Their current slate of workshops offers something for all ages. Check it out:

Creative Writing Summer Camp
Three-week summer workshops are led by Austin’s best writers: award-winning poets, novelists, playwrights and essayists. Students write poetry and prose and learn to revise and edit their work for publication. The camp culminates in the publication of beautiful, library-quality anthologies and two public readings (one of these is followed by a book signing for student authors). Each student receives a copy of the published anthology, which is also donated to the Austin Public Library system and sold at BookPeople. Various locations around Austin, with a new location at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Westlake. Read the Austin American-Statesman’s inside look at Badgerdog’s Creative Writing Summer Camp.

Spring Break Workshops
Over one, two, or three days (March 13-15), writers will delve into what makes fiction tick and wade through the unstill waters of poetry to create their own new work. These workshops, led by professional, award-winning writers, will include multi-genre readings. Writers are grouped according to age. Location: Griffin School (5001 Evans Ave, Austin 78751) Open to students in grades 3-12. All writers will have the opportunity to publish their writing on our online journal, Unbound. And check out what the Austinist had to say about our spring break programs.

You can also check Badgerdog’s blog to get a behind-the-scenes look at their programs, including meeting their instructors.

If you decide to take a Badgerdog class, please let us know how it goes!

(photo: tonyhall/flickr)

Actor Kevin Williamson did a wonderful portrayal of Dr. Horrible, a.k.a Neil Patrick Harris, and even had the singing chops to boot. It’s not an easy role either. He has to play the wannabe evil but actually sweet and misunderstood “Billy Buddy” who swings from disturbingly misguided to pathetically endearing every other second.

Taylor Overstreet also did an amazing job as Penny, and her voice sounded almost identical to Felicia Day’s. And Justin Lavergne brought his own interpretation to Captain Hammer, since not everyone can be Nathan Fillion, but if I couldn’t be Nathan, I’d want to be this guy. The “These are not the hammer,” line is not easy to deliver with the right comedic timing, but he “nailed” it.

So overall, just go see it. GO SEE IT! I might have to see it twice.

Right when Marty “fashioned a skate board” to escape Biff instead of just running, as one Master Pancaker humorously pointed out, the screen snapped off, and it became clear that only emergency lighting remained.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t planned,” one of the Master Pancakers yelled into the crowd since the microphones were now useless. Then they decided to perform their movie mid-point skit early with the help of anyone in the audience who had a phone, who were asked to shine it at the stage to create a spotlight. “That’s right, for once we actually want you to use your phones,” one said.

In the skit, Marty was portrayed as energetic and jumpy as a 12-year-old boy. The other was dressed as Doc from the future with a very convincing Doc Brown voice. There was also a Libyan who had a cardboard volxwagen bus hung around his waist who made several appearances to stretch out the skit. He often punished audience members who sang along to “American Pie” with vocal machine gun noises and the sticking of his fingers in their beer.

Marty had several good stalling tactics, like Doc continued to die until he wrote a more and more detailed note about how to survive the Libyans. Just when this got tedious, the Doc Master Pancaker pointed out, “If you keep that up, the audience will know you’re stalling until the lights come back on,” which elicited some laughter. Marty also made the humorous joke of, “In my time, we don’t have electricity.”

The lights did not come back on and it seemed likely that they wouldn’t for a while. So the Master Pancakers recruited audience members to play the other characters so they could perform the entire rest of the movie for us. The audience members they picked held their own and even provided decent jokes in this improvised version of “Back to the Future.” For example, the one playing George McFly quipped “We got a divorce” when Lorraine McFly was late to the stage at one point. Once she appeared he saved it with, “She came back…for the alimony,” which the audience found pretty entertaining.

Even though everyone who experienced the blackout was given a free movie pass for the future, I don’t think anyone felt gypped after experiencing a live, improvised “Back to the Future” performed by Master Pancake and others all the way up to the famous last line: “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads,” which was enthusiastically yelled by the audience in unison. I think many would agree that it was actually a once in a lifetime experience. But I will say that going to the ladies with only the light of your iPhone is a little challenging.

When it comes to the blackout, it turns out there were several transformers that failed in a row and overloaded power lines. This created a 12-hour electricity outage boxed in by Congress, Red River, Sixth Street and 12th Street. So it’s a good thing that Master Pancake wasted no time in performing their skit and that the audience did not wait for the lights to come back on to finish the movie.

