Austin author, entertainer, and all-around Renaissance man Owen Egerton is finally receiving some formal recognition for all of his hard work and hijinks. He's one of this year's two Best of Austin "Best Authors," in no small part due to his darkly-comedic book of short stories, How To Best Avoid Dying, released earlier this year by Austin-based Dalton Publishing. Egerton tied for the prestigious award with journalist-turned-punk-rocker-Texas-Rollergirl Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan. Her bruiser of a memoir,......

THURSDAY [8] film • Austin Film Festival screens an archival 35mm print of Trading Places, with screenwriter Herschel Weingrod (Trading Places, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Brewster's Millions, Space Jam) introducing the film, at Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (7:30pm, $4 General, Free for AFF Members, "Prince and Pauper"-style menu) books • Dalton Gang Poetry Showdown with Ric Williams, Lyman Grant, W. Joe Hoppe and Rob Lewis at Intellectual Property (6:00pm) film • Love Bites, the 80s......

MONDAY [5] art/theatre • Sex Workers Art Show at Arts on Real (7:30pm, $24) film • Eddie Murphy: RAW at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Air Guitar Nation at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown music • Possessed By Paul James w. Paleo, Andy Klier, Ralph White at The Parish Room music • Guy Town Happy Hour at Scoot Inn (7pm) IST List compiled by Allen Y Chen, Sam Armstrong, Shannon Roberts, Adam Rice.......

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......

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......