Who was it that said love and death were the only things worth writing about? While stories about death might be a bit morose for a Saturday night, love rather fits into the whole Valentine's Day theme that’s been popping up—for better or for worse— in retail stores lately.

Don’t bother fighting it; there’s no use. Go ahead and order that carton of chocolate-covered strawberries and while you’re at it, stop by BookPeople tonight to hear author Dave Isay read from his latest book All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps. more ›

If you were wondering what ever happened to that chick from The Blair Witch Project, the one who really screwed it up for everybody out there in the woods (Jo-osh? Josh? JOSH?), you'll be glad to know actress-now-author Heather Donahue is alive and well and headed to BookPeople tonight at 7 p.m. to read from her new memoir Growgirl: How My Life After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot. The book follows her life after the unexpected success of Blair Witch, a low budget horror film that grossed over 200 million dollars and spawned books, comics and computer games. more ›

Austin's newest literary journal, "Unstuck," is launching today with a reading at the Hyde Park Theater. The mag's focus is to "emphasize literary fiction with elements of the fantastic, the futuristic, the surreal, or the strange," and their first issue includes "work from authors whose fiction has previously appeared mostly in genre magazines, as well as work from writers who have published only in university-affiliated literary quarterlies." more ›

For their monthly installment at the Spiderhouse Ballroom, sex-centric reading series Bedpost Confessions invites guest readers to contribute erotic anecdotes while also minding "ooh that's dirty" stories from their own cabal of writers....and their audience. Today the series will include pieces from Sadie Smythe, Mistress Stephanie, Michael Flower, F*bomb, as well as "salacious Ukulele magic by Jessica Leigh Graves." What is a ukulele if not salacious? more ›

As school winds down and summer heats up, head to the Spiderhouse Ballroom this evening to catch the latest installment of Five Things, the delightfully quirky, homegrown reading series hosted by witty writers extraordinaire, Amelia Gray and Stacy Muszynski. more ›

Tonight, Bookpeople will host three local authors whose desire to see their ideas published lead them to utilize independent and open-publishing outlets, a path often chosen however rarely discussed in the literary world. Axe, Roberta Grimes and Matthew Hinsley have each been published through either a small genre-specific press or an open-publishing (sometimes referred to as self-publishing) system which has allowed their unique voices to reach a larger audience. Join them tonight to discuss their work and the choices writers have today when it comes to seeing their work through. more ›

Make something special out of this Thursday night and buy a lottery ticket on your way over to Austin Bat Cave's Story Department reading series, where the theme is LUCK and the beer is free! You'll not only get to hear great local storytellers read their original pieces, you'll do a good deed as well, as the $10 admission will help the continuation of their free writing center and tutoring program for kids. Kids, people...drink and be merry for the kids! more ›

Remember when you first moved to Austin and you wanted to know where the hotspots were but all you heard about was 6th St between SoCo and Red River? Not that there aren't good times to be had over there, but now that you've been here awhile - or if you're true blue and grew up here - you know that the best places are less obvious, perhaps special only to you thanks to that one great/strange/scary experience you had there. Wherever or whatever it is, Teleportal wants to hear about it. more ›

So here we are in the middle of the week in the middle of the month in the HEART of Texas. Lets go with this heart thing - VALENTINES DAY! IS OVER! Wait, not quite! Tonight, everybody should move toward the center of the city for the Five Things! version of Valentines Day - a little late, a little quirky, but full of a whole lotta love. If your actual Valentines Day wasn't any fun, there is still hope for YOU. Always the place for laughter and lit, Five Things will have four tasty readers + one improv group doing the damn thing for FREE. more ›

For your weekend entertainment, might we suggest an afternoon reading at BookPeople by Abigail DeWitt, author of Dogs, a novel that begins in our lovely Austin, TX and then travels East to Massachusetts and then on to North Carolina. more ›

You have no excuse to stay at home tonight to catch up on those Sister Wives episodes you missed (there are only seven of them anyway, jeez), because Five Things has all the fucked up family fun you'll ever want to see - LIVE. And might we add that its free? This one's on Debt Consolidation.com, kids - so save your pennies and lose that attitude, because tonight it's all about FAMILY. more ›

