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The Writers' League of Texas was established in 1981 as the Austin Writers' League in Austin, Texas. It is a nonprofit professional organization whose primary purpose is to provide a forum for information, support, and sharing among writers, to help members improve and market their writing skills, and to promote the interests of writers and the writing community.
The League is composed of published and unpublished writers. In 1996, the League had 1,600 members around the world, making it the second largest regional writers' group, after the Washington Independent Writers, which served as inspiration. [1]
The current name, Writers' League of Texas, reflects its current membership base, over 50% of which resides outside the Central Texas area, and represents the numerous programs offered to the entire community of Texas writers.
The WLT is partially funded by the City of Austin, Texas Commission on the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts.
The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas, and the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With approximately 41,000 students of Fall 2021, it is also the largest institution in the system.
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and as of 2019 is owned by Enterprise Products Co. Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as music, art, dining, and travel. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). In 2019, Texas Monthly was purchased by billionaire Randa Williams. In 2021, Texas Monthly acquired Texas Country Reporter.
James Albert Michener was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating detailed history. Many of his works were bestsellers and were chosen by the Book of the Month Club; he was known for the meticulous research that went into his books.
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as the Ultima and Wing Commander series. The company was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992.
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.
The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning options to serve about 100,000 students in academic, continuing education and adult education programs.
Southwestern University is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern offers 40 bachelor's degrees in the arts, sciences, fine arts, and music as well as interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Music and historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Cherríe Moraga is a Chicana feminist, writer, activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. She is part of the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of English. Moraga is also a founding member of the social justice activist group La Red Chicana Indígena which is an organization of Chicanas fighting for education, culture rights, and Indigenous Rights.
Harryette Mullen, Professor of English at University of California, Los Angeles, is an American poet, short story writer, and literary scholar.
Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia, better known by his nom de plume Alurista, is a Chicano poet and activist. His work was influential in the Chicano Movement and is important to the field of Chicano poetry.
Joe M. O'Connell is an American novelist, documentary filmmaker, short story writer, photographer and journalist based in Austin, Texas.
Joseph Skibell is a novelist and essayist living in Atlanta, Georgia, and Tesuque, New Mexico.
Texas is home of several national sports league franchises among other professional sports, being the second most populated U.S. state. Since the state is located in the South Central United States, most teams are part of the Central / South or West league divisions, with the notable exception of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, which is an NFC East franchise.
The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue, formerly known as the AMOA-Arthouse at The Jones Center, is one of two museum sites of The Contemporary Austin.
William Dale Wittliff, sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for The Perfect Storm (2000), Barbarosa (1982), Raggedy Man (1981), and many others.
Virginia Grise is a playwright, and director. Grise's most recognized work is blu, the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series Award and a finalist for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Latino/a Playwrighting Award. In addition, Grise is the co-writer of The Panza Monologues with Irma Mayorga, and edited a volume of Zapatista communiqués called Conversations with Don Durito. She is also a recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award and the Princess Grace Award in Theater Directing.
The history of African Americans in Austin dates back to 1839, when the first African American, Mahala Murchison, arrived. By the 1860s, several communities were established by freedmen that later became incorporated into the city proper. The relative share of Austin's African-American population has steadily declined since its peak in the late 20th century.
Laurie Ann Guerrero is a Chicana poet from San Antonio, Texas. She was the poet laureate of San Antonio from 2014 to 2016 and the Poet Laureate of Texas from 2016 to 2017. In the fall semester of 2017, she became the first writer-in-residence at Texas A&M University San Antonio and a "fully immersed faculty member. She will teach a contemporary American woman poets course, host numerous University writing workshops and mentor students while working on her next writing project."
Gloria Amescua is a Latina and Tejana writer from Austin, Texas. Her most recent book is CHILD OF THE FLOWER-SONG PEOPLE: LUZ JIMÉNEZ, DAUGHTER OF THE NAHUA, a picture book biography illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh and published by Abrams books for Young Readers, 2021. Her enjoyment of writing stories and poems as a child prompted her to publish many poems, manuscripts, and chapbooks throughout her life. After receiving her B.A. and Masters of Education from University of Texas at Austin, she went on to win first place at the 2013 Austin International Poetry Festival Contest and the Austin Poetry Society Award. She is now a workshop presenter for youth and adults, and is an active alumna of Hedgebrook's Writers-in-Residence program. Amescua is most known for her poetry chapbook entitled "Windchimes" and "What Remains." She won Lee and Low's Honor Award (2016) for her picture book manuscript in verse originally titled: Luz Jiménez, No Ordinary Girl. She now resides in Austin and continues to earn awards for her culturally vibrant poetry and prominence in the Texas Latinx community.
David Mercier Parsons was born on April 16, 1943, inVilla Rica, Georgia, and is an American author, poet, and educator. Raised in Austin, Texas, he was named by the Texas State Legislature in 2011 to a one-year term as Poet Laureate of Texas, commemorated by the publication of David M. Parsons New & Selected Poems by the Texas Christian University Press. His most recent book is the poetry collection Reaching for Longer Water. Parsons holds a BBA from Texas State University and an MA from the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program where he studied poetry and literature with Edward Hirsch, Stanley Plumly, Richard Howard, Robert Pinsky and Howard Moss.