2) Here’s the newest single, “Mexico,” from The Staves, whose EP, also titled “Mexico,” dropped in December:

3) We are shocked, shocked, I tell you, that Elle King is not a superstar yet. She has pipes and personality to share, as you can tell in this video for her song “Good to Be a Man”:

4) And here is our new favorite musical performance of any song ever:

5) On a non-musical note, has anyone read “The Carrie Diaries,” Candace Bushnell’s “Sex and the City” prequel? Should be excited that it might soon be coming to our TV screens? Sure, the movies may have ruined some of our goodwill toward Carrie and Co., but we would love to see teen Carrie rock those ’80s fashions.

Chickster welcomes guest blogger Justine Tal Goldberg to share helpful info about WriteByNight’s upcoming Running Over Resolution Roadblocks seminar.

According to our knowledgeable friend the Internet, only 8% of people are always successful in sticking to their New Year’s resolutions. We don’t all make them, but I do. Counted among my (wildly unsuccessful) New Year’s resolutions are: quit smoking (excuse me while I take a puff); be nicer to my mother (when she stops nagging, I’ll stop yelling); and, of course, write more. Some years I write more than others, but this has very little to do with what promises I did or did not make to myself at the stroke of midnight between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Rather, the intensity of my literary output has to do with whether or not I put out … literarily, that is. This has nothing to do with New Year’s magic and everything to do with planning. Strategy, ladies and gentlemen, is key.

And no one knows more about strategy than WriteByNight friend and When I Grow Up Coach Michelle Ward. This sassy, Brooklyn-based lady helps creative people who are at a crossroads between their passions and their grown-up careers. Whether you’re an accountant with the soul of a poet or a real estate agent who just wants to dance, Michelle will get you rhyming or boogieing in no time.

For those of you with the literary bug, Michelle and I are offering a 90-minute teleseminar to prove to you once and for all that New Year’s resolutions are bull*$#! and arm you with some powerful alternative methods of being productive in the new year. We’ll cover how to start your creative projects, how to keep going, and how to finish; we’ll answer questions live during the session; we’ll even provide an ebook chock-full of interactive worksheets and guides so you can take the lessons and make them your own.

So if you’re down with making 2012 your most productive year yet, join us live on December 6th for a resolution-busting workshop you won’t soon forget. Your writing—and your mother—will thank you for it.

Running Over Resolution Roadblocks:
How to Set, Start & Complete Your Writing Projects in 2012
WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central/7 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: the comfort of your own home via telephone
INCLUSIONS: 90-minute teleseminar, Q&A, event recording, e-book
PRICE: $39

Can’t join us live on Dec. 6? Don’t fret! All registrants will receive a recording of the seminar via email within 48 hours of the live event. Click here to learn more.

Justine Tal Goldberg is an award-winning writer and editor of both fiction and nonfiction. Her short stories have appeared in Anomalous Press, Whiskey Island, Fringe Magazine, and other publications. Her journalistic work has appeared in the Texas Observer, Austin Monthly, and Publishing Perspectives, among others. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She owns and operates WriteByNight, a writing center and writers’ service headquartered in Austin.

Held at the Palmer Event Center off Barton Springs Road and themed The Magic of Christmas, A Christmas Affair spans three days and offers shoppers a chance to check out the goods of more than 200 merchants. Some of the merchants hail from all across the country, but many are homegrown, including one of our favorite local artisans, Paloma’s Nest.

Created by artist Caroline Colom Vasquez, Paloma’s Nest became an Etsy sensation several years ago and was featured in The New York Times. The Austin-based company has since expanded into an e-commerce site of its own as well as its first brick-and-mortar store, which is located on South Congress. The Paloma’s Nest collection has become best known for its trademark Ring Bearer Bowls, which became the darling of wedding blogs the world over, but also includes a number of beautiful, simple and customizable family heirlooms perfect for commemorating life events large and small.

So it’s no surprise that Paloma’s Nest has announced a 2011 holiday collection that includes many pieces we’ve added to our own holiday shopping lists, including these lovely creations:

Paloma’s Nest, which was recently featured as an InStyle Magazine Best of the Web pick, will be at booth 710 during A Christmas Affair. Tickets to the event cost $12 for one day or $25 for all three days.

Taking place at the Austin Convention Center this weekend, this event is nerd heaven, and I have no shame admitting that I spent the whole day there yesterday and left very satisfied. (What? Nerds are in.)

