Tuesday, June 27, 2017

June 30: The Whole World at Once at BookPeople in Austin, TX

Got my haircut today, packing tomorrow, and then I'll return to Texas where I lived for nearly a decade, all begun in 2003 when I moved to San Marcos to attend the MFA in Fiction program. So many of my favorite faces still in live in Texas, and I'll be happy to see them again and meet yours if our faces haven't met yet. I have a full heart. Let's pin our hearts to our sleeves and let them look at each other.

I'll read a few selections from The Whole World at Once, followed by a conversation with Owen Egerton. The event begins at 7 PM, this Friday, June 30. The event is free and so very welcoming to the public.

The photograph shows a marquee on an exterior stone wall above glass doors. It reads: Book People Presents with four author names and 6-30 Erin Pringle 7 PM
BookPeople Marquee, photo by Wendy Walker
(Used with permission)
BookPeople
603 North Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 472-5050
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/412524905801089

Monday, June 26, 2017

Fictions and Words in Austin, Austin, Austin, Texas! June 30, 2017 & July 1, 2017

BookPeople (photograph from BookPeople)
This is the wonderful week that I'm travelling to Austin to take part in writing-related affairs. On Friday, June 30 at 7 PM, I'll be reading at BookPeople, followed by a discussion with Owen Egerton about writing, grief, and my new book of beautiful, strange fictions, The Whole World at Once.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, I'm joining a group of fine folk at the Agents and Editors Conference to discuss working with independent publishers. The Agents and Editors Conference is organized by The Writers' League of Texas.

Let's say goodbye to June and greet July together in the best of cities, Austin, Texas. And maybe dance and get a Texas tattoo and sing to the moon.


Friday, June 30
BookPeople
603 North Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/412524905801089
Free and open to the public

Saturday, July 1
Agents and Editors Conference
Hyatt Regency
208 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin, TX
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/170358963428943
Attendees must register to participate in this three-day conference.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Austin, Texas is the coolest place in the U.S.

The Whole World at Once at BookPeople
photograph by Laura Long
While also being the hottest. So, let's meet in the sweet, sweet air-conditioning of Austin's
wonderful bookstore, BookPeople.

Friday, June 30
7 PM

I'll read one or two selections from The Whole World at Once, followed by a live Q&A with Owen Egerton about the writing of the book, fictions, and more.

Please add me to your calendar. I'll love to see your face.

BookPeople
603 North Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 472-5050

Event is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

This June Thursday: Hugo House Reading, Seattle

If you're in the Seattle area tomorrow night (Thursday, 6/15), make plans to attend a wonderful evening of words presented by The Hugo House. The Hugo House is one of Seattle's best literary resources, providing writing space, lectures, events, and resources to community members as well as hosting near and far writers to keep the words flowing to and from the region.

Thursday's reading is at 7 PM and will feature four Washington writers: two poets, two fiction writers.

Address: 1021 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Need directions? Click here.



Event is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Book Magic and Win The Whole World at Once on Goodreads


"Lucky Horseshoe" by Hillary H via Flickr,
used under CC license
Because I grew up as pretty much an only child, with siblings decades older than me, I read books alone, and didn't really discuss them with anyone. And I loved to read. Loved the way the images moved through my mind, the whole experience--even going to the library itself was marvelous, and all the librarians knew me, of course. I don't remember talking with them about the books I was reading.

Maybe I stopped talking about books, or thought I shouldn't, when I checked out a teenage romance when I was in first grade, and the librarian informed me that the book didn't have any pictures.
I know, I said.
Or wanted to say.
Probably I said nothing.
But I checked it out on my mother's card or maybe, by then, my own yellow card. And I read it, and then refused to go into the "children's section" after that.

This eventually led to my belief that books were like these wonderful secrets made just for you. The idea of a book club is completely antithetical to my way of experiencing and thinking about books. Talking about books out loud somehow kills the magic. Why would anyone do it?

I am slowly understanding book clubs, but it still makes me nervous for someone to recommend a book to me or ask me what I'm reading.
Oh, you know, I'll say.
Stuff, I'll say.
Dead authors, I'll say. And Jack Kaulfus, I'll say. Which is true.

