Author appearances

CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Tampa Writers Alliance is calling for entries for its 2005 writing contest. The annual competition is open to writers 18 and older. Categories include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, play/script writing, science fiction/fantasy and the Dr. Ed Hirshberg Award for Excellence in Florida Writing and the Novel. Prizes range from $25 to $150; the prize for the Dr. Ed Hirshberg Award is a scholarship to the 2006 USF Suncoast Writers Conference or a $150 cash prize. TWA members may enter one work in each of the categories with no entry fee, except in the Ed Hirshberg competition, which has a $5 entry fee. For nonmembers, there is a $10 entry fee for each category. Deadline for mailed entries is Oct. 1. Hand-delivered entries will be accepted at the TWA general meeting on Oct. 5. Winners will be announced in January at the TWA awards banquet. For information, log on to: www.tampawriters.org

READING FESTIVAL ON THE MOVE

The 13th Annual St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading will be held Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at a new venue: USF St. Petersburg. Festival organizers are seeking corporate partners for sponsorships, booksellers, self-published authors and vendors of literacy-related merchandise, as well as volunteers. Applications can be downloaded from: www.festivalofreading.com or requested by leaving your name, address and phone number on the festival's information line, 727 892-2358.

MIXING BLING AND BOOKS

Combining Oscar glitz with the democracy of the People's Choice Awards, the literary Quill Awards will be decided by readers but handed out at a black-tie affair. Booksellers and librarians made the first cut, nominating five English-language books published in the United States between Aug. 1, 2004, and July 31 in 19 categories. Now it's your turn to pick the winners. Cast your vote at www.quillsvote.com or at voting kiosks in select Borders Books & Music stores see www.bordersstores.com for participating locations. The winners will be announced Oct. 11. Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News will host the ceremony, which will be broadcast on NBC on Oct. 22.

BOOKS PRESIDENT BUSH TOOK TO TEXAS TO READ ON VACATION

1. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

2. Alexander II: The Last Great Czar by Edvard Radzinsky

3. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

Source: Los Angeles Times

To place an announcement in Book Talk, please send the author's name and book title, appearance time and date and the venue name, phone number and address to Piper Castillo, Book Talk, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731-1121. You may also send submissions by fax to 727 893-8675 or by e-mail to pcastillo@sptimes.com Deadline is 14 days before publication.

[Last modified August 20, 