Need a pair of twilight contact lens so you can dress as a vamped version of yourself next Halloween? Check out the Exoticlenses.com booth. Need a samurai sword or steam punk attire of any type? There are multiple booths dedicated to these themes. Need a funny T-shirt that references your favorite pieces of pop culture? You have definitely come to the right place. Just want some pictures of fellow Austinites dolled-up in some amazing Cosplay? There is no better event for this.

Want to meet/take pictures with/get autographs from half the cast of Buffy? This is your chance to meet Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), James Marsters (Spike) and Juliet Landau (Drusilla). They’re just there, out in the open, and you can walk by their booth multiple times and stare at them like zoo animals, or buy an autograph and actually talk to them. I’m too cheap to pay for anything other than a picture with James Marsters, because come on. Who doesn’t want a picture with arguably the most iconic cast member? (Though he really looks different without his white hair.)

Besides, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Adam Baldwin (Firefly) are also each amazingly nice and Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) is even smaller in person than you’d expect. I’m talking munchkin-sized, which is just entertaining.

So here’s your chance to nerd it up at Austin Comic Con. Day passes are only $25 and today you can still catch a panel about everything Dr. Who at 2:45 and a pop culture trivia showdown at 3:45 p.m., involving cult hits like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Star Wars” and “Star Trek.”

2) Check out the latest and greatest in Austin’s craft scene at the annual Austin Craft Riot Holiday Show, which is FREE and held this Saturday and Sunday at the Marchesa Hall.

3) Diablo Cody’s Red Band Trailer series resurfaced recently to feature an interview with the delightfully smarmy Joel McHale. Our favorite basic-cable television host/”Community” star delivers all the sarcastic charm you’d expect, but fair warning — when he starts holding that baby toward the end, your ovaries may just kick into overdrive.

4) If you’re feeling old, read up on this comforting advice Cracked offers about leaving your 20s behind.

5) Who knew Batman was actually an idiot? These College Humor sketches present a new, but not necessarily improved take on Batman interrogating the Joker, battling wits with the Riddler, trying out new voices and, as you’ll see below, unsuccessfully vanishing from a rooftop:

(courtesy Austin Film Festival/Jack Plunkett)

My favorite panel of AFF was, of course, “Script-to-Screen: Veronica Mars with Rob Thomas,” which delved into both behind-the-scenes trivia and the writing process behind bringing the best teen detective noir ever to grace the small screen. For my money, television doesn’t get much better than “Veronica Mars,” so hearing showrunner (and off-and-on-again Austinite) Rob Thomas (pictured above) tell how he came up with and developed the show’s central story, characters and perfectly plotted season arcs was a fangirl’s dream. (If you haven’t seen the show yet, it’s no longer available on Netflix Instant, but you can rent all three seasons on DVD. As we said before, Veronica Mars is a pint-sized, pop culture-spewing private investigator who packs a punch – and an oh-so-handy taser. First seasons of television shows only very, very, very rarely come as deftly plotted, suspenseful, funny, unflinchingly honest, swoon-inducing and addicting as the first season of “Veronica Mars.”) During the panel, Thomas played the pilot episode (including clips from both his cut and the network’s cut) while pausing often to share thoughts and stories. One of those stories included the casting process for the main male characters of Duncan Kane and Logan Echolls, and then it turned out that Jason Dohring, the actor who played Logan Echolls (the inciter of the aforementioned swoon), was actually in the room. Sigh.

As for the films, well, it’s easy to take shots at films with hundreds of millions of studio money behind them, but with more personal films, like the kinds that premiere at a festival geared toward writers, it feels wrong and mean-spirited to spend time pointing them out. So, rather than talking about films that were empirically good or bad, I’ll just share the five that I enjoyed watching the most, in chronological order. That being said, one of the bad things about living in the city where the festival is held is that life sometimes gets in the way of screenings you most want to see, which is why i missed both “The Artist” and “Jeff Who Lives at Home.” Before I get to my chronological countdown of new movies, I have to give a special mention to Friday’s screening of 1990′s “Metropolitan,” a comedy of manners I adore and that was such a treat to see on the big screen followed by a Q&A with its brilliant and elusive writer/director, Whit Stillman.