So, you probably already know about these giant, virtual book clubs, like LibraryThing or Goodreads. Goodreads is like the book-readers version of social networking. You can rate books, leave reviews, chat about books, recommend books to friends, attend Q&As with authors.

It's a terrifying place.

Unless part of your reading experience is a social one, which probably it is. And that's good, right? Because you and me, we both exist, and we both read. So, here's the deal for two lucky people, or two people who are chosen amid odds that they probably won't be chosen:

From June 7, 2017-July 4, 2017, you can visit Goodreads to enter to win one of two copies of The Whole World at Once.

To enter, follow this link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/239625

They encourage the two book winners to review the book that they win.
But I understand if that doesn't happen.
Because magic.









Monday, June 5, 2017

Meet Me in Hollywood, Kids

The New Short Fiction Series presents the L.A. Book Launch Party for The Whole World at Once
Photo by Hans Splinter, used under CC license

June 11, 7 PM
The Federal Bar
5303 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601

The Federal Bar,
North Hollywood
“Erin Pringle’s stories leave you no choice. They sing so gorgeously, break your heart so perfectly, that you’re forced to revise your understanding of loss, luck, and love.”Tom Noyes, author of Come by Here: A Novella and Stories

“Readers willing to immerse themselves in sorrow, and sometimes in narratives that twist and shimmer before taking definite shape, will find reflected in these stories the unsteady path of coming back to life—or not—after loss.”
Kirkus Reviews

“In these restless and relentless fictions, the unstoppable storyteller Erin Pringle is at it again. “It” being the most American of dramas—the endless conflict between mobility and stability."
Michael Martone, author of Michael Martone and Four for a Quarter

“There’s no writer working today who excites me more than Erin Pringle. Her stories stretch like planks off a cliff, past solid ground, offering breath-stealing views of grief, love, and mystery. I love this collection.”
Owen Egerton, author of The Book of Harold and writer and director of the thriller Follow

“A strikingly original collection. This book is poetic, yet has a deep sense of storytelling.”
Laura Long, author of Out of Peel Tree and editor of Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Fiction and Poetry from West Virginia

Friday, June 2, 2017

Go to Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA

Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA
(Photograph from ThirdPlaceBooks.com)
Last weekend, I read a few stories from The Whole World at Once at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington. I hadn't been to the bookstore before, or Lake Forest Park, and I'm so glad for the experience. I should have taken more pictures.

The storefront is in a stripmall, which is visually deceiving because the inside is like this wonderful community building in which the bookstore takes up one side, and on the other is a food-court with a coffee-shop/bakery, BBQ place, and more. There are tables strewn about for eaters, readers, and a man who was drinking coffee while winding and unwinding yarn with clear intention and expertise. A children's play area is both close to the children's section of books and by the eating area, fortressed by tables where parents can eat while overseeing their children's imaginative play. In short, the bookstore is like an air-conditioned city center.

My son experiencing chess for the first time
Also, there exists a very large chess set perfect for anyone, and now that I've witnessed it, seems very necessary for teaching the moves of each of piece to an inquiring child.

The reading area itself was hidden in an intimate, cozy way amid the shelves, although the speaker system piped my voice throughout the store as I read. All the people working at the bookstore were kind and welcoming, and as I tend toward public shyness, I appreciated this very much.

And. So many books. So many. In only a brief amount of time, my offspring brought me a how-to guide on juggling, a book of Faulkner's letters, a John Wayne compendium, and a giftbox of what looked like anime graphic novels. Had there been more time, we could have easily spent a full morning here. After the reading, in the communal area outside the bookstore, a local band was playing dance music for a number of dancing couples and many more listeners.

If you're near Lake Forest Park, or near Seattle, go find yourself in Third Place Books. If you're a writer, this is a wonderful place to share your work. And if anyone needs help, ask for Lizzie.


The Whole World at Once (and my face)
at Third Place Books

Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101
Lake Forest Park WA 98155
Website: http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/lake-forest-park
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thirdplacelfp/
(Third Place Books has several other locations in the Seattle area, so check those out, too.)