2ND ANNUAL MLK SPOKENWORD COMPETITION

Come showcase your talent at our MLK SPOKENWORD COMPETITION!

$100 CASH PRIZE GOR BEST POET.

2 Rounds. One Winner. $7 Entry Fee!

Join us at the Dock Book Shop located at 6637 Meadowbrook Dr. Bring your best rhymes and powerful words to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. This in-person event promises to be a night filled with creativity, inspiration, and community. Don't miss this opportunity to share your voice and connect with others through the power of spoken word. See you there!

Join us to celebrate the release of Kayla Olson's latest, THE LODGE!

From the author of THE REUNION comes a cozy rom-com about a writer who decamps to a Vermont lodge for work but finds herself distracted by the charming ski instructor next door.

THE LODGE:

Alix Morgan just got her big break as the ghostwriter of a memoir by Sebastian Green, a former member of the boy band True North. And when he offers her a penthouse at a luxurious resort in Vermont, she jumps at the chance to work far away from her noisy, cramped apartment.

Her career as an entertainment journalist has been building toward this dream job—after all, she used to cover True North and was one of the last people to interview former front man Jett Beckett before he disappeared. As she combs through her client’s voice memos, the specter of the missing lead singer remains, and fans are desperate to know the full story.

But Alix also has time for some fun at this glamorous resort, where she begins ski lessons with a handsome instructor named Tyler. As Alix and Tyler fall in love on the slopes, Alix’s work takes a complicated turn—and the mystery of True North’s downfall may be hers to solve.

THE AUTHOR:

Kayla Olson is the author of two books for young adults and The Reunion. Whether writing at her desk or curled up with a good book, she can most often be found with a fresh cup of coffee and at least one cat. Visit her at KaylaOlson.com or at @AuthorKaylaOlson on Instagram/TikTok.

Saturday, January 11, 2025, 12:00 noon - 8:00 PM, join us at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for the Zora Neale Hurston Festival Dallas with books and merch, art, workshops, storytelling, live music performance, and more. Refreshments will be provided.

New Years Eve Open Mic at The Dock Bookshop & Dock Community

Coordinated & Hosted By Mike Guinn

On this night creatives bring in the new year via this safe early evening event.

On this night it's about having fun, being a commnity and building bonds.

Tuesday Dec 31st 8-10pm

After Party 10-Midnight

Wine, Champagne, and other beverages plus Light Refreshments,m. Complimented by Live Poetry & Music

Come join us at The Dock Bookshop 6637 Meadowbrook Drive in Fort Worth, TX, USA for a special event dedicated to community.

$10 Early Bird Tickets

$20 General Admission

$30 Covers Each Couple at their own Private Little Table includes bottle of wine

$45 Group Table For Four (Includes Bottle of Wine)

Group tables for 4 also available

Artists Contact 972-704-5001

To RSVP Contact The Dock or see Ticket Link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1050941613657?aff=oddtdtcreator

Visit https://thedockbookshop.com/
Visit www.mikeguinnent.com

THERE IS GREATNESS INSIDE OF YOU is a transformative event that you don't want to miss! Join us for a FREE POETRY WORKSHOP & PERFORMANCE/OPEN MIC at CeeZoos Dallas. Discover your hidden talents, unlock your potential, and showcase your skills in front of a supportive audience. This event is all about empowerment, creativity, and self-expression. Don't hold back - let your greatness shine!

Register to attend on Eventbrite (link below)

📖 Community Story Time & Book Gifting 📖 En Español
🎉 Saturday, December 21st | 10:30 AM


Before the first Christmas light is strung, Grandma is busy making thousands of tamales to sell—so she can buy gifts for her family! 🌟

This heartwarming tale, inspired by a true story, celebrates a grandmother's boundless generosity and the irresistible magic of tamales. 🌽✨

This special event is made possible by our nonprofit, ARCO, dedicated to activating a reading culture and increasing book access in our community. Join us for a heartwarming story time filled with love, culture, and the spirit of giving! ❤️🎄

Celebrate Jolabokaflod at Patchouli Joe's!

