

Regular DMN contributor and retired TCU Press director Judy Alter alerts us to the following:

An exhibit called "Going to Texas," featuring five centuries of Texas maps, will be open at the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Friday through Jan. 3. The exhibit is sponsored by a partnership between the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University and the Center for Texas Studies at TCU.

A coffee table book, Going to Texas: Five Centuries of Texas Maps, published by TCU Press is available. The book includes 63 color maps, ranging from the earliest European maps of Texas, which are amazing in their distortion, to 19th-century maps urging settlers to move West. Several essays by noted historians explain the significance of each aspect of this exhibit. I

That's the title of an evening with scholar/author Peter Kreeft at Highland Park Presbyterian Church on Nov. 21.

Details below:

Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will do a book signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 4 at Legacy Books in Plano, according to Kyle Hall, the store's director of marketing and events. It'll be strictly a signing (Palin won't be speaking), with no personalization. No memorabilia will be signed; books only. Books must be bought at Legacy. As with all Legacy events, if a patron can't come but wants a signed book, Legacy can arrange that over the phone.

Hall says Palin's people called him -- he didn't have to approach them. That's a great sign of Legacy's growing reputation in the independent-bookstore world, and a pretty terrific first-anniversary present for Hall and the store (it opened on Nov. 7, 2008).

Those interested in attending should e-mail info@legacybooksonline.com. For more info, visit the store's web site or call 972-398-9888.

I'll be down at the Texas Book Festival this weekend, surrounded by live authors. But an event in Dallas on Sunday night looks like an opportunity to celebrate those whose quills are no longer among the moving.

WordSpace is presenting a Day of the Dead celebration called From Here Through Eternity 8 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 1) at Paperbacks Plus,
6115 La Vista.

The evening is described as "Part ritual/part reading," a gathering that "honors the legacies of great writers and artists who have transformed and influenced our work. Bring an object that reminds you of or is somehow connected to your favorite dead author to add to the ceremonial El Dia de Los"

Christopher Soden, founder of Dallas Poets Community, is the host.

Maybe someone can light a nice cigar in honor of Mark Twain for me. Which writer would you want to honor, and how?

Here are some additional guidelines from the Wordspace site on what to include.

The Pulpwood Queens, the most celebrated tiara-wearing book club in Texas, this month learned that Pat Conroy will be a guest of honor at the group's 10th Anniversary Girlfriend Weekend, Jan. 13-17.

Conroy's latest book is South of Broad, which we reviewed here.

Details on the Queens' entire lineup are still evolving, but they've already got more authors than you can shake a pine tree at. Follow that link for a full list and ticket information (weekend packages start at $250.)

Author Mike Cox is headed to Neiman Marcus, 2100 Green Oaks Road, Fort Worth, to sign Historic Photos of Texas Oil 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Cox is also the author of a two-volume history: The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 and Time of the Rangers -- Texas Rangers: 1900 to the Present.

You can read a review of the latter here, and his people have kindly provided an excerpt to read after the jump.

The Sachse Public Library, Smith Public Library and Barnes & Noble-Firewheel are sponsoring a weeklong festival of talks and signings by locally based authors.

Here's the daily schedule:
Saturday: 2 p.m. at Firewheel Town Center, 190 Cedar Sage, Garland. "Authors Express" kick-off featuring paranormal-genre authors Maria Lima, Lorraine Heath and Sandy Blair.

Monday at 7 p.m. at Wylie City Hall, 2000 Highway 78 North, Wylie: Maria Lima, author of the vampire romance Matters of the Blood.

Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Sachse Public Library, 3815 Sachse Road, Sachse: William Manchee, author of the Tarizon young adult science-fiction series.

Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Wylie Community Center, 100 W. Oak, Wylie: Robert Rummel-Hudson, author of Schuyler's Monster, will talk about his experiences with his learning-disabled child.

Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Sachse Public Library: Frank Luksa, author of Cowboys Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan.

Monday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Sachse Public Library. Bob Huffaker and Bill Mercer, co-authors of When the News Went Live, describe their experiences as reporters at the Kennedy assassination.

For further information:
Barnes and Noble-Firewheel, 972-496-2000
Sachse Public Library, 972-530-8966
Smith Public Library, 972-442-7566

Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, talked about mother-daughter relationships, Horned Frogs and the writing process during their Arts & Letters Live appearance tonight. The pair wrote Traveling With Pomegranates, a dual memoir about their travels in Greece, France and Turkey -- and their journeys of self-discovery along the way.