1) When a film is charged with opening an entire festival, it has a lot of expectations, including setting the tone and level for the next week of films. “Butter” more than rose to the challenge. The only things I knew about “Butter” before setting foot into the Paramount on AFF’s opening night were that it starred Jennifer Garner and served as an allegory of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary set in the world of competitive butter carving. The film, which also starred Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone and Rob Corddry, turned out to be all that and much more as one of the most enjoyable salty-and-sweet comedies this side of “Bad Santa.” And I never would have pegged Rob Corddry as the kind of actor that could make me cry, but he brought so much warmth to his role as the foster father of aspiring butter carver (and Obama surrogate) Destiny. Writer Jason A. Micallef was in attendance and participated in a Q&A after the panel, in which he talked about his smart and funny script, which previously had been on the famous Black List of the best unproduced screenplays.

(Bruce Robinson and Johnny Depp, courtesy Austin Film Festival/Jack Plunkett)

2)The Austin Film Festival certainly draws famous actors and filmmakers to our city, but when Johnny Depp came to town, every person with a badge or a film pass flocked to the Paramount to see “The Rum Diary”on Friday night. The film was introduced by saying that no other actor can play comedy and fear at the same time as well as Depp, and he certainly proved that once again with his performance in “The Rum Diary,” which was adapted by writer/director Bruce Robinson from the novel by the late great Hunter S. Thompson. Set in Cuba in the 1950s and also starring Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Austinite Amber Heard and Giovanni Ribisi, “The Rum Diary” is good fun and the perfect marriage of director, actor and source material, as anyone who has seen either Robinson’s famously gin-soaked “Withnail and I” or Depp’s appropriately gonzo performance as Thompson in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” can probably guess. After the film, Depp and Robinson (along with famed film columnist Elvis Mitchell) provided the most hilariously entertaining Q&A of the entire festival.

3) Heading into AFF, the film I was definitely most excited about was Sundance hit “Like Crazy.” Starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as an American and Brit, respectively, who fall in love only to see their relationship torn apart by distance and visa problems, “Like Crazy” effectively creates that same feeling of love and longing that everyone can identify with. Beautifully shot and acted, the film was largely improvised from an outline from writer/director Drake Doremus, who said at the Q&A following the film that he wanted to write a story in which love was both the protagonist and the antagonist, because it caused Anna and Jacob to make decisions that ultimately hurt themselves and others. I’m not a fan of ambiguous endings, but I know that the heightened emotions of “Like Crazy” will stick with me for a long time.

4) Unfortunately, “Stuck Between Stations” was one of the few screenings I attended that didn’t have a filmmaker in attendance, and I enjoyed the film so much that I would have loved to hear more about its creation. Set all in one night, largely as a conversation between two twenty-somethings that kinda-sorta knew each other back in elementary and high school, “Stuck Between Stations” does an amazing job at creating one of those heady anything-is-possible nights when everything feels a little like a dream and you’re hesitant to do anything that might break the spell. (In that respect, it reminded me a bit of the also-great “In Search of a Midnight Kiss.”) In addition to bit parts with Josh Hartnett and Michael Imperiola, “Stuck Between Stations” stars Zoe Lister Jones and the film’s co-writer Sam Rosen as Becky and Casper, who are both a little bit lost. I was not a fan of Lister Jones’ tragically hip “Breaking Upwards,” but I thought she was great in this performance, although I think the MVP award has to go to Sam Rosen, who gave a three-dimensional, realistic portrayal of a soldier serving in Afghanistan that owed nothing to stereotype. In honor of the oft-unsung hero of “Friday Night Lights,” my husband and I have created the Saracen Award for QB 1′s specific brand of sweet, sad and earnest, and the character Rosen creates in Casper is a deserving recipient.

“Stuck Between Stations” Movie Trailer from Stuck Between Stations on Vimeo.