Join us on December 20th for Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of Christmas Book Flood! 📚 This year, we're celebrating the joy of reading and giving. Beginning now, until December 15th, create a book wishlist at Patchouli Joe's and purchase a book from someone else's list. Then, join us on the 20th to exchange books, read together, and enjoy each other's company.

Deep Vellum Books hosts a discussion of one of our publisher's older titles—something from the "backlist." These informal discussions involve booksellers, readers, and sometimes authors and translators! New members always welcome, check social media (@deepvellumbooks on Instagram and X) for updates.

🍷✨ Literary Libations hosted by Joy Bennett presents:

📖 The Most Wonderful Time by Jayne Allen
An irresistible Christmastime novel about heartbreak, hope, love, and the joy that comes from rediscovering oneself during the holidays. 🎄💖

Join us for an evening of book talk and holiday cheer over drinks!

🗓 Wednesday, December 18th
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Whose Books, 512 W. Davis, Dallas, TX 75208

Sip, savor, and celebrate the season with fellow book lovers! 🍷📚

Bilingual Community Story Time at Latino Cultural Center on December 14. Explore Christmas traditions from 13 different countries with the reading of Joy to the World: Christmas Around the Globe / Alegria En El Mundo: La Navidad en Differentes Paises.

There will be three reading times:

• 12:30 pm

• 1:30 pm

• 2:30 pm

Join Patchouli Joe’s on December 14 from noon-2:30 to meet Denton author, Donna Fielder.

Donna has released four new books and will sign and personalize your copies if you purchase in-store on December 7, 2024 or online.

• PENNIES ON HER GRAVE

• THE VANISHED WIFE: THE KATHY STOBAUGH STORY

• TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG

• Donna's long-awaited memoir, ON DEADLINE!

We can't wait to see you on December 13 at Fluid Fridays, Dallas’ premiere queer open mic! This month’s host and curator is @crush_yourpoet, with special guest vocalist, Jalivia Williams.

Doors open at 6:30 pm, show starts at 8 pm.

$15 admission at the door. You can purchase seats before hand.

Please purchase all seats in one transaction to guarantee seats together. Tickets are $15 per person ($20 for booth seats). Increase quantity to match number of total guests. Booth limit is 7 people. If anyone is added after the initial purchase, you MUST include the original reservation name or we cannot guarantee you will be seated together.

Please note: If your party is less than 3 people, you may be paired with another small party to fill the table, or have a guaranteed seat at the bar.

Reservations will close on the Wednesday before the event, at 5pm OR when we have reached capacity for reservations. All other seating will be first come, first serve.

Your table is secure until 845pm, after which there is a possibility it will be released to present audience members if needed. Tickets are non-refundable once table reservations are closed.

Hey DFW, we invite your talented sons and daughters to Mansfield’s first ever Spokenword Shark Tank at The Farr Best Theater 109 N. Main Street in Downtown Mansfield on Thursday, Dec 12th 2024, from 7:30pm-9:15pm.

Only $5

This event is where artist answer questions about their craft and then perform for judges. Winners get a paid feature, business cards, and we design a retractable banner and brochure. We invite all Singers, Poets, Musicians, Clean Comedians. Contact Mike Guinn 972-704-5001

Last book swap of the year with Books and Brown Sugar Co. !!! 📚🍷 Bring your books, grab new books, sip on wine, and meet new friends at our Book Swap! 🎉 This is one you don’t want to miss—will be providing the sounds and vibes ! 🎶 Join us on Thursday, December 12th from 6:30-8:30 PM. Tickets are FREE! RSVP with the link in my bio! 📅✨

FREE RSVP 🎟️
link in the bio 🔗

Dec 12
6-830pm 🕛
2001 S Ervay St Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75215 📍

Inner Moonlight is the monthly poetry series for the Wild Detectives!

Our show is the second Wednesday of every month. Meet us in the backyard at 7:30pm on Wednesday December 11th for a live reading from one featured writer, with a brief open mic to follow. This month, we are proud to present poet Andie Carver! Andie Salm Carver (they/she) is a queer writer and activist. They received their MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University, and their chapbook poetry collection, TRAILER TRASH, was originally published through Bottlecap Press. Andie lives in the Dallas Metroplex with their little cat, Young Bernie Sanders. You can read more of their work at ModusOperandiee.com.

“Follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness.” —Allen Ginsberg, from On Being a Writer

Experience an evening of powerful storytelling with Marcela Fuentes and Eileen G’Sell, as they co-headline a thought-provoking discussion on identity, culture, and resilience. Fuentes presents her debut novel Malas, a mesmerizing Good Morning America Book Club pick, centered on family curses, Tejano culture, and fierce women navigating life along the Texas-Mexico border. Joining her is G’Sell with Francofilaments, a collection delving into Francophilia, feminism, and cinematic allure. Together, they bring forth unique perspectives on womanhood, heritage, and the transformative power of art in their unforgettable works.

Marcela Fuentes is a Pushcart Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and was the 2016-2017 James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Indiana Review, The Rumpus, Texas Highways Magazine, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and other journals. Her work has been anthologized in New Stories from the Southwest, Best of the Web, and Flash Fiction International. Her story, “The Observable World” was included in the Pushcart Prizes XLVII : Best of the Small Presses 2023 Edition. She was born and raised in Del Rio, Texas. Her debut novel MALAS was published from Viking Books in June 2024.

Eileen G’Sell is a poet and critic with recent contributions to Poetry, Jacobin, The Baffler, Hyperallergic, Reverse Shot, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2023, she received the Rabkin Prize for arts journalism. Her second volume of poetry, Francofilaments, comes out in 2024 from Broken Sleep Books. In 2025, her first book of nonfiction, Lipstick, will be published by Bloomsbury Academic’s Object Lessons Series. She teaches at Washington University in St. Louis.

Join Leona Sevick, Susan Norman, and Hannah Smith as they celebrate the launch of Sevick's new collection, The Bamboo Wife (Trio House Press)

Hi friends! The jolly season is here and @abbyandfurriends is hosting yet another writing workshop at Apprentice!

The goal is to give yourself uninterrupted time to be creative! You can work on outlines, poems, journaling, fan fiction, short stories, or even the next Great American Novel. It’s all up to you! And remember, there’s no obligation to share what you’re writing. Some writing materials and notebook paper as well as craft books will be provided to help generate inspiration.

April Gibson who is a writer poet and professor, will read briefly from her book and discuss her life's challenges and accomplishments with the participants, allowing some time for questions. Testimony, resiliency, and transformation will be central themes of the poetry activity to be led by Gibson after the reading.

The Black Alumni of SMU are celebrating the holidays with a special book reading event for children ages 2-10! 🎄🎅🏾 Bring your little ones for a festive morning of storytelling, laughter, and community joy.

🗓 Saturday, December 7, 2024
⏰ 11am - 1pm
📍 4466 S Marsalis Ave, Dallas, TX 75216 (Glendale Shopping Center)

Come join us for a special Book Signing Event at Firewheel Town Center/Barnes and Noble! Meet Deborah Watford Rox your favorite author in person and get your books signed. It's a great opportunity to chat with Deborah Watford Rox, snap a photo, and maybe even get some inside scoop on her next book. Don't miss out on this chance to connect with fellow book lovers and expand your collection with signed copies. See you there!

📚✨ Let’s Gab About Books Together! led by Liz Ternes

Join us for a lively discussion of Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery — a captivating period story set in mid-20th century New York! Lavery’s unique take on gender, sexuality, politics, and history makes this read both thoughtful and fun. You won’t want to miss it!

🗓 Friday, December 6th
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Whose Books, 512 W. Davis, Dallas, TX 75208

Let’s gab, share insights, and connect over great reads!

Please join us for the launch of the Thoughtful Journals, a new project from Amber Royer, author of Story Like a Journalist on Friday, December 6. The launch will be held in conjunction with Kay Thibodeaux of The Touring Chocolatier, in her retail space in Flower Mound.