"I always love to come back to Texas, seeing as I'm a TCU Horned Frog," Kidd said, drawing a few cheers from fellow Horned Frogs in the crowd.

Early on, Kidd cleared up one question that came up persistently when she told people that she was writing a book with her daughter.

"People were asking, 'Are you two still speaking?" she said. "I thought the first thing I'd tell you is that we are still speaking."

In announcing the lineup of the Texas Book Festival yesterday, Laura Bush did offer a few peeks into the reading habits of the former first family, just not their home.

As was noted in this morning's print edition, the former first lady told reporters, "One of the very best things about being back in Texas is that I have a chance to be part of the Texas Book Festival again." Mrs. Bush founded the festival in 1995 and remains its honorary chair.

Discussing the importance of encouraging children to read, she said, "One of the best ways parents can do that is by modeling it themselves. Turn off the television and read or read to your children or read out loud. It's really a very fun family activity to read out loud. I remember reading the 'Hank the Cowdog' series with Barbara and Jenna and George. It's a funny series. it was fun to read out loud and laugh with them."

Asked about e-books, she enthusiastically noted, "George loves his Kindle. He uses it all the time."

She said that the former president just finished Pat Conroy's South of Broad and that "he liked that a lot." She's reading a memoir by Nuala O'Faolain and then dryly noted, "We're both writing memoirs. I'll put in a plug."

Asked whether Dallas might someday have its own large-scale book festival, Mrs. Bush said. "Dallas has a couple of festivals that I think are pretty good, and really, I hope Dallasites will go to the Texas Book Festival. It's a really terrific one."

As for a peek inside the Bush home -- well, there wasn't much of one. But because several people have asked me about it, I offer the following impressions.

(Staff photo by Vernon Bryant)

Poems on the themes of science, science fiction or technology will be featured this month at the 2nd Tuesday Poetry Series, to be held 7 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 8) at the Benbrook Public Library.

Readers are invited to recite their own work or that of others. Organizers sent out a helpful e-mail that suggests checking this article or this Poetry Foundation page (Ten Poems to Get you Through Science Class ) for inspiration.

Rules on how to submit, as per the organizers' e-mail:

Is that "Raven" reference too weak? Yeah, I thought so. Sorry, it's been a long day.

But if you think you can do better, head over to the Web site for the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, which is soliciting parodies of "The Raven."

The contest is helping to celebrate the Sept. 8 opening of "From Out That Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe." The exhibit, which runs through Jan. 3, "features manuscripts, books, art and personal effects, many of them displayed for the first time, documenting Poe's career as a writer, his romantic relationships and mysterious death, the decline and rehabilitation of his literary reputation and his profound influence on mystery and detective fiction and other genres."

And while we're on the topic of literary greatness -- it was Mad magazine that first introduced me to Poe, with a reprint of one of their classic 1950s parodies. And thanks to the Internet, you can see a sample of that right here.

The Writers Studio will welcome Marilynne Robinson at 2 p.m. Sept. 20 at University Park United Methodist Church. Tickets just went on sale here.

Robinson has won both a Pulitzer Prize and an Orange Prize for Fiction. Her latest, Home, is being released in paperback. Bryan Woolley's review can be read here.

The Frisco Public Library is bringing together more than a dozen local authors for a Texas Authors Tea on Sunday (Aug. 2). Click on those links for details and directions.

The complete list of authors and their works,a s provided by the library, is posted below.

Over on the Points book club blog, they've got an interesting discussion going about Bryan Burrough's The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes. If you've read, or are reading, the book, it's not too late to jump into the discussion.

You can also still register to attend a get-together with Burrough from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Dallas Arboretum. You must RSVP to attend (seating will be limited.) Admission to the Arboretum is free, although you'll need to pay $5 to park. And you're welcome to tour the grounds after the event.

The last day of the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference on Sunday brought great sessions, as usual, and a few totally unexpected surprises. I overslept a little, but made it in time for the fascinating 9:40 a.m. talk by Michael K. Kauffman on his work investigating the Lincoln assassination (he jumped onto the Ford Theatre stage! he burned down a tobacco barn!) for his wonderful book American Brutus. John Parsley, an editor at Little, Brown, gave cogent and not-too-discouraging advice for getting your work published: "I want a proposal that I feel like I have to go talk to my boss about immediately."

