Coming and Going: “The Geometry of Wishes” by Randall Watson

Coming and Going: “The Geometry of Wishes” by Randall Watson

Contributing writer Savanah Burns wrote this post in celebration of Randall Watson’s new book with Texas Review Press.

Everything has a place and time in life, and then life goes on, right? This is what nature warns us with the changing of the tree leaves. But in our own lives, the special and the ordinary moments in life come too fast and go too quickly. Those moments you didn’t know would be important until later on, such as when you first fall in love. And those moments you knew would change everything, such as the day your lover leaves.

Advertisements

TRP at AWP

TRP at AWP

Contributing writer Laura Brackin writes about her time at AWP 2018.

Every year, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) organizes a literary conference which draws thousands of people: authors, editors, journals, students, graduate and residency programs, presses, and people who simply love books. In the span of three days, hundreds of panels are set up, ranging in topics which cover such things as writing in the LGBTQ community, what to do with your MFA degree after graduation, how writers become editors, and many more. A conference goer could easily schedule a panel for every hour in each day, if they wanted to.

Highlighting Shep in the Victorio War

Highlighting Shep in the Victorio War

Contributing writer Elizabeth Evans writes about the highly anticipated sequel to Faithful Shep, author Don DeNevi’s Shep in the Victorio War, coming soon from Texas Review Press.

During the summer of 1880, amid the searing heat of the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas and northern Mexico, Chief Victorio led his band of Mescalero and Warm Springs Apaches in a last, desperate exodus from a disease-ridden, barren reservation. Raiding cattle and horses to survive, Victorio and his people eluded pursuers on both sides of the Rio Grande, as the US Army, the Texas Rangers, and the Mexican territorial militia combined forces to ferret out and eliminate the fugitive Apaches.

Celebrating Texas

Celebrating Texas

Contributing writer Savanah Burns wrote this post in celebration of Texas History this month.

This month is filled with Texas history. Last Friday, March 2, was Texas Independence Day. Two days ago, March 6, was spent commemorating the Battle of the Alamo. This month, we encourage you to celebrate Texas by reading a book relate to Texas history, or inspired by it. Here’s a list our staff put together for you:

What do you do now that you’re published?

What do you do now that you’re published?

Award-winning author and guest contributor Johnnie Bernhard offers her advice on how to market yourself and your book, and to reach your audience.

When A Good Girl was published in 2017, I was very aware of entering a schizophrenic publishing market. It was saturated with self-published books, books from small and medium presses, and the New York big houses. I needed to find out immediately who my audience was, and how I could best meet that audience. 

Not all Nonfiction is Creatively Equal: A Look at Reading Nonfiction

Not all Nonfiction is Creatively Equal

Contributing writer Laura Brackin writes about nonfiction and how it is different from fiction, in terms of how a fiction reader should approach it.

Readers of fiction look for specific things in the literature they choose: well-voiced narration, dialogue that isn’t forced or seemingly “scripted,” proper grammar and punctuation, tension and urgency that keep the pages turning, and realistic characters who are well-developed and working to get themselves either out of trouble or closer to the desired object/situation/event.

Getting to Know TRP author Theodora Bishop

Getting to Know TRP author Theodora Bishop

Contributing writer Elizabeth Evans recently interviewed 2016 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize runner up and author of On the Rocks, Theodora Bishop. 

What inspired On the Rocks?

On the Rocks was originally a short story I wrote the first winter I spent in Alabama (I lived in Tuscaloosa for four years while completing my MFA at the University of Alabama). I had wanted to write a story that takes place over the course of a family party, a situation ripe for inspiration in and of itself.

Four Insights into Writing Children’s Literature

Four Insights into Writing Children’s Literature

Contributing writer Savanah Burns wrote this post offering advice on writing children’s literature.

When it comes to writing “good” children’s literature, there are a few things authors have done well. First of all, the author needs to know their reader. Second of all, the author needs to successfully engross their reader in the narrative.

TRP at AWP

We are a month out from the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference in sunny Tampa, Florida!

Highlighting How We Came to Be by Johnnie Bernhard

Highlighting How We Came to Be

Contributing writer Laura Brackin writes about award-winning author of A Good Girl Johnnie Bernhard’s new book, How We Came to Be, coming soon from Texas Review Press.