Schedule | Friday, July 24

11 a.m.–5 p.m. Registration, Hilton Lobby

9 a.m.–4 p.m. Writing Workshops for Selected Entries, Conference Rooms, 2nd Floor

3 p.m.–5 p.m. Close Encounters of the Literary Kind, Session 1, Location TBA

Optional – fee is $50 – sign up in conference registration. See the ticket in your nametag for designated time and location. Bring your ticket and nametag. Important: Please arrive early for your 15-minute appointment with one of our literary agents.

5:30–7:15 p.m. Southwest Soiree – Reception and Dinner for Speakers and Confreres
Meet up with everyone at Austin Ranch and enjoy Tex-Mex. Sue Mayborn, honorary publisher of the conference and Mitch Land, director of the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism, will welcome our writers and guests. Wear your nametag, and bring your ticket to the event. Cash bar available. Afterward the entire group will trek back to the Hilton to hear the keynote speech.

Note: Dinner open to the public, $75 admission.
Advance reservations only. We can’t accept payment at the door.

7:30–8:30 p.m., Keynote Address, Hilton Ballroom.

Lecture Open to the Public, $60 admission

"The World is Elsewhere: A Life in Search of Stories" Paul Theroux, one of America’s literary lions and author of more than 47 books of travel writing, short-story collections, novels, criticism and children’s literature, is widely acclaimed as the nation’s most renowned travel writer - the quintessential explorer.

8:30–8:50 p.m. Q & A with Paul Theroux, Ballroom

8:50–9:40 p.m. Book Signing for Paul Theroux and all confreres, outside Ballroom

9:40 p.m. ‘Til the roosters crow. Spend the remainder of the evening socializing with writers and confreres at the hotel patio bar.