(Nick Kocher, Jason Dohring, and Brian McElhaney, courtesy Austin Film Festival/Tammy Perez)

5) With all that “Veronica Mars” and “FNL” love up there, I’m obviously a huge TV nerd. So is Andrew Disney, the NYU graduate who for his feature debut managed to assemble a cast that includes cast members from cult TV favorites “The Wire,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Heroes” and, yes, “Veronica Mars” and “Friday Night Lights.” You kind of want to punch him for having that kind of luck, but then he manages to win you over with his heavily stylized, self-labeled slacker noir “Searching for Sonny.” While I missed the Saturday premiere with actors Jason Dohring, Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney present, the Monday night screening included a Q&A with producer Red Sanders and writer/director Andrew Disney, who said he won over his stellar cast by sending them videos detailing the reasons why they should be in his movie. And it worked. Dohring stars as a twentysomething pizza boy who heads back to his hometown (which, although not named, is shot in Fort Worth) when one of his high school classmates (Masi Oka) goes missing. Between Logan Echolls, Colonel Tigh, Lyla Garrity and narrator Lester Freamon, you wouldn’t think anyone else would have room to shine, but Kocher and McElhaney of comedy duo Britanick Comedy (I suggest starting with the Joss Whedon-approved video “Teamwork”) demonstrate that they both have bright careers ahead.

(photo courtesy Austin Film Festival/Jack Plunkett)

2) In other movie news, let’s all toast some firewhiskey to the news that the Harry Potter cinematic journey isn’t quite over yet thanks to a new documentary that will be a special feature on the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ blu-ray:

3) We’ve always secretly dreamed of dressing up as our beloved WALL-E for Halloween, and with this lovely new volume on “The Art of Pixar,” may give us some ideas on how to make that happen. Check out the cover:

4) If you still haven’t figured out your Halloween costume, check out this awesome guide to dressing like your favorite ’90s girl. We call dibs on Carmen Sandiego next year! (And now her theme song will be in your head FOREVER.)

5) We will try to lay off the Daleks for a week after this, but we couldn’t resist sharing this genius robotic Dalek pumpkin, created by the fittingly named Evil Mad Scientist. It has an oven thermometer and an egg beater as its arms! And it moves!!!

Happy Halloween, dear readers!

Youth Lagoon – Montana from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

2) Another singer/songwriter we love, Ryan Adams, released his latest album Ashes and Fire this month, and it’s been in heavy rotation for us ever since. In his best album since 2005′s doubleheader of Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights, Ashes and Fire is intimate and poignant and lovely. KGSR has been playing the first single, “Lucky Now,” and you can catch acoustic in-studio renditions of a few new tracks and old favorites on Adams’ YouTube channel. Here’s our new favorite, “Dirty Rain”:

3) On Monday, we got a chance to see The Swell Season documentary as part of the Alamo Drafthouse‘s Music Monday programming. In case you missed it, this beautiful and heartbreaking documentary will be screening at the Alamo South Lamar for just four days next week. The film follows Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the stars, songwriters and gifted musicians behind 2007′s sweet love story “Once,” who embarked on a real-life relationship of their own in the process of filming that movie. Shot in moody black and white, the new documentary chronicles life on the road and the tolls touring and life itself took on their romance. You can read a Q&A with Glen here, and check out the film trailer further below. But first, watch this adorable video of Glen and Marketa from 2007, covering Bob Dylan:

4) In “Donnie Darko,” Drew Barrymore’s characters says that the two most beautiful words to hear in the English language are “cellar door.” And while we admit they’re pleasing to the ear, we also have a soft spot for the surprising aural beauty of the word “Dalek.” Sure, Daleks may be an evil alien race from “Doctor Who,” but we can still appreciate their name. We can also appreciate the clever artist who has created new Dalek dust jackets for some beloved classic novels. We’re a little partial to the idea of Daleks wandering the Moors and crying out for Cathy:

5) Fittingly enough, today marks the National Day on Writing (as established by the National Counsel of Teachers of English) so that’s the perfect way to gear up for the Texas Book Festival this weekend. Don’t forget you can also while away the hours before Monday morning dawns at the Austin Film Festival or at the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival. It’s a good weekend to be an Austinite. (But then again, now that the summer heat has gone away, we feel that way every weekend.)

Badges are still available for full AFF immersion, but film fans can also catch all the screenings they want with a $50 Film Pass or just by buying individual tickets to the screenings they want to attend. Keep in mind that badge and pass holders have priority entrance to all screenings.

The big news right now is that Johnny Depp himself might be attending AFF this year to receive the Extraordinary Contribution to Film – Acting Award. Here’s hoping this means he’ll also make an appearance at the Paramount’s double feature of his new Hunter S. Thompson-based flick “The Rum Diary” and the beloved “Edward Scissorhands.”

Out of the entire festival schedule, I’m most looking forward to Sunday because of television showrunner Rob Thomas’ Script-to-Screen: Veronica Mars panel to learn more about the making of one of my favorite shows of all time. That afternoon, I’ll also be heading to the Paramount for “Like Crazy,” a movie I’ve been looking forward to since its Sundance buzz.

