BookPeople Hosts Third Annual Dalton Gang Reading

July 10, 2009

The Dalton Gang is back again for the Third Annual Dalton Gang Reading hosted by BookPeople (603 N. Lamar). Escape the Austin heatwave and join us for a literary treat showcasing seven talented Austin authors on Wednesday, August 12 at 7 p.m..

The evening includes the poetry of Lyman Grant (The Road Home) and W. Joe Hoppe (Galvanized); the Grimm-inspired tales from Ric Williams (Woman in the Tower); the refreshing and incisive fiction crafted by Robert Stikmanz (Sleeper Awakes), Gary Kent’s unbelievable, yet all true, reminiscences of the indie film revolution (Shadows & Light); a jolt of inspiration and motivation from the SOAPBOX® Queen herself, Kimberlie Dykeman (Pure Soapbox); and the always hilarious and entertaining Les McGehee (Plays Well With Others).

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Special Screening of Bubba Ho-Tep Accompanies Gary Kent Book Signing

July 9, 2009

Writer/director, actor, stuntman legend, special effects expert, and production manager Gary Kent will screen one of the many films he worked on over his expansive film career, Bubba Ho-Tep, on Sunday, July 26 at Dan’s Silverleaf (103 Industrial St.) in Denton, Texas. The second stop on Kent’s 2009 book tour celebrating the release of his forthcoming book from Dalton Publishing, Shadows & Light: Journeys With Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood, this evening promises to be an entertaining and memorable tribute to Kent’s impact on the indie film world.

Admission is free and doors open at 8 p.m.. Gary Kent will take the stage at 9 p.m. for an intimate Q&A session with the audience, followed by the screening of Bubba Ho-Tep at 10 p.m.. Fellow Dalton Publishing author and Austin film journalist Joe O’Connell (Evacuation Plan, a novel from the hospice) will film the event as part of a documentary he is crafting about Kent.

Prior to the screening at Dan’s Silverleaf, Gary Kent will sign copies of Shadows & Light at Barnes & Noble Denton (2201 I-35 North-South) on Saturday, July 25. Beginning promptly at 4 p.m., Kent will read an excerpt from his much-anticipated book and will be available for autographs immediately following.

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“Evacuation Plan” Wins Book Award

April 20, 2009

by Neil Kahn

Dalton Publishing author Joe M. O’Connell was presented the 2009 North Texas Book Festival Book Award for adult fiction for his novel-in-stories Evacuation Plan, a novel from the hospice in Denton, Texas on Friday, April 17.

Now in its ninth year, the North Texas Book Festival, a non-profit organization, has awarded more than $25,000 in grants to school and public libraries and literacy groups in North Texas using the proceeds from the annual book festival. Presented first in 2007, the book awards are intended to honor exceptional works from small, independent publishers. “It’s great to be honored by folks who care so much about books and literacy,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes it can be difficult for authors from smaller literary publishers to get the word out, and this sort of recognition helps.” He recalls a bookseller once pointing to all of the books in her store and reminding him of the vast competition present in the publishing industry. “Awards like these help to pull books to the forefront.”

Other 2009 book award winners include From Guns to Gavels: How Justice Grew Up in the Outlaw West by Bill Neal (Texas Tech University Press) for adult nonfiction, and children’s book Birth of the Fifth Sun and Other Mesoamerican Tales by Jo Harper (Texas Tech University Press).

Since its release in July 2007, Evacuation Plan has proven a local best-seller and was recently a finalist for the Violet Crown Book Award presented by the Writers’ League of Texas. The novel is loosely inspired by time O’Connell spent at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House and weaves wondrous tales of the terminally ill and their families and friends who share surprising joys and revealing truths as they experience the final transformation of life. Wayne Alan Brenner of The Austin Chronicle calls Evacuation Plan “an excellent, thought-provoking diversion from our own inevitable plummet toward the grave” and “highly recommend[s] it to you, the living.”

