Postscripts

Congratulations to Louis Sachar, author of Holes, which won the 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. And congratulations, for now at least, to Bradley Denton, who just signed a one-year, film-option contract to have his romantic fantasy novel Lunatics, set in Austin, made into a movie. "It's only a one-year option, though, so the odds of an actual movie being made are still pretty slim," Denton says. "On the other hand, the production company involved is Barry Levinson and Paula Weinstein's Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures. So if they should decide to go ahead with the film ... they'll do a terrific job with the blend of realism and fantasy -- and with the ensemble cast -- that the story would require."...

Mike Vinson has sold Book Market in the Dobie Mall to Rick van Dalen and Maria Delgado, who report they intend to keep things just as they always have been, including buying used books...

You can see for yourself whether Dr. James Mahoney, the author referred to as a "saint" in this week's story on The Texas Documentary Tour (see page 64), really is a saint when he reads from his book, Saving Molly: A Research Veterinarian's Choices, on Thursday, December 3, 7pm, at Book People. Saving Molly begins, "This is the story of a brave little dog by the name of Molly -- a bush dog, blind in one eye, and poor-sighted in the other." That kind of clarity is constant throughout the book, a clarity that is the blessing of conviction and is heartfelt, which is not to say that Saving Molly is didactic or beats readers over the head with its "message."...

Also on December 3, but at 7:30pm at Barnes & Noble Arboretum, is Ellen Miller, author of Like Being Killed. When Marion Winik profiled Miller in September (Vol. 18, No. 2), she described her as "a sort of East Village Emily Dickinson: pale skin, thick, dark hair, equally dark and prominent (she would probably say 'exopthalmic') eyes. Cardigan sweater. Barely past 30, she had a sort of bubbly neurotic urgency that I found endearing."...

Join contributors to Analecta 24, UT's art and literary journal, at Barnes & Noble Guadalupe on Tuesday, December 1 at 7:30pm. This Analectaedition, the 24th, is the first to be produced from both the Liberal Arts and Fine Arts colleges. And on December 3 at the same store, Phillip Lopate, essayist and author of The Art of the Personal Essay, reads at 7pm. Lopate is also the series editor of The Anchor Essay Annual...

Noreen Damude, author of Texas Wildscapes, will be signing her book at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center from noon-3pm on Friday, December 4, a day of -- here comes that magic phrase -- tax-free shopping at the Center...

There are two chances to catch David Bennahum reading from Extra Life: Coming of Age in Cyberspace, at Book People Saturday, November 28, 3pm, and Monday, November 30, 8pm, at FringeWare. Extra Life is being billed as "the first memoir of the Atari generation."...

San Antonio author Rick Riordan's mystery workshop at the Austin Writers' League was supposed to take place in October but didn't due to flooding, and so he'll be back on Saturday, December 5, 1-4pm, to discuss topics unique to the mystery genre. Call 499-8914 for more information...

The deadline for applying for the Dobie-Paisano writing fellowships is January 22. The fellowships allow two writers the opportunity to live on J. Frank Dobie's former ranch for an extended period of time but applicants must meet 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. Call 471-1601 or e-mail aslate@mail.utexas.edu for more information.