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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...

Children's literacy has taken a hit thanks to the pandemic.

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.

Writer Zac Crain's new book I See You Big German is as much about his relationship with his son Isaac, right, as it is about Dirk Nowitzki.

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...

Computer stations at Dallas' central library, which is open again.

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...

Author Krystal Craiker with her books, which she says she finished thanks to NaNiWriMo's writing sessions.

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...

Author Charles Denyer with former Secretary of State James Baker lll, one of the subjects of Denyer's book Texas Titans.

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...

The Texas Book Festival, which takes place virtually, will feature several Dallas-based authors.

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...

The patio tables at Wild Detectives will also be sneeze-guarded to help prevent the risk of COVID.-19

The Wild Detectives Launches Live Music Series and Sets a COVID-Safe Example

By Eva Raggio

Sep 22, 2020

Most venues are trying their best, and some are even doing it right. Still, the words “COVID safety and precautions” have become the new “thoughts and prayers”; they may be filled with good intentions, but the practical results amount to a placebo effect at best. Any weekend drive-by glance around...

Michael Taylor devotes his life to one cause: uplifting Black Men.

Author and Motivational Speaker Michael Taylor Says Black Men Are Not an 'Endangered Species'

By Malen Blackmon

Sep 9, 2020

One early morning in 1974, Michael Taylor, a 14-year-old Black kid growing up in the inner-city projects of Corpus Christi, was walking to school when he heard an argument between two adults in the garage of a bike shop that drew him closer to the conversation. The argument was between...

Timothy S. Miller wrote a noir novel set in Dallas, called City of Hate. Hey, he's just being honest.

The Dallas-Set Novel City of Hate Tells a Timely Story of Haves and Have-Nots

By Tyler Hicks

Jul 9, 2020

When author Tim Miller reads back his writing, he hears the booming voice of his father, a Pentecostal preacher. Those kinds of preachers speak while they breathe, Miller explains, and their sermons are filled with intense fervor and conviction. The Dallas-based writer, now 49, was never a preacher himself, but...

Wait, so reading IS fun? Books are all the rage again.

North Texas Influencers Want To Make Reading Cool Again

By Isabel Arcellana

Jul 6, 2020

Is it just us, or has the content quality of Instagram significantly declined since the pandemic started? Let’s be honest, we know all our daily screen time reports are skyrocketing, but what are we even looking at on Instagram? It’s not like people are still posting many vacation photos or...

There are plenty of texas authors for you to catch up on this quarantine season.

The 7 Best Books by Texas Authors You Should Check Out Now That You Have Time to Read

By Scott Tucker

Mar 17, 2020

With COVID-19 being the headlining blip on everyone’s radar and social distancing becoming the new normal, people are most likely going to be hanging around the house quite a bit. Between school closures, business closures and all cultural institutions on lockdown, day-to-day life may get pretty boring. The bad news...

A new book collecting Fort Worth's wanted posters is a trip down memory lane.

Wanted in America: A New Book Collects Fort Worth ‘Wanted’ Posters

By Karen Gavis

Feb 28, 2020

Pickpockets, prostitutes, robbers and vagrants fill the pages of a recent book by TCU Press, the publishing house at Texas Christian University. While they may sound straight from the pages of a Charles Dickens novel, the cast of characters in Wanted in America: Posters Collected by the Fort Worth Police...

Calling all Mr. and Mrs. Wordsmiths. Here are the best poetry slams in Dallas.

The (Word) Smiths: The Best Places in Dallas to Find Slam Poetry

By Alie Dinger

Feb 10, 2020

Whether your hands are weathered from snapping or you’re new to the sport, slam poetry is a great point of access to art, culture and a passion for the human condition. Poets take stories of love and heartbreak, unique perspectives on color and gender or political angst, bottle it up...

Writer and filmmaker Bret McCormick collects Texas horror stories.

Hellraisin’: Two Writers Edit and Publish a Yearly Anthology of Texas Horror Stories

By Karen Gavis

Jan 31, 2020

When he's not shape-shifting into a part-time Bedford library assistant, Bret McCormick writes and edits hellacious horror stories. McCormick, along with E.R. Bills, another Texas author, began compiling an annual anthology of dreadful Lone Star-tinged tales about four years ago called Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers that’s been...

Producer Symbolyc One talks about his new book and the key to a successful career as a producer: soul music and pain.

Producer Symbolyc One Discusses His Faith and His First Time Working with Kanye West

By Garrett Gravley

Jan 30, 2020

Waco-based hip-hop producer Symbolyc One (or “S1,” for short) can look back on a life of astonishing achievement, but as far as he’s concerned, he would not have developed the lofty bully pulpit he stands comfortably on were it not for God or, on a more tangible level, those peers...

Arturo Torres hangs out with a couple of his illustrations at co-working space Common Desk in Addison.

Best-Selling Illustrator Arturo Torres Talks Movies, Fatherhood and Setting Records

By Tyler Hicks

Nov 20, 2019

Arturo Torres has the best reason for missing my first phone call: His son was asleep on top of him. “Sorry, bro,” the illustrator is quick to say. “I’m a father now, so you know how it goes.” I do not, in fact, know how it goes, but anyone who...

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