Way back in 1984, William Gibson revolutionized science fiction and established himself as one of the world’s most influential writers with the publication of his first novel Neuromancer, which launched the cyberpunk subgenre. Influenced by punk and writing with a noir sensibility, his influence on film, technology, and the aforementioned genre of science fiction can’t be overstated. With his newest novel, Zero History, Gibson continues his recent trend of writing about a contemporary world where science fiction is becoming reality. He is scheduled to be in Austin today at the Arboretum Barnes and Noble at 7:00 PM. Last week he graciously agreed took the time to answer our questions. more ›

Books aiming to describe and even mythologize the pioneer experience are hardly few and far between. From Laura Ingalls Wilder to Willa Cather, the territory is pretty well covered. But in The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, this familiar subject matter is given a fresh spin by first-time novelist (and Texan) Ann Weisgarber. The eponymous Rachel is an African-American cook and her husband Isaac is a former Buffalo Soldier, which gives readers a glimpse into the rarely depicted world of black homesteaders in South Dakota's Badlands. Weisgarber's book has been frequently compared to The Color Purple, perhaps because both books use of an African-American woman as narrator. Don't go into The Personal History of Rachel DuPree expecting echoes of Celie, though; the two characters are, at least on the surface, worlds apart. more ›

Have you wondered recently, as we have, what’s new with Martians these days? Or the TRUTH behind the living dead? Tonight at ND @ 501 Studios, the Whiskey Rebellion has invited three amazing local writers (Jeffrey Chan, Jason Hamilton and Michael Hart) to contribute their particular flavor of pulp and sci-fi in order to answer such disturbing and shocking questions! more ›

Do you not already know about Mortified? You probably do, because you almost certainly have at one time worshiped This American Life, or were loyal to the A.V. Club, or maybe you actually read the previous tenant’s Entertainment Weeklys that kept arriving at your apartment. more ›

Word around town is that The Encyclopedia Show is fucking great. Seriously, that's what we've been told by every writer, lit lover, friend, drinking buddy, etc. we've asked. Sometimes we asked just hoping to hear something different - for the love of books, say something different! - only to be told each time, verbatim, 'It's Fucking Great!'. So, that seems reason enough to believe that this latest series of artists showcasing their original encyclopedia entries on a topic selected by the shows curators (Michael Graupmann and new Austinist contributor Ralph Hardesty) will be uh, fucking great. more ›

Down to earth music critic Rob Sheffield, lately of Rolling Stone magazine and previously of Blender, is coming to Austin in support of his newest book Talking to Girls About Duran Duran. more ›

If you made it through another Monday, celebrate! At Austin Java! Tonight at 7PM, ACC Literary Coffeehouse is presenting the author Amelia Gray followed by an open mic session for anyone willing to share their poetry, prose, monologues, etc. If you're not yet familiar with Amelia Gray, where have you been? Go to BookPeople right now and pick up a copy of her book AM/PM, a collection of work that is short, sharp and funny with some unforgettable characters. If you need lessons on cutting out the fluff (like Tuesday thru Thursday), visit the Dzanc Books website and sign up for her one day writing workshop on Saturday, March 20th. Ms. Gray's next book, Museum of the Wierd, is forthcoming from Fiction Collective 2 in October 2010 and she is currently the cohost of Five Things! Austin. more ›

Morality can be hard to navigate. Hearing words like greed, inequality and hostility as descriptions of the processes of donating, health care, and partisanship can easily throw our ideals off course. These are the moments when it's appropriate to revisit Aesop; when Picasso's words ring true: "the essential in this time of moral poverty is to create enthusiasm," which is exactly what Austin's Five Things Reading Series plans to do. Happening this Friday, March 5 at United States Art Authority, five inspired writers will read newly rendered fables to help us get our morals back on track. Or at least embrace our deficiency. more ›

Since his death on January 27th, JD Salinger's physical departure from the world has been coupled with the devastation of knowing that we truly will not be hearing from the author ever again. As fiercely private as he was, Salinger continued to cultivate a devoted following and the hope that he would produce one final work continues to hang heavy amongst them. more ›

There will be readin’s a transpirin’ at Café Mundi! Local writers and connoisseurs of wit-by-words Billy Cope and Benjamin Reed (of The Accidental Gentrifist fame) will both be reading excerpts from their newest works. We here at Austinist are big fans of local writers, and these two both have special places in our hearts as kickass representations of the writing quality present in our special little town. more ›