Saturday, July 11th marks the end of Tuscaloosa Writers and Illustrators Guild’s free six-session memoir-writing course. This program has been offered in partnership with the Tuscaloosa Public Library to augment West Alabama’s celebration of the 250th birthday of our nation. The final session will be held from 2:00 – 4:00 in the History Room of Tuscaloosa Public Library. Author Mary Brunette, poet and author James Matthew Byers and author David Strickland will serve as panelists. Authors Laura Hunter and Carolyn Breckinridge have served as facilitators throughout. This series has proven quite popular and other TWIG/TPL partnership programs are in the works for fall and spring.
Signings
| Date & Time | Author | Event & Location |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday July 11th 10:00 AM–5:00 PM |
TK Cassidy | Marysville Pioneer Days Marysville, MT |
| Saturday July 18th 1:00–5:00 PM |
John Ryland | Summerween Art Festival Regional Library and Arts Center, 140 Cane Creek Road, Warrior, AL |
| Saturday July 21st 10:00 AM–5:00 PM |
TK Cassidy | Railroad Days Hank Roat Memorial Park, Alberton, MT |
| Tuesday July 21st 5:00–7:00 PM |
Gary Miller | Muscle Shoals Public Library 1918 Avalon Ave., Muscle Shoals, AL |
Celebrations
- Kayla Elise Burke Brown’s manuscript, Wodehouse, has been short-listed for the Killer Nashville Conference’s Claymore Award for the first 50 unpublished pages in the Southern Gothic category.
- Kayla Elise Burke Brown’s novel, Chase Harlem, is a FINALIST for the 2026 Shamus Award for Best First Private Investigator Novel.
- Clarence Dean Bonner has learned his story, “Back to the Beginning” will be featured in the fall edition of So It Goes, the literary journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
- Beverly Thorn’s memoir, Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver, is a FINALIST in the Independent Publishers’ Book Awards.
- Walt Henley’s manuscript, The Consciousness of Life and Death, is a FINALIST for the 2026 Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Category.
- A huge congratulations to our three Silver Falchion FINALISTS, the award presented for the best novel published during the previous year at the Killer Nashville Conference:
- Gregory N. Whitis for Eight Minutes in the category of Action/Adventure
- (Kayla) Elise Burke Brown for Chase Harlem in the category of Best Investigative; and
- Gary Minder for The Education of Asa Paxton: Coming of Age in the Heart of Dixie in the category of Best Southern Gothic.
Lynessa Layne’s book, Nightshade, is in the Reader’s Choice competition at the Killer Nashville Conference.
TK Cassidy gets a TWIG thumbs up for most original book club reading of her novel, Whoodah Thunket, about three cat burglar sisters.
Readings and Appearances
| Date & Time | Author | Event & Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday July 7th |
Beverly Thorn | Podcast societyforhealthpsychology.org/communications/podcast/episode-1 |
| Saturday July 11th 2:00–4:00 PM |
Mary Brunette | Memoir-Writing Workshop Panelist Writing Memoir for Children/Family Tuscaloosa Public Library, Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Saturday July 11th 2:00–4:00 PM |
James Matthew Byers | Memoir-Writing Workshop Panelist Oral Storytelling: A Forgotten Tradition Tuscaloosa Public Library, Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Saturday July 11th 2:00–4:00 PM |
David Strickland | Memoir-Writing Workshop Panelist A Naturalist's Memoir Tuscaloosa Public Library, Tuscaloosa, AL |
Trailer Links and YouTube Videos
- Megan Blaney has created a YouTube channel where she reads from her works.
https://youtu.be/xGJkA-dJyyg?si=gUtiBtfr8OWkuOG1 - Sam Popkins has a trailer for his memoir, Scenes Through the Narrow Window: Personal and Professional Reflections of a Clinical Psychologist.
https://linktr.ee/sampopkin
Community Activities
- Author/Poet Laura Hunter and author Carolyn Breckinridge will co-facilitate the sixth TWIG/TPL memoir-writing workshop on Saturday, July 11th from 2:00-4:00 PM at Tuscaloosa Public Library in the History Room.
- Jennifer Horne continues to offer Mid-Week Poetry Break on her Facebook feed.
- Tk Cassidy will offer the second in her series, “How to be a Writer” at the Missoula Public Library from 6:00-8:00 on Tuesday, July 14th.