ABOUT THE BOOKS

The Thoughtful Travel Journal – The Thoughtful Travel Journal includes prompts and ample space for recording your travel adventures. It's small size makes it easy to carry, while still allowing for over 150 pages for your insights and memories. The accompanying text covers ways to deepen your journaling experience. It discusses the rich history of travelogues and travel journals, as well as ways to use your journal to improve your writing and storytelling skills. There is also some discussion of how to share your journal, through blog entries or other media. This journal will guide you through designing your travel bucket list, and help you find a style and intention for your journal. It will also help you develop your observation skills and use sensory writing to create more vivid journal entries.

The Thoughtful Tasting Journal: Chocolate – The Thoughtful Tasting Journal: Chocolate edition includes prompts and ample space for recording your chocolate tasting adventures. Its small size makes it easy to carry, while still allowing for over 120 pages for your insights and memories. It's perfect for a chocolate aficionado, a chef - or as a gift for the chocolate lover in your life. With the rise of craft chocolate, and the innovations chocolate makers are making in terms of technique and ingredients, there is more to explore about chocolate now than ever before. The accompanying text covers ways to use all tour senses when you taste chocolate and to deepen your journaling experience. You will learn vocabulary relating to chocolate, to assist when you discuss your tasting experience with others. The text takes you through the steps of tasting a sample like a chocolate sommelier, and encourages you to record our findings in concrete, vivid ways while also allowing you to explore your personal reactions. It's a fun topic and a hands-on take that creates a personal keepsake, or notes to use in a professional setting, or to build into blog posts or articles. ABOUT

THE AUTHOR

Amber has been a writing instructor and author coach since 2008. She also loves to travel, and has two book series that both relate to chocolate. She is the author of the Bean to Bar Mysteries and the Chocoverse space opera trilogy. She lives in DFW with her husband and two rambunctious tuxedo cats.

Come out on Thursday, December 5th for the South Dallas Open Mic at CeeZoo’s. Hosted by Rill Spill and Karletta Kaye. $10 admission.

We got @happie_214 and @poetically_jamie stopping through this Thursday @ceezoosdallastx for SDOM‼️ Discount Tickets online!!

On Thursday, December 5th, joing the Poetry Smash Open Mic to hear poets engage the audience into their world of words.

Host B. Randall and Writeous Soul

Cost: $10, Get tickets at Tbaal.org

Come join Dr. Spencer Sunshine where he will talk about his new book: 𝘕𝘦𝘰-𝘕𝘢𝘻𝘪 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦, which chronicles the creation of the notorious neo-Nazi terrorist tome. It is essential reading for those interested in contemporary terrorism, postwar countercultures, and the history of the U.S. Far Right and neo-Nazism.

📕 𝘕𝘦𝘰-𝘕𝘢𝘻𝘪 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦 by Dr. Spencer Sunshine who holds a PhD in sociology and has been covering the Far Right for 20 years.

📋RSVP through the event on our website!

🗓️ Thursday, December 5

⏰ 7pm-9pm

📍919 Morrell Ave Ste 110, Dallas, Texas 75203

Join Mad Swirl this 1st Wednesday of December (aka 12.04.24) when we’ll be doin’ the open mic voodoo that we do do at our OC home, Barbara’s Pavillion!

Hosts Johnny O & MH Clay will get things started starting with some musical grooves brought to you by Swirve (Chris Curiel, Gerard Bendiks) to be followed by our feature set then on to open mic madness!

This month we will be celebrating the kick-off of the Ho-Ho-Holidaze Hijinx season!

Come to Swirl-a-brate…

If you have a holiday inspired story or poem to warm our cockles, present it to your fellow mad ones!

Come to participate…

(preRSVP at our Facebook event page or send a message to openmic@madswirl.com)

Come to appreciate…

(join us LIVE at Barbara’s Pavillion- located at 323 Centre St, Dallas -OR- tune in to our Facebook LIVE feed starting at 8pm)

Come one. Come all. Come to be a part of this collective creative love child we affectionately call… Mad Swirl!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling romantasy author Abigail Owens stops by in celebration of the paperback release of The Warrior King and The Cursed King, books three and four of her beloved Inferno Rising series. She'll join Sara Reyes of Fresh Fiction for a discussion of the books, followed by a book signing. Abigail's books, including the following titles, will be available for purchase at the event, while supplies last.

