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......

The Worst Years of Your Life Edited by Mark Jude Poirier [Google Book Search Link] Ah, the short story. The short-pants-wearing, pencil-case-carrying, crack-voiced little brother of the novel. It’s about time short stories got some love, no? Simon and Schuster has just released a new anthology of lit-fiction short stories about early adolescence. Established names like George Saunders, John Barth, and A. M. Holmes are sprinkled in alongside younger writers. The editor, Mark Jude Poirier,......

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.......