Then came the surprises -- during the break before Alma Guillermoprieto's talk, the University of North Texas mariachi band (how many universities can top that?) lined up inside the conference room and played for about 10 minutes. A perfect introduction to Guillermoprieto's talk, which focused mostly on her time in Cuba as a young dancer -- a time that coincided with the onset of the Cuban Revolution. She started the talk with a young dancer on stage, who stretched and fought against the limits of her body as Guillermoprieto issued a harsh litany of instructions. Later, she told us that kind of abuse was pretty much her daily life studying the Martha Graham technique. She later moved to New York and found Merce Cunningham's technique just as challenging, but considerably more humane. Cunningham died Sunday night, just hours after Guillermoprieto's loving, reverently respectful description of him. It was a moving eulogy, even though she didn't realize it at the time.

The signs at the bookstore proclaimed Tom Wolfe as the keynote speaker for next year's Mayborn, although conference organizers say that's not yet confirmed. Not sure how Wolfe will top mariachis -- wait, I know: electric Kool-Aid! We'll be waiting.

Julia Reed, author of The House on First Street and Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena among other books, was a big hit Saturday afternoon at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine. By the time Reed spoke at 4 p.m., the conference's 300-plus attendees had already been through a marathon day of literary inspiration (eight sessions between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., with Roy Blount Jr. and the keynote address and dinner with Ira Glass still to come!).

Reed had us in stitches with her observations about the peculiarities of Southern life (and she definitively includes "Texan" in her definition of "Southern"). Like this gem: "Southerners can pretty much explain anything that happens to them, to their automobiles or to their appliances with one of three phrases -- 'backed up,' 'blew up' or 'blew out.' " As in, for someone whose liver crashed after a lifetime of alcohol abuse: "His blood just backed up on him.

The fifth annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference got off to an inspirational start earlier tonight, as Paul Theroux presented a keynote address that was both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Mayborn director Mitch Land introduced Theroux as "the nation's foremost travel writer" and "literary lion of the highest order," leading Theroux to begin his speech with, "I can hardly wait to hear what I have to stay!"

For the next hour, he enthralled the audience by doing what he does best -- telling stories. His road to a life of writing and adventure started when he was a child and read Lost on a Mountain in Maine, a book about a child who was lost for eight days. "It so moved me," Theroux said. "I wanted to get lost on a mountain in Maine."

Since then, he's gotten lost in China, India, Patagonia and countless other destinations, and has written about his travels both directly and indirectly, in nearly 50 books of essays, short stories and novels such as The Old Patagonian Express and The Mosquito Coast.

Theroux told many stories about his father, who nourished an atmosphere of inquisition, investigation and reading among his seven children. "He told us stories, but then he took us places, so we got to make the connections," Theroux said. "Hearing about Old Ironsides isn't the same as seeing the rigging of the ship, seeing the canons. ... What my father was doing was teaching us to see," he said, noting that keen observation is one of a writer's most indispensable tools, along with memory and the ability to listen well.

The conference seems to have attracted its usual lively mix of literary types, from a tall man in a dashing black beret to the guy sitting next to me with a motorcycle helmet tucked under his seat (he's a colleague at the DMN, actually). Saturday's the marathon day, with 10 panel discussions and plenary sessions between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., followed by the Literary Lights dinner with Ira Glass. Gotta eat your Wheaties before you attend the Mayborn!

PHOTO by Joy Tipping: Paul Theroux (seated) chats with a conferee at the Mayborn on Friday night.

You may not know the Rev. Scotty McClennan, but if you've read Doonesbury, you know Scotty McLennan: He's the inspiration for the Rev. Scott Sloan, the comic strip's bearded, humorously philosophical pastor-in-residence. McLennan and Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau were roomies in college.

McLennan was at Legacy Books in Plano on Thursday night, talking about his latest book, Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All. About 30 people turned up and a lively discussion ensued.

PHOTO by Jacob Otiker/Legacy Books: Scotty McLennan talks to the crowd.

Editor Bob Mong this weekend wrote about events planned for the upcoming Points book club, which is focusing on Bryan Burrough's The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes.

