Katherine Tanney Hosts Celebration for “Stricken”

March 31, 2009

by Neil Kahn

On Thursday, April 9, at 7 p.m., Dalton Publishing presents a very special evening at Cafe Caffeine in South Austin to celebrate the publication of Stricken: The 5000 Stages of Grief. This moving collection of essays is co-edited by local, award-winning authors Spike Gillespie and Katherine Tanney.

Not only is this event free and happening at a cool coffee house, it will feature guest readers from Austin’s creative community interpreting the work of some of our out-of-town contributors.

Poet and performance artist David Jewell, actress and playwright Amparo Garcia-Crow, filmmaker/funny person Leslie Belt, and playwright C. Denby Swanson will share the bill with Stricken writers Owen Egerton, Sandy Silver, Victoria Hendricks, David Zuniga, and the evening’s host, Katherine Tanney.

Each reader will share a 10-12 minute excerpt from one of the essays in the book. The subject matter is love, loss, and the grieving process in its many forms. Prepare to be moved.

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Publishing Professionals Gather in NYC for IBPA Conference

March 17, 2009

by Neil Kahn

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) will host its 25th annual Publishing University event in New York City, the publishing capital of the world. This year’s three day conference is held May 26-28 and record turnout is expected being New York City is a metropolis that radiates publishing ambiance unlike anywhere else. Publishing industry professionals from all over the world will attend, making this event an excellent networking opportunity.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, May 27, Deltina Hay, owner of the independent press Dalton Publishing and social media consulting and Web 2.0 development firm Social Media Power, is heavily involved in panels and workshops as part of the conference.

Early on Wednesday morning, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Deltina is a guest speaker for a panel discussion entitled “Octopus Marketing: The Multiple Tentacles Approach to Creating Book Buzz Online (Web 2.0).” She will share the stage with Bob Baker (Spotlight Publications) and Maggie Lichtenberg (Open Heart Publishing). The publishing pros will provide insight into Internet book marketing, specifically touching on the importance of a strong Web presence created using social media and Web 2.0 strategies.

That afternoon, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., the social media maven hosts “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Fundamentals of Web 2.0 and Social Media, but Were Afraid to Ask,” a panel covering all aspects of the Social Web. From social networks to blogging, multimedia sharing to RSS feeds, this panel provides the answers you’ve been searching for to enhance your Web presence. Steve Mettee of Quill Driver Press and Kathleen Gage, The Street Smarts Marketer, assist Deltina in this discussion.

And for those craving a hands-on, straight-forward approach to implementing social media tools, Deltina will hold a workshop, titled “How to Build a Strong Technical but Manageable Presence on the Social Web,” on Wednesday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. This class will demonstrate how to build a strong Social Web presence without the confusion often brought on by technical jargon. Learn to set up the essential social media tools, including a blog, social networking profiles, media sharing communities, and social calendars, and integrate them to reduce your workload. Discover how you can blog once, upload a photo in once place, enter an event to one social calendar, and feed all of it into your blog, your social networking profiles, and your Website.

Look for Deltina Hay’s forthcoming book A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web due out from Wiggy Press in April 2009. And, if you’re looking for an affordable way to create a powerful presence in the Social Web but cannot attend IBPA’s Publishing University conference, check out Plumb Social, an innovative new Web 2.0 service offered by Social Media Power.

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Owen Egerton at Howson Library Tonight

March 10, 2009

Award-winning Dalton author Owen Egerton will discuss his collection of short stories How Best to Avoid Dying and his novel Marshall Hollenzer is Driving at the Howson Library (2500 Exposition) Book Club meeting tonight at 7 p.m.

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Three Small Presses, One Big Read

March 2, 2009

by Neil Kahn

Showcasing the thriving literary and musical talents in Austin, Dalton Publishing, American Short Fiction, and Bat City Review come together to celebrate Small Press Month. Held annually in March, Small Press Month highlights the innovative and exciting work produced by small publishers.

Dalton author and humorist Owen Egerton (How Best to Avoid Dying) will emcee the evening featuring six writers reading both newly published and yet to be published works. The musical stylings of alt-country band Jenny and the Corn Ponies will kick off the evening, and Southpaw Jones, whose music is at once hilarious and heartbreaking, will bring the festivities to a close. From Dalton Publishing, Ric Williams shares tales from his forthcoming novel Woman in the Tower, and stuntman Gary Kent entertains with his insider’s view on revolutionary Hollywood, reading from the much-anticipated Shadows & Light. Smith Henderson and Amelia Gray, two writers featured in the Spring 2009 issue of American Short Fiction, offer a taste of delectable, unconventional short fiction. And, breathing poetic air into the evening, Josh Morison and Elyse Fenton of Bat City Review deliver lyrical and contemplative poetry.

Stacey Swann, editor of American Short Fiction, organized this brand new event to recognize the small presses, who she says “are motivated by a love of books and literature,” allowing them to “take greater risks” than big publishers. “In the current economic crisis,” Swann says, “support of these [small] presses is even more important.” While mainstream publishers are putting a freeze on acquisitions, small presses need to seize the opportunity and fill in the gap.

American Short Fiction is a literary journal that publishes short fiction written by some of the finest authors of contemporary literature. It is printed quarterly by the independent non-profit Badgerdog Literary Publishing, Inc. and distributed nationally. Bat City Review is the literary magazine of UT Austin’s Creative Writing graduate students. The nationally-circulated magazine publishes the best in contemporary short fiction and poetry.

This feast of words and music will transpire in the heart of south Austin at Cafe Caffeine (909 W. Mary) on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

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