• Authorlink Sociable Lecture Series on Saturday, September 12 from 3:00-6:30 p.m. at LuminArté Fine Art Galleries in the Dallas Design District.

Dallas is slowly become a city for readers and literary enthusiasts. Much of that change in culture can be attributed to the rise in literary events in the city, from free programming at libraries to the many events at popular booksellers/coffee shop/bar The Wild Detectives in Oak Cliff – including the recent Dallas Zine Party and the insanely entertaining Shakespeare in the Bar series. On Saturday, September 12, a new lecture series hopes to continue the “reading is fun” trend.

Presented by Authorlink, a company that provides guidance and coaching in print-on-demand and e-book publishing, and LuminArté Fine Art Gallery – with The Wild Detectives – this event gives readers the chance to listen to and learn from top Texas authors as they discuss their literary journeys. Each of the authors that will be present, have had successful careers in their individual genres, and from the looks of things, will give some pretty good insight into the publishing world – if that’s a world you see yourself in. It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to pick the brains of successful writers – one that is a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist at that – without having to travel hundreds of miles or get accept into some creative writing program. The organizers of this lecture series want to open the door and remove the veil of secrecy surrounding writers and their elusive habits, while bringing awareness to the talent right in our backyard.

While this lecture series will cost you, and that information is available online, there are deals for students, and your ticket includes a complimentary wine reception (if that’s a bonus for you).

The authors included are Sarah Bird, Bryan Mealer, and Hugh Aynesworth.

Sarah Bird is a longtime Texas resident and acclaimed author of Above the East China Sea, as well as nine other novels. Bird has been selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great Writers series, received a Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, and was cited by the New York Public Library’s 25 Books to Remember list. She has written screenplays for Paramount, CBS, Warner Bros, National Geographic, ABC, TNT, Hemdale Studio, and several independent producers.

Austin resident Bryan Mealer is the New York Times bestselling author of The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, as well as Muck City and the forthcoming novel, Kings of Big Springs. The latter recounts his family’s deep and complicated history with the Texas oil industry. He is also the author of All Things Must Fight To Live, which chronicled his years covering the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Harper’s and the Associated Press. His work has appeared in the anthology Best American Travel Writing and was chosen for an Overseas Press Club Award Citation.

Hugh Aynesworth is a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, former bureau chief of both Newsweek and the Washington Times, and investigative team leader for ABC’s 20/20. He is best known for his coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the trial of Jack Ruby, and the conspiracy flurry that followed. He is the author of November 22, 1963, Witness to History, co-author of The Only Living Witness, and Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer. He currently lives in Dallas.