A member of the Writers’ League since May 2020, Denise lives in southeast Houston.

Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?

Denise Bossarte: Dark urban fantasy, nonfiction – self-help, and poetry.

Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them? 

DB: Brandon Sanderson. How do you keep all the worlds and characters straight across your multiple series?

Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?

DB: The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?

DB: Just joined!

Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?

DB: More in my series of dark urban fantasy. Audiobooks of my poetry and dark urban fantasy series. Recording them myself and with help of friends.

Two of my short stories in the world of GLAMOROUS also have received 5-Star Readers’ Favorite reviews: RETURN and BEGINNINGS. These are both Amazon bestsellers.

My unpublished nonfiction self-help manuscript, Thriving, was a quarterfinalist in the inaugural 2019 Booklife Prize Nonfiction Contest, Self-help category. It is entered into the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Nonfiction Self-help competition, winners to be announced in September. Hoping to find an agent for this once things get settled into a new normal.

“[The WLT has taught me that] there are a lot of excellent writers in Texas.”

— Ann Stout 

A member of the Writers’ League since April 2020, Ann lives in Houston.

Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?

Ann Stout: Memoir, personal essay, poetry, medical public policy  issues, personal letters to friends.

Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them? 

AS: Barbara Kingsolver. What comes first when you write a novel with a climate issue (ex: “Flight Behavior”) – which comes first, the story or the climate disaster and how do you go about crafting the book?

Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?

AS: Mary Oliver “New and Selected Poems” for poetry and “Pride and Prejudice” for clarity of writing and mental escape. 

Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?

AS: That writing as a vocation can be all-consuming, that a lot of writers are willing to share of themselves, that there are a lot of excellent writers in Texas, that writing takes time.

Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?

AS: I have practiced pediatric ophthalmology for 25 years and now have rediscovered my passion for writing. I hope to use it to engage and educate others, to brighten their days, to share my own story of vision problems, and possibly affect public policy in expanding health care access.

AS: The last Texas-related book I read was “The Drowning House” by Elizabeth Black, published in 2013 about a woman returning to Galveston and exploring her family history with links to the the Galveston Hurricane. It was great to read when I moved back to Houston in 2014.

“I have no grand dreams of my writing taking me anywhere except deeper into my own imagination and ideas about the world.”

— Andrew Mitin

A member of the Writers’ League since May 2020, Andrew lives in Spring, Texas.

Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?

Andrew Mitin: I write fiction, screenplays and poetry.

Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them? 

AM: If I could ask any writer about the love and sorrows of these endeavors I’d have a cigar with Kierkegaard while ambling around Copenhagen.

Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?

AM: If I were stranded on an island (or in my apartment, as the last few months have seen) I would need the Bible and Plato’s Republic to keep me sane.

Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?

AM: I have no grand dreams of my writing taking me anywhere except deeper into my own imagination and ideas about the world.

AM: I’ve only recently moved to Texas so I can’t pretend to know about the books it has inspired.

“Stranded for life? The Bible. A year? All of Michener’s books. A month? All of Agatha Christie’s.”

— George Hollenbeck

A member of the Writers’ League since July 2020, George lives in Livingston, TX.

Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?

George Hollenbeck: It has varied over the years, but always non-fiction: Currently, commentary on the world around me; newspaper articles on fishing; club news for clubs, and opinionated emails with friends discussing current issues and events.

Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them? 

GH: John McPhee, a master writer and one whose writing I like to think is similar to mine. My question would be: Would you critique some of my writing?

Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?

GH: Stranded for life? The Bible. A year? All of Michener’s books. A month? All of Agatha Christie’s.

Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?

GH: It provides me pleasure and a sense of accomplishment, that’s enough! I share some with a few friends who invariably tell me they like it! I have pondered writing “The Iron Laws of Aging”, or alternately “Making it Through Old Age,” but I have neither the time, the discipline, nor the intense motivation required to get that done!

GH: God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright, although it came out in 2018. It was written as a response to The New Yorker piece, “Why do you live in Texas?” It is a readable, hilarious, and sad — unbelievable at times.

— Allyson Neal

A member of the Writers’ League since July 2020, Allyson lives in Sugar Land, TX.

Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?

Allyson Neal: I mostly write children’s literature and I’ve also written two non-fiction history books about the community where I grew up in New Orleans. I was inspired to become a writer after reading Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, and Judy Blume in my youth. They’re all great storytellers and I longed to join them in telling stories that would entertain, inform, and inspire.

Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them? 

AN: Right now, I’d like to have drinks with Jason Reynolds or Kwame Alexander. They’re both very accomplished children’s book and young adult book authors. I would ask them about what inspires them and how they were able to successfully transition from independent publishing into traditional publishing, which is something that I long to do as well.

Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?

AN: If there could only be one book, it would definitely be the Bible. The Bible, to me, is more than literature. It contains everything that I need to nourish my Spirit and it has great stories of God’s partnership with mankind that move beyond inspiration and into fueling the greatness of our capabilities to love, forgive, and strive toward a higher calling of being human. So, I would need the Bible to keep me sane and to fuel my hope that I would be rescued and not die on the island.

Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?

AN: I hope that my writing will take me around the world to share my stories in multiple languages and with children of diverse cultures. I also hope that it allows me to interact with children and to read portions of my books to them. They are the best critics and when they love a book, they are its best cheerleaders.

AN: In Search of the Blues: A Journey to the Soul of Black Texas by Bill Minutaglio is a book that I would recommend. Black people are now faced with even more disparities with regard to our race and differences. Sharing our stories, our pain, trials, and triumphs is a great way to tear down the walls that separate us from others.

-Jennie Dunham

Every year, the Writers’ League of Texas brings a faculty of close to thirty agents, editors, and other industry professionals to Austin for its Agents & Editors Conference. As we look ahead to the 26th Annual A&E Conference, taking place June 28–June 30, 2019, we’re happy to share Q&As with some of our faculty here.

An Interview with Jennie Dunham

Jennie Dunham has been a literary agent in New York since May 1992. In August 2000 she founded Dunham Literary, Inc. She represents literary fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. Her clients have had both critical and commercial success. Books she has represented have appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers in adult hardcover fiction, children’s books, and children’s book series. Her clients have won numerous awards including: New York Times Best Illustrated Book, The Schneider Family Award, Boston Globe Horn Book Honor, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. She is a member of AAR (Association of Authors Representatives) and SCBWI. She worked at three different literary agencies before she founded Dunham Literary, Inc. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Anthropology and has a master’s degree in Social Work from New York University.

 Scribe: What is your approach to the author/agent relationship?

Jennie Dunham: I’m looking for clients who want an agent to be a member of their team. We need to be able to discuss editorial and business issues together openly because no single answer is right for all writers. As a team we can celebrate good news together but come up with new plans when there’s difficult news.

Scribe: Are there specific elements that draw you to a project?

JD: This is a hard question to answer because every project is individual. That makes my work interesting since I’m always learning something new. In general, I want to be engaged the characters and the plot so that I’m immersed in the story. I need a fresh premise to pique my interest in the story. But, usually it’s the writing style and voice which make me want to become an enthusiastic advocate for the writer.

Scribe: Tell us about a recent project you’re excited about!

JD: I’m very excited about a graphic novel called The Daughters of Ys by M. T. Anderson that my client Jo Rioux has illustrated. She can both write and illustrate, and she has an astute eye for character and an intrinsic talent in building narrative.

Scribe: And also, who is your favorite current children’s lit author?

JD: I don’t have a single favorite author. What I like is the wide variety of authors, books, and stories. Books are better than ever for adult readers and especially for children’s book readers.

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Thanks, Jennie!

Click here to read our 2019 A&E Conference agent bios.

Click here for more information on the 2019 Agents & Editors Conference, a weekend long event in Austin, TX (June 28-June 30) that focuses on the craft of writing, the business of publishing, and building a literary community.

The idea that writing is a solitary pursuit has been thoroughly disproven: we realized that behind every great person is another great person, or two or three or twelve, whose ideas and encouragement offered a crucial form of support. I know that writing requires connection more than isolation, but it wasn’t until I started taking creative writing classes at Austin Community College that I realized how accessible — and how vital — a writing community could be.

Taking classes at ACC has introduced me to a range of voices and perspectives that I might not have otherwise encountered, both in the classroom and in the literary canon. It’s all too easy to get lost in my own particular world, studying only the authors and regions and worldviews which are familiar to me. Suggested reading lists and classroom discussions have led me to some of my favorite new-to-me authors, and they’ve also introduced me to ideas that I hadn’t yet considered.

When I write by myself, my writing practice seems like just that: practice. I write in my journal or on my laptop, and I accumulate pages and pages of half-formed ideas that never make it past the first draft. Taking a creative writing class allows my writing to shift from practice to product. Knowing that someone else will read my drafts inspires me to work harder and write better, and having a deadline also gives me permission to stop: at a certain point, I have to put down my pencil and share my work with someone else.

Before I took creative writing classes, I didn’t share my writing with anyone. I loved to write but it felt too personal to share: I imagined that the stories or essays I wrote would reveal some aspect of myself I’d prefer to keep hidden, or would touch on some concept that I’d rather ignore.

There’s something exhilarating about sharing your work. Writing is ultimately about communication, and a community — of peers and mentors, other writers — forms a critical part of that equation.

Right now, as I find myself physically separated from many of the people and activities that I used to enjoy, I turn to words more than ever. Books offer some consolation, but at the end of the day, I still find myself searching for a more personal connection. The creative writing classes at ACC have shown me the power of a writing community, and I’m so excited to continue participating in Austin’s vibrant literary scene.

— Maya Landers, ACC Student

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Thanks, Maya!

For more information about Fall courses, click here, and to learn more about enrolling through continuing education, click here. Or you can call or email the department chair, Charlotte Gullick, at 512-913-4479, cgullick@austincc.edu

Are you a business or organization interested in getting involved?

Community Membership is a great way to connect with the Writers’ League’s membership base and share news and information about writing-related services and events. For more information on Community Membership click here or call our office at (512) 499-8914.