Hip Lit
The New Fiction Confab
By Kimberley Jones, Fri., April 16, 2010
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition defines "confab" as a chat or discussion, but we prefer Webster's Third New International Dictionary's more lyrical "handshakings and organization building." No secret handshake or special membership card binds the writers gathering at this weekend's New Fiction Confab, but still, put together, they mark some of the most exciting literary talent today, including ZZ Packer (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere), Doug Dorst (Alive in Necropolis), and Wells Tower (we named his kicky, syntactically electrifying debut collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned a favorite book of '09). Authors will give half-hour readings, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Jake Silverstein.
The free event, presented by the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation, starts Saturday, April 17, 1pm, at the Faulk Central Library (800 Guadalupe). See below for schedule. For more info, visit www.austinlibrary.org.
1pm: ZZ Packer
1:30pm: Doug Dorst
2pm: Nell Freudenberger
2:30pm: Wells Tower
3pm: Julie Orringer
3:45pm: Panel discussion led by Jake Silverstein
5pm: Booksigning