You'll be able to meet the author 2 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Dallas Arboretum.

And if you're looking for a sneak peek, here's what Alan Peppard wrote earlier this year.

Author Jane Green, whose hit books include Jemima J, Bookends, Babyville, Second Chance and The Beach House, has a new book out called Dune Road. It's one of those perfect beach reads, full of fully developed relationships, page-turning tension and a good dollop of suspense.

Green was in town Thursday for a talk that drew about 125 fans to St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano. Before she headed north, she sat down for a one-on-one at the French Room bar at the Adolphus. She's gorgeous, funny and endearing -- she could easily be one of her own characters.

The National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. has announced a lineup that includes John Grisham, John Irving, Jodi Picoult, Judy Blume, Julia Alvarez, Ken Burns and Gwen Ifill. You've got until Sept. 26 to make your way there.

A complete lineup is posted here. [The earlier link was to the 2008 festival.]

Can't make it? Keep in mind that the Texas Book Festival comes to Austin Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Their lineup is due to be released in September.

The Dallas Museum of Art's Arts & Letters Live series has added three events for this season:

Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia, appears 7:30 p.m. July 29 at the museum's Horchow Auditorium. A screening of the Nora Ephron movie is slated for 7:30 p.m. July 27 at the AMC NorthPark, and a "special Julia Child-inspired buffet dinner" is being offered at the museum as well.

Deborah Nadoolman Landis, an Academy Award-nominated costume designer, will discuss Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Horchow Auditorium.

And Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Taylor Kidd will discuss Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. Sue Monk Kidd is also the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid's Chair.

Tickets are $30 for the public; $25 for DMA members, Friends of the Dallas Public Library, seniors, and educators; $15 for students. For Julie & Julia, tickets include the preview screening, but dinner is separate.

Details are available here.

Our friends over in the Points section of The Dallas Morning News will launch the third annual Points Summer Book Club this month, and you're invited. They've picked a doozy of a book this year, with loads of local relevance and intrigue: The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes, by former Wall Street Journal reporter Bryan Burrough. It's about the four "Big Four" oil barons who shaped much of what Texas is today. Extra credit: Can you name the Big Four? Find the answer at the bottom of this post.

Why is it in the twilight of newspapers
that story-telling is ascendant?

The SMU's Newcomers Institute, by the School of Education and Human Development, continued Saturday, and two of the most gripping presentations
were by those who told their stories, one as a former homeless
student and the other through song.

They were skilled at their craft.
Their stories had a strategy.
To inspire others to action.

Last year, the Writers League of Texas welcomed me to Austin for what turned out to be a terrific weekend, full of the kinds of behind-the-scenes publishing knowledge that beginning authors crave.

I can't make it this year, but somehow, they've pulled together lineup without me. It features Michael Murphy, former publisher at William Morrow and founder of Max & Co. Literary Agency and Social Club, who has the best keynote address title I've seen in a while: ""Sitting in a Cardboard Box, Saying Vroom Vroom and Pretending It's a Car: Book Publishing 2009."

The weekend's main appeal for aspiring, unpublished writers would be the chance to meet editors and make pitches to real-life literary agents (19 of whom are scheduled to be in attendance.) I suspect the number of employed editors who can afford the weekend journey to Austin will be down a bit from last year. I also suspect that the wisdom will still flow as freely as those pitchers of sangria margaritas did at the bar, only the aftereffects will be more helpful.

The conference takes place June 26-28. You can register here, or call , or call 512-499-8914.

OK, yes, I succumbed to headline writers' punnery with the one above -- I couldn't help myself, especially since it has that wonderful headline thing of being both a pun (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is an avid knitter and writes books about the subject, including Free-Range Knitting and Yarn Harlot) and being absolutely true (she's hilarious). Someone once described Pearl-McPhee as the "David Sedaris of knitting," and that just about nails it.

PHOTO: Fans of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee pass the time waiting for her talk to begin. Dawn Zhang of Plano is knitting on the left, with Amee Dixon of McKinney helping out.

KERA's "Think" has another author-rich week on tap this week. Check out this schedule.

Highlights would include Eric Boehlert, author of Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press; David O. Stewart, whose new book is Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy; and Thomas Maier of Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love.

Everyone's invited to the Dan's Silverleaf in Denton for this Saturday's Original PubFest.

Sponsored by Farrago's Wainscot, Original PubFest is an independent, regional publishing festival that will take place on the back patio of Dan's Silverleaf. Food will be available for donation, and local songwriters will perform throughout the day. The purpose of this event is to expose local artists, authors, and publishers to the community and to each other in a relaxed, community-oriented environment. This event is free to the public."

The event starts at 2 p.m., and the music begins at 3 p.m.

Acoustic acts include: Chris Flemmons (Baptist Generals), Isaac Hoskins (The Heelers), Freddie Schulze (Heartstring Stranglers), Bruce Bond, Ashley Cromeens (Record Hop), Lara Bryant, and Mike Miller

Publications include: Farrago's Wainscot, Oak Bend Review, Workers Write!, Mad Swirl, Moulin Review, WOW Signal, The Porch, Threadbare Arts Collective, and Recycled Books and Records.

We've taken a lot of your feedback and have made several changes to the new GuideLive.com, including adding "GUIDELIVE IT!" sections at the top of each tab (Events, Movies, Restaurants and Performers) to help you search for things that matter most to you.

We encourage all of you authors out there to create your own Performer's page where you can tell people about yourself and your works, as well as link to your own sites. Another benefit of creating a Performer's page is that you can add it to listings for your book signings, talks and other events where you are featured, so people interested in going tcan quickly find out more information about you beforehand.

Just remember to search the Performers section first, because you might already be in there, in which case you can click "Report an error with this listing" and claim it to gain control over it.

Don't miss out on the next big read. Check out the list of bookstores and literary events. If you don't see your event listed, feel free to create it.

Give us a shout or leave comments below if you run across any other concerns regarding the new GuideLive.com.

Terri Cadiente, stuntwoman from 24 and author of Live Courageously: Choose to Be the Real You, will sign books 6 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble Southlake Town Square, 1430 Plaza Place, Southlake. People who do not buy a copy are possibly at risk of being thrown from an exploding tanker truck.

Take at look at the new GuideLive.com. The Dallas Morning News is upgrading its signature entertainment portal this week with a state-of-the-art, “go, see and do” utility you won’t want to leave home without.

From now on, when you type in GuideLive.com or click on “Things to do” you will discover, front and center, a simple search box that can find the event, movie, venue, restaurant or performer just right for you. It understands words you would normally use, so when you’re looking for something tomorrow, just type “tomorrow.” Then in one place, you’ll get our critics’ ratings and reviews, user reviews from across the Internet, often an option to purchase tickets, directions and nearby attractions, too.

We’ve got more things to do than ever at your fingertips. Look for sporting events, community and church events, art exhibitions – and if you don’t see an event you’re hosting, please add it!

You can still find all the coverage that our Guide staff provides about the arts and entertainment in our Entertainment channel on dallasnews.com (and linked from each relevant GuideLive.com listing). And we’ve finally added a comment box below each article, plus a way to share it or e-mail it to your friends.

Visit the new GuideLive.com!

Intelligence has no gender.

That was the rallying passion for Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a 17th century nun who fought to be educated.

And a chain of homages to her poetry, her prose and her spirit are linking fans through the United States. Saturday, some 400 persons poured into the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas for the Sor Juana Festival. The festival included a movie, music, discussion and a play all focused on the Mexican poet and writer.

(Image courtesy Latino Cultural Center)

The Dallas Museum of Arts' Arts & Letters Live series tonight blessed us a talk by two authors with strong Dallas connections: Dallas resident Kathleen Kent, author of The Heretic's Daughter, and Cristina Henríquez, former Dallas resident and author of The World In Half. They continued A&LL's absolutely stellar season -- anyone who still thinks Dallasites don't care about literature hasn't been paying attention to what the DMA has accomplished this season.

Ms. Henríquez recalled her early days in Dallas (she now lives in Chicago), when she was living in an Uptown apartment and thinking she and her husband could manage with one car -- he commuted to a job during the day; she worked on her writing at home. When she decided to look for a job, she landed an interview at D Magazine. On a 97-degree summer day, wearing a wool-blend suit, it took her a trolley ride and two buses to traverse the 1.7 miles to D's headquarters.

PHOTO by Joy Tipping: Cristina Henríquez (foreground) and Kathleen Kent at the DMA on Friday night.