David Foster Wallace’s posthumous novel, The Pale King, went on sale today nationally, but lucky you, Austin reader peoples, you get to celebrate the release with a special event at the Harry Ransom Center, which acquired Wallace’s archive in 2010.
Actually, the reading takes place across the courtyard, in the Jessen Auditorium in Homer Rainey Hall. (We recommend arriving very early.) Kevin Brockmeier, Doug Dorst, Julie Orringer, and Jake Silverstein will read excerpts from the novel, and – good news for nonlocals or just plain couch potatoes – there will be a live webcast of the event (they both start at 7pm). But if you can get there, you should: Post-reading, there will be a reception at the HRC, which has some of DFW’s materials on display as part of its Culture Unbound: Collecting in the Twenty-First Century exhibit.
The event is cosponsored by Austin Public Library Friends Foundation’s New Fiction Confab and BookPeople. And speaking of the former: The second annual New Fiction Confab – which features the same stellar writers mentioned above, and more – takes place tomorrow (April 16) at area libraries; go here to check out the complete schedule. And speaking of the latter, our good friends at BookPeople, their blog has a helpful roundup of all the early Pale King notices; that can be found here.
This article appears in April 15 • 2011.
