News/Print

Tom Doyal, one of my very favorite people and one of the funniest writers around, has had "a little stroke" and is "resting uncomfortably" here in town. Doyal was preparing for a visit to New York City when the stroke occurred. "I've never had this happen to me," Doyal explained from his hospital room last week. "So I kept trying to stand up and get moving." According to the author and occasional Chronicle contributor, he has suffered some vision impairment and was having some difficulty walking, but doctors will re-evaluate his condition in the coming weeks. The Austin Chronicle and the Texas literary community (among, I'm sure, many others who bear no official designation) wish him the speediest recovery and the healthiest return to writing... It's that time of year again: Those interested in the hallowed Dobie-Paisano Fellowship -- the achievement of which virtually guarantees that people will believe you when you say you're a writer -- had better start getting their papers in order. The deadline for the 2003-04 fellowship -- which includes a six-month stay at a sprawling ranch and a $2,000 monthly stipend -- is Jan. 31, 2003. Applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements: be a native Texan, have lived in Texas for at least two years, or have published writing that has a Texas subject. Visit www.utexas.edu/ogs/Paisano/ info.html or e-mail Audrey Slate, director, at [email protected] for more information... Something that won't guarantee your writerly status but will guarantee a hug or a handshake from yours truly and, as mentioned in this space previously, cash and newfound -- though possibly short-lived -- literary clout: The 11th annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest. Don't forget, the deadline is November 4. Judges will include Dorothy Barnett, Scott Blackwood, Dan Dietz, and Neal Pollack. See elsewhere in this issue for the official rules and regs, or visit austinchronicle.com/shortstory... Notable upcoming appearances: Angela Williamston (Poet on Watch) at Mitchie's on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11am; Texas Trilogy fundraiser for the Texas Observer at Scholz's Garden on Monday, Oct. 14, 5pm, featuring Steven Fromholz and Molly Ivins; Lynn C. Miller (Fool's Journey: A Romance) at Book Woman on Oct. 18 at 6:30pm; Noam Chomsky at the 12th annual Texas Civil Rights Project Bill of Rights Dinner at the Red Lion Hotel on Oct. 19 (call 474-5073 for tickets, or visit www.texascivilrightsproject.org); Daniel Quinn (The Holy) at BookPeople on Oct. 22 at 7pm; R.A. Salvatore (The Thousand Orcs) at BookPeople on Oct. 23; Eric Drooker (Flood) at MonkeyWrench on Oct. 24 and BookPeople on Oct. 25... Next week: our vast but practical preview to Bouchercon 2002.