Are you planning on checking out any AFF screenings? What movies are you most excited about?

2) As fans of both YA literature and director Jason Reitman, we can’t wait to see “Young Adult” when it hits theaters this winter. Check out the promising trailer:

3) One of our favorite writers right now writes for the small screen. Read all about “Community” showrunner Dan Harmon’s storytelling process in this feature from Wired.

4) Florence + the Machine’s newest single “Shake it Out” gets a video that is one part creepy, two parts awesome and a splash of “Eyes Wide Shut”:

5) Say what you will about Kristen Stewart, but girlfriend looks drop-dead gorgeous on the cover of this month’s British GQ:

This year’s Festival, which will take place on October 22 and 23, promises to be the most exciting yet. With an impressive roster of established and emerging authors and a tempting lineup of readings, presentations, panel discussions, book signings, and live music, we can expect even the most reclusive of bookworms to wriggle our way.

Authors in Attendance

Choosing from the 200+ authors participating in 2011’s TBF is as difficult a task as choosing which events to attend, but if I must, I must. Here’s a shortlist of the authors that rev my engine (in alphabetical order so as not to play favorites which, clearly, I’m already doing. So.):

Susan Orlean – Orlean has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992. She is also the author of The Orchid Thief, the basis for the film Adaptation, in which Meryl Streep played Orlean. Adaptation is one of Justine’s favorite movies of all time.

Chuck Palahniuk – Palahniuk’s bestselling novels include Tell-All, Pygmy, Snuff, Rant, and Fight Club, which was made into a movie by David Fincher, Diary, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and Choke, which was made into a film by Clark Gregg. He is also the author of the nonfiction profile Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon, published as part of the Crown Journey Series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. Palahniuk’s short story “Guts” nearly made Justine vomit … in a good way.

Justin Torres – Torres’ work has appeared in Granta, Tin House, and Glimmer Train. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, he is the recipient of a Rolón Fellowship in Literature from United States Artists and is now a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Justine was blown away by the breathtaking beauty of Torres’ recent novel We the Animals. She wants to be him.

Events of Note

I’m sorry. I can’t. Don’t hate me. (“Sex and the City,” anyone? No? Too soon?) I want to go to everything! View the full schedule here and deal with your own guilt over what awesomeness you’ll have to miss in favor of something slightly more awesome. Seriously. Leave me out of it.

That said, there is one TBF event that I’ll mention because (a) it’s brand spankin’ new, and (b) WriteByNight is involved.

Introducing the Austin Lit Crawl (October 22), featuring TBF authors on stage and in conversation at six hip East Sixth Street venues. The official lineup has yet to be released. Stay tuned here.

As if that’s not enough to wet your whistle—oh, just admit it, your whistle is wet—the best news is yet to come.

Wait for it.

The Texas Book Festival is free and open to the public. So … that happened. If you ask me (which you didn’t), it doesn’t get much better than this. See you there, chickadees.

Justine Tal Goldberg is an award-winning writer and editor of both fiction and nonfiction. Her short stories have appeared in Anomalous Press, Whiskey Island, Fringe Magazine, and other publications. Her journalistic work has appeared in the Texas Observer, Austin Monthly, and Publishing Perspectives, among others. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She owns and operates WriteByNight, a writing center and writers’ service headquartered in Austin.

2) Speaking of movies, we are thrilled about the arrival of fall movie season. Away with bombast and bad CGI; hello to movies with good stories! We missed you this summer. Fall movie season got off to a fantastic start with “Moneyball” and “Drive,” two very different but compelling movies that whetted our appetites for all the upcoming Oscar bait.

3) Which reminds us, all our thoughts on Ryan Gosling are best summed up by this letter penned to him on Hello Giggles. And this clip:

4) Someday Ryan Gosling may find himself on a new tumblr, that of the directly named Hot Old Men. We enjoyed perusing the site, even though we were a little surprised to find so many 40-something actors listed. Is 40 the new old?

5) It’s OK to like both hot old men and teen books, right? Right??? We hope so. Not only are we planning on hitting up the free Austin Teen Book Festival this weekend at the Palmer Events Center, but we also just finished and totally adored Spoiled, the oh-so-fun YA fiction debut of the Fug Girls (Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks).