Postscripts

Despite the increasingly tinsel-obsessed nature of book promotions, whereby publishing houses, particularly the large ones, invest their promotional gusto in star literary names and titles, it's gratefullly inarguable that the publishing world is still dependent on its creators, its authors, many of whom do not like trekking the country reading the same passage time and again, even to appreciative audiences -- which is not to say there's any shortage of authors, national and local, who would leap at the opportunity to read their work to large audiences. Nonetheless, authors are authors, and as such, they devote their time to being alone with their thoughts and words, and many of them seem to like it that way. Many times the best books are the ones that pass through our office with little or no media fanfare. Accordingly, it's a thorny, difficult process to think over the past year and attempt to name Austin's most memorable book world happenings, especially since the journey from the inception of a work to its publication is such a lengthy one, and since it's entirely possible that any one of `97's most memorable literary "events" is still being written. So whereas I'll leave off listing the Top Ten literary events that happened in Austin in 1997, I can't let this issue go by without relating my favorite moment of all of Austin's booksigning events during the last year. In early October, Book People held a Southern Writer's Night event with authors Charles Frazier of Cold Mountain fame and New York Times Atlanta bureau chief Rick Bragg reading from his memoir about growing up poor in the South, All Over but the Shoutin'. By the time of the authors' appearance date, Frazier's book had amassed much critical and popular success and Frazier, though eloquent, seemed more exhausted than anything else by the extensive book tour his publisher, Grove/Atlantic, sent him on. Frazier read a selection from the book and then Bragg, who is a no-holds-barred, affable man, effused in his own inimitably rhapsodic manner about his admiration for and love of Frazier's book. So enthused, in fact, was Bragg that he began comparing himself to Frazier and made it clear that he would in no way read as eloquently as Frazier had. In his good-natured way, Bragg then revealed that his publisher, Pantheon, had sent him to a book reading class before letting him go out on the road. The very idea that Pantheon would try to teach the irrepressible Rick Bragg how to read well and proper amuses me to no end. What are they going to teach someone like Bragg? How to read better so as to sell more copies?!... Toad Hall Children's Bookstore and the Austin Writers' League are co-sponsoring the third annual Teddy Book Award, established to recognize an outstanding book for children written by an AWL member. Entries must have been published during 1997 and may include any children's book, fiction or nonfiction, picture books to young adult titles. A $1,000 cash award will be presented to the winner at a reception in April. Entrants must be AWL members but may join at time of entry. A $10 fee, two copies of the book, and an entry form must accompany each entry. A panel of judges who are not AWL members or affiliated with Toad Hall will select the winner(s). Deadline is January 31; for more information call 499-8914. On January 1, two new AWL board members began their terms, Tom Doyal, writer and attorney, and Kathy Fitzgibbon, a freelance writer who was formerly an editor with Steck Vaughn... UT's Center for Mexican American Studies reports that Rolando Hinojosa-Smith has recently had his short story "Por esas cosas que pasan" translated into Italian and published by Feltrinelli. The short story is part of Estampas del Valle.