Usually, street closures around the Capitol hail the arrival of one of Austin's many street festivals, where you can listen to a wishy-washy blues-rocker do his best to channel Stevie Ray Vaughn while you eat a turkey leg amongst a sea of fanny-packed families and homemade jewelry vendors. But once a year it means it's Texas Book Festival time. As literary events go in this town, it is the big one. For two days......

This summer, Austin resident Scott Blackwood received the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for his forthcoming novel, We Agreed to Meet Just Here. His collection of short stories, In The Shadow of Our House (2002), received great reviews. In The Shadow of Our House interweaves nine tales of Austin — marriages falling apart, youthful anger erupting into inexplicable violence, sudden tragedy testing family bonds, and adulterers caught between incomplete worlds. Blackwood’s keen sense......

This Thursday, May 17th at 7pm, Austin fixture Owen Egerton will be celebrating the release of How Best to Avoid Dying, his brand new collection of short stories, at BookPeople. The book is also the latest release for local publisher Dalton Publishing. They're offering a free peep of the book's first story, "Spelling," here. While the book itself is worthy of celebration, so too is its author. Egerton is one of Austin's renaissance men.......

THURSDAY [7] music • Chicken Ranch Records, Obsolete Industries, Hold Fast, and 086 Studio present their Third Annual Christmas Shindig with The Ugly Beats, Automusik at Longbranch Inn ($5 or bring a new toy for Blue Santa, 8pm) music • Atomic Bitchwax, Pearls & Brass, Dixie Witch, The Flood at Emo's music • The Big Fix, O:A, Hellapeno at Stubb's music • Earl Greyhound, The Early Tapes, The Paper South at The Mohawk music......

Austin writer Karen Olsson will be at Barnes and Noble, Westlake this Thursday to promote the paperback release of her debut novel Waterloo. The book itself was heaped with praise upon its original release last year and furnishes entertaining commentary on our existence in Austin. It comes to you now in a safe, lightweight, affordable paperback version. What's not to love? The novel is informed by Olsson's own experience living, working, and reporting in Austin.......

MONDAY [4] film •The Royal Tenenbaums at Austin Java (9pm, Free) film •Fuck: A Documentary at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film •The Conformist at Texas Union (7:30pm) film •Blue at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film •The Da Vinci Code at Café Mundi (8pm, Free) film •Sound Unbound 2: Modern American Composers at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $2) music •Bound Stems, Rahim, The Shells, Quiet Company, Bello Ragazzo at Emo's music •Moonlight Towers, The Alice Rose at......

While gathering in the conference room to watch DVDs about your esteemed corporate founder or practicing falling off of chairs and into each other's arms as part of a trust exercise have always been a great way to spend an hour or two not surfing the internets at work away from your cubicle, the Writers' League of Texas has introduced a new program that will make you not dread the email from Human Resources,......

Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the ending for you – because we never got to that part.  Considering the book’s been out for a while, you might have beat us to it, anyway.   We were excited about reading Waterloo by Karen Olsson , because she lives in Austin and the book takes place in a city that happens to be a lot like Austin.  Did you know Austin (or at least part of......

M O N D AY [ 31 ] music/party · The White Ghost Shivers' Halloween Ball at American Legion Hall! Burlesque, Independence Brew, apple bobbing with the TX Roller Girls, Tarot card readings, a kissing booth and more. The White Ghost Shivers will also be performing a live soundtrack to accompany Buster Keaton's "Cops." ($25, 9pm) music · Galactic, Mofro and New Monsoon at Stubb's music · Halloween Show at Emo's with Flametrick Subs, Satans......