Postscripts

"Having been an agent here for about four years now and seeing the wealth of literary talent that we have available, it's always hurt me that we haven't had more publishers available to tap that. So I'm really looking forward to being on the other end of things." Those are the words of Marc Schwarz, who is currently the president and managing editor of local literary agency Silver Phoenix; within the next few weeks, he'll be the editor-in-chief of a new publishing outfit, Denver-Austin, that at least tentatively will have offices near 360 and Bee Caves Road. Schwarz says that there are two Denver investors behind the project who are "attempting to buy a distributor in Colorado so that would give us a degree of vertical integration that frankly I think publishers need these days." Denver-Austin is trying to get out five titles by Christmas, with plans to publish 30 next year. The company isn't limiting itself to regional titles, though Schwarz stresses that "we are going to have very clearly some more regional titles; in fact, one of the ones we're planning for Christmas is a history of Austin music by Alan Turley."

"We started out primarily as a literary agency," Schwarz says, "and then we expanded to include some other author services like manuscript critiques and editing and helping people self-publish and we actually published a couple of titles under the Silver Phoenix imprint. One of those, Another Number [by Kerrville resident David Breeden], which is a novel about a Seventies radio station, will probably have Silver Phoenix sell the rights to Denver-Austin and then reprint it in a somewhat larger run for this Christmas as well."

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Events

The Friends of the O.Henry Museum are inviting the public to their annual meeting, Saturday, February 27, 2-4pm at the Austin History Center (810 Guadalupe). Liz Carpenter will present a talk, "O.Henry -- Newsman" ...

The public is invited to help Resistencia Bookstoreand Blue Road Studio/Gallery celebrate the opening of their new location (603 W. Live Oak) on February 27 from 5-11pm. Food will be served; call 416-8885 for more information...

The authors of Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing, Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser, will talk about their book and self-publishing at FringeWare on February 27 at 8pm...

On Sunday, February 28, from 2-3:30pm, Mysteries & More hosts Susan Rogers Cooper signing A Crooked Little House and Bill Crider signing Murder in the Mist (which he co-wrote with Willard Scott). Walter Satterthwait is planning on stopping by...

Southwest Texas State and the Michener Center will be sharing Thom Jones when he comes to town this week. On Tuesday, March 2 at 7pm, he'll be reading from and signing his new collection of stories, Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine, at SWT's Flowers Hall, room 341. At 10am the next day, Wednesday, March 3, he'll conduct a Q&A session at SWT, Flowers Hall, room 376. That evening he'll be in Austin at the fourth floor auditorium of the HRC (21st & Guadalupe) at 7:30pm reading again from his new collection. For more information on the SWT events, call 512/245-2163; call 471-1601 for info on the UT event. Congress Avenue Booksellers hosts Kinky Friedman on Wednesday, March 3, from 11-30am-1pm. Lunch will be provided...

Michener Center director James Magnuson will read from his new novel Windfall, about the travails of Ben Lindberg, a UT English professor who findsover$7 million in a deserted feed store, at Book People, Thursday, March 4 at 7pm.