• The Rogue King (Inferno Rising)

• The Blood King (Inferno Rising)

• The Warrior King (Inferno Rising)

• The Cursed King (Inferno Rising)

• The Liar’s Crown (Dominions)

• The Stolen Throne (Dominions)

• The Shadows Rule All (Dominions)

• The Games Gods Play

About Abigail Owen

Abigail Owen is the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author of 30+ books that range from upper YA (18+) epic romantasy to new adult modern mythic romantasy to super spicy adult paranormal romance. She loves magical worlds with plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of HEAs! Other titles include: wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, AuDHD, spreadsheet lover, Jeopardy! fanatic, organizational guru, true classic movie buff, linguaphile, wishful world traveler, and chocoholic. Abigail currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero, their (mostly) angelic teenagers, and an adorable fur baby. abigailowen.com

About The Warrior King

Meira Amon is the most reserved of the phoenixes, finding computers easier to deal with than people and their messy emotions. But she wants revenge against the Rotting King Pytheios for the murder of her parents just as much as her sisters. Offering herself as a queen for their ally, dragon shifter King Gorgon of the Black Clan, only makes sense.

Just one problem…

Samael Veles worked his lowborn ass off to become the fiercest warrior of the Black Clan. He has pledged his life to protect his king at all costs. Yet somehow, in the middle of war, he took one look at a woman in a reflection and gave up his heart. When that woman turns out to be the phoenix promised to mate his king and help bring peace to their kind, he has no choice but to accept it.

Until her fire unexpectedly destroys the king after they’ve wed. Now Samael must choose between his loyalty to his clan and protecting the queen who might be his mate from his people’s wrath, one of which will unlock a destiny no one could have ever imagined…

About The Cursed King

Airk Azdajah, the rightful King of the White Clan of dragon shifters, spent half a millennium being tortured by the false High King Pytheios. The only reason he’s alive is a curse: the man who kills Airk will be consumed in his own fire. So Airk was kept alive―barely―and unable to shift in his prison cage, driving the creature half of him into madness. Airk escaped, but he'll never be truly free. Because what good is a king who can never let his feral dragon loose, never fly, and never lead his people?

Angelika Amon is the last unmated phoenix. The problem? She has no powers. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Angelika hates being dormant, especially now that her three sisters are blissfully mated to powerful dragon shifter kings and are very much part of the fight to take down the rotting king Pytheios. What good is a completely powerless phoenix in a battle to save the dragon kingdom?

Desperate to find some way to help, she offers herself to Airk as a mate―just for political leverage. Now a dormant phoenix is mated to a dragon who can't shift. But the balance of power is about to change when Pytheios decides to claim Angelika for himself...

Check out this engaging creative writing workshop: “The Write To Heal” facilitated by the award winning Mr Mike Guinn.

On November 30, 2024

He will host The Write 2 Heal Creative Writing Micro Conference

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM CST

Cost is only $20 Includes food, materials, expert instruction, professional advice, information on all things health and guaranteed to improve your performance fitness.

VIP SEATS

GENERAL WORKSHOP PACKAGE

SPECTATOR SEATS

Save the date and get ready to unleash your creativity and explore the power of writing for healing.

This is safe space and all are welcomed

Guaranteed to make you a better more aware person and creative.

At The Dock Bookshop & Dock Community, 6637 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Click here to reserve your spot https://www.eventbrite.com/e/953206013847?aff=oddtdtcreator

For details contact MIKE GUINN ENTERTAINMENT 972-704-5001

The SMU Department of English is delighted to announce Professor Dennis Washburn’s upcoming talk on translation studies on November 25th at 4 PM in Fondren's Texana Room. Dennis Washburn is a Professor of Comparative Literature, Asian Societies Cultures and Languages, and Film Studies at Dartmouth College. He completed the most recent translation of The Tale of Genji into English in 2015. His work joins the three other principle translations of this text in English. Reception to follow.