Written in the novel-in-stories style of Tim O’Brien’s July July, the characters in Evacuation Plan expose themselves in poignantly unfolding stories: the gambler who played a risky game involving his wife and his ex-con father; the daughter whose dying father had no clue about the night her world spun out of control; and the drunk who magically encountered himself as a boy. One story was adapted into a play titled “The Gambler” and performed during Austin’s Frontera Fest.

Joe O’Connell is a film columnist for The Austin Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News. He also teaches creative writing to graduate students at St. Edward’s University and to undergraduates at Austin Community College. He is currently working on two very different projects: completing the mystery novel that inspired Evacuation Plan and writing a book he calls a “faction” — part fact, part fiction — influenced by the life of his late mother.

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Joe O’Connell Featured in Austin Monthly

February 18, 2009

Joe O’Connell, author of local #1 best-seller Evacuation Plan, a novel from the hospice, is Austin Monthly’s “Read” pick for February. The spotlight article discusses Joe’s inspiration behind writing Evacuation Plan, his personal influences, and his plans for the future. The issue is on newsstands now at Austin’s own BookPeople and Waterloo Records, Whole Foods, Central Market, and H-E-B.

Evacuation Plan has enjoyed great success since its July 2007 release, garnering considerable praise and quickly becoming a centerpiece for a number of events. Recently, the book was a finalist for the Violet Crown Book Award, given out annually by the Writers’ League of Texas. Joe has many events scheduled for 2009!

Read the article here…

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O’Connell Attends Author Extravaganza

January 13, 2009

This coming weekend, January 15-17, will see our own Joe O’Connell venture to East Texas where he will take part in the 9th annual Pulpwood Queen Convention, known as Girlfriend Weekend, Author Extravaganza, held in Jefferson, Texas. Hosted by Kathy Patrick, founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs and owner of Beauty and the Book bookstore, Girlfriend Weekend, Author Extravaganza is a fabulous event with a heartfelt mission. Each year the event is held with the intention to promote literacy; serve the Arkansas/Louisiana/Texas community through literary, educational, and musical programs, and others; nurture, support, and showcase regional, national, and international writers and other artists; and help unknown authors get discovered in a big way! In an event titled “On the Road Again,” Joe O’Connell is juxtaposed with fellow Texas authors who, according to Kathy Patrick, “really write as big as the great state of Texas.” These Lone Star writers include Joe Nick Patoski, Bill O’Neal, and Mike Cox.

With copies of Evacuation Plan in hand, Joe O’Connell heads out for a Girlfriend Weekend, Author Extravaganza that promises interaction with authors known and unknown, media opportunities, and many, many books!

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The Dalton Gang Keeps Austin Bizarre

December 8, 2008

The Dalton Gang is jump-starting the holiday season by taking part in the 2nd annual Keep Austin Bizarre Christmas Bazaar held at the Palmer Events Center on the shore of Lake Austin. The twelve day extravaganza runs from Friday, December 12 through Tuesday, December 23, and features over 100 local artists and retailers, among others. This event truly is an Austin original!

Dalton Publishing author Robert Stikmanz (The Hidden Lands of Nod series) has secured a section of a table with Austinite Denniger Bolton, author of the B.B. Rivers mystery triology (Javelina Press), for December 13-15, 19-22. We are thrilled to be part of such a wonderful affair! Throughout the duration of this holiday event, a selection of our authors will join Rob to sell and sign their books and other products, as well as the entire Dalton catalog.

See below for a complete Dalton Publishing author appearance schedule:

Saturday, December 13
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Les McGehee
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Joe O’ Connell

Sunday, December 14
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Kimberlie Dykeman
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Joe O’ Connell

Monday, December 15
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: TBD
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Kimberlie Dykeman

Thursday, December 18
11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.: Kimberlie Dykeman

Friday, December 19
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Joe O’ Connell
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Les McGehee

Saturday, December 20
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Les McGehee
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Joe O’ Connell

Sunday, December 21
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Kimberlie Dykeman
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: TBD

Monday, December 22
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: TBD
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: TBD
11 a.m.-11 p.m.: Kimberlie Dykeman

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Joe O’Connell and Owen Egerton Represent The Dalton Gang at Texas Book Fest ‘08

October 27, 2008

Two very special Dalton authors, Joe M. O’Connell and Owen Egerton, will take part in the festivities of Texas Book Festival 2008! Beginning this Saturday, November 1, with events scheduled throughout the weekend, the Texas Book Festival is a celebration and exhibition of the best published works the Lone Star State has to offer.

Joe O’Connell will be on-site as he is a finalist for the Writers’ League of Texas Violet Crown Book Award in Fiction. The WLT will announce this year’s winner in the State Capitol Building at 3pm on Saturday, November 1. O’Connell has earned this honor for his best-selling novel Evacuation Plan. The Violet Crown Award honors outstanding published books written by members of the Writers’ League of Texas. It is presented annually in the following categories: fiction, nonfiction, literary prose & poetry.

Congratulations for this achievement, Joe! We’re still rooting for you!

On Sunday, November 2, Owen Egerton will moderate a panel discussion on adolescence-themed literature entitled “The Worst Years of Your Life: Writing about Adolescence.” This event comes as part of the 2008 Texas Book Festival and is hosted by the Austin Bat Cave (1807 W. 11th St.), where the event will occur. Open and free to the public, the discussion will get underway at 8pm. Owen will guide the evening’s discussion of angst, depression, growing pains, and all other things that makes growing up so hard. The panelists will discuss what makes writing about adolescence such a unique and challenging undertaking.

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Dalton’s Own Joe O’Connell is Violet Crown Book Award Finalist

September 8, 2008

Our very own Joe M. O’Connell’s novel-in-stories, Evacuation Plan, a novel from the hospice, is a finalist for the Violet Crown Book Award in Fiction. He is among 6 other finalists. The Violet Crown Award is given out annually by the Writers League of Texas. On November 1, the winner will be announced at the Texas Book Festival and awarded a $1,000 prize!

Congrats, Joe! We’re rooting for you!

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Michael Gilmore Poetry Reading and Booksigning

September 8, 2008

Please join us at Borders Westgate on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 4pm for a poetry reading and signing by the ever-brilliant Michael Gilmore, author of Restless Astronomy.

Restless Astronomy is Gilmore’s first collection of poetry in over two decades and includes older, previously published poems as well as new, intensely incisive pieces. Ranging expansive topics, the poems cover love and loss, past relationships, the passing of heroes, parenting, and encounters with the world from Chinese cafes to Russian poet icons.

Who: Michael Gilmore
What: Poetry reading and booksigning, Restless Astronomy
Where: Borders Westgate (4477 S. Lamar)
When: Saturday, Sept. 13 at 4pm

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Latest News: Now Emerging from Dalton Publishing - Wiggy Press!

June 18, 2008

Dalton Publishing is thrilled to introduce Wiggy Press, a brand new imprint. Wiggy Press emerges as a platform for more mainstream topics, focusing on timely, self-help, business, and other nonfiction titles. The first release from Wiggy Press is Pure Soapbox…a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Acclaimed by fellow Dalton author Owen Egerton as “an espresso shot for your heart,” Pure Soapbox offers an interactive resource of innovative inspiration. “Prepare to laugh, prepare to think, and prepare to be more and more excited about your life,” Egerton says. Kimberlie provides both wisdom and stimulation disguised in wit and humor as she calls readers forth to forge a path of lively participation. Pure Soapbox breaks the ground perfectly for what will become an exciting part of Dalton Publishing.

Join us at BookPeople on Wednesday, June 25 at 7pm for the release party and signing of Pure Soapbox…a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor by Kimberlie Dykeman. Expect a memorable night filled with colorful surprises and, of course, motivation with a swift kick in the pants from the SOAPBOX™ Queen herself!

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