Books

The Moth's Pop-Up Porch Tour Pops Up in Town for Storytelling Sessions and Shows

The Moth's Pop-Up Porch Tour Pops Up in Town for Storytelling Sessions and Shows

PEN America: Texas Leads the Country in 'Deeply Undemocratic' Push to Ban Books in Schools

PEN America: Texas Leads the Country in 'Deeply Undemocratic' Push to Ban Books in Schools

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The Best Things To Do In Dallas, Aug. 10-16

By Merritt Martin
Aug 10, 2022

With soaring fountains to captivating and rotund sculptures, Lynda Benglis has energized the Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora St.) with overwhelming size, gesture and even some glitter. The physicality of the exhibition is inspiring, humbling and a bit nostalgic — some of the bronze work is based on Benglis’ earlier ceramic pieces.
Marissa Moss Examines Country Music Through the Lens of Texas Talent in Her Country

By Preston Jones
May 6, 2022

At a glance, the history of country music might seem straightforward enough. For journalist Marissa Moss, the reality was something else. “I realized there would be one story of country music that would be told by looking at the charts,” she says during a recent conversation. “And that would be...
8 DFW Independent Bookstores to Check Out and Stick It To The Man

By Scott Tucker and Carly May Gravley
May 2, 2022

Odds are, if you pick up a used book, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had his hands on it at some point, as Amazon accounts for over 60% of book sales. That means Bezos can afford to lose your book business, especially since he’s probably taking half your paycheck at Whole Foods...
The Book of Dirk: Dirk Nowitzki and Thomas Pletzinger Discuss New Book The Great Nowitzki

By Vincent Arrieta
Apr 28, 2022

The first time I ever saw Dirk Nowitzki was not on the basketball court, laser-focused on his game, leaping in the air with his one-legged fadeaway jump shot and bathing in the adoration of 20,000 fans chanting “MVP!” No, the first time I ever saw Dirk Nowitzki in person, he...
Yes, MAGA Romance Novels Exist and Yes, They're Just as Bad as You'd Think

By Simone Carter
Apr 25, 2022

Two MAGA-themed romance novels are taking the literary world by storm.
The Best Things To Do In Dallas, April 13-19

By Merritt Martin
Apr 13, 2022

Right now through July 10, the Dallas Museum of Art (1717 N. Harwood St.) presents Slip Zone: A New Look at Postwar Abstraction in the Americas and East Asia, which features collection works honoring “significant innovations” in various mediums. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, Bruce Wood Dance presents an accompanying performance exploring abstract expressionism through color and movement.
The Best Things To Do in Dallas Oct. 20-Oct. 27

By Merritt Martin
Oct 20, 2021

Undermain Theatre (3200 Main St.) captivated streaming audiences last year with St. Nicholas by Conor McPherson. It’s back and staged for live viewing with enough vampire coven to satisfy the Halloween itch and enough Bruce DuBose to trigger the brain’s voiceover recognition quadrant (it’s such a good voice). DuBose plays the theater critic enchanted by an actress and swept up by a coven, so fork over $15-$30 at undermain.org and experience the dark tale live (or online).
In a New Book, Denise Montgomery Recalls Learning About Racism Through the State Fair

By Jacob Reyes
Oct 18, 2021

Gray clouds covered the sky as raindrops fell outside of Denise Montgomery’s front door window. It was the second Monday of October in 1965.
Get Back Into Reading With These Book-Centered Dallas Events

By Liam Gaughan
Sep 3, 2021

Maybe you promised yourself during lockdown that you’d finally get back into reading.
Jim Schutze's Seminal Book The Accommodation Is Set for Republishing

By Christian McPhate
Jul 30, 2021

Some considered it the most dangerous book in Dallas, a moniker coined by D Magazine years after it was published. The Accommodation: the politics of race in an American City, traces race relations and politics in Dallas from slavery to the early '80s. It argues slavery was crueler in North Texas...
Benjamin Villegas Writes About Punk Band that Never Existed in a Scene That Did

By David Fletcher
Jul 28, 2021

Spanish author Benjamin Villegas had never traveled to El Paso, but he figured it would be the perfect spot to set his punk rock novel. Out now in a new English translation from Deep Vellum Publishing and with a foreword by El Paso punk rocker Beto O’Rourke, ELPASO: A Punk Story is...
Interactive Map Encourages Book Donations Across North Texas

By Simone Carter
Jun 10, 2021

A new interactive donation map shows where North Texans can drop off their old books.
Zac Crain’s New Book Is an Ode to Dirk, Dallas and a Son

By Tyler Hicks
Jun 2, 2021

As soon as Zac Crain got copies of his new book, he gave one to his son Isaac. Isaac hadn't read any of the manuscript while it was in progress, but Crain knew he needed to be one of the first people to see it in print. I See You...
Great News, Book Nerds: Dallas Public Libraries Are Open Again

By Raven Jordan
May 11, 2021

April showers bring May flowers, and one of those flowers is the reopening of Dallas' public libraries.
Dallas Writers Have Been Searching for Larry McMurtry's Ghost Years Before His Death

By Raven Jordan
Mar 30, 2021

Larry McMurtry was regularly seen out and about in his hometown Archer City, 25 miles southwest of Wichita Falls. He was easily recognizable in his usual ensemble: jeans, a Dr Pepper polo and an air of humility. He didn’t see himself as a star novelist who influenced authors around the...
Legendary Texas Indie Musician Will Johnson Makes His Literary Debut

By Tyler Hicks
Mar 18, 2021

Will Johnson, the painter, famed Denton indie musician, Conor Oberst collaborator and raspy-voiced troubadour behind 29 albums says: “It’s the most psychedelic job you’ll ever participate in.” He is not, however, talking about music, painting, or even writing, his latest creative expression. He’s talking about parenting. Johnson is 49 (though...
Dallas Author Reflects on the Influence of Big Tuck's Purple Hulk

By Alex Gonzalez
Dec 7, 2020

When Dallas native Taylor Crumpton received the opportunity to write about an album for a book series by New York Times-best selling author Shea Serrano, she knew she had to document Dallas’ influence on hip-hop. Serrano selected five journalists from a pool of applicants to each write a 3,000-word essay...
Every November, a Writing Group Is Making Published Authors Out of Locals

By Karen Gavis
Nov 25, 2020

Although they often write in self-imposed solitude, this month, scribes will have a chance to get ... well ... Zoom together for some all-nighter writing sessions. November is National Novel Writing Month and NaNoWriMoers nationwide will be jotting down 50,000 words before the clock strikes midnight on Nov. 30. “I...
New Book Texas Titans Defines George H. W. Bush and James Baker III as a Match

By Karen Gavis
Nov 6, 2020

By chance, two Texans teamed up for a tennis doubles match. It would be the beginning of a decades-long friendship, and a powerful one in terms of politics. “They went back-to-back men’s doubles championships by helping each other with their own weaknesses,” says Charles Denyer, author of Texas Titans. The...
Jamie Thompson’s Standoff Leads Stellar List of Dallas Authors at Texas Book Festival

By Tyler Hicks
Oct 30, 2020

When Jamie Thompson woke up on July 8, 2016, the city of Dallas and its brass were still trying to figure out what the hell happened the night before. There was a shooting, and five law enforcement officers were dead. The perpetrator had been killed by a robot-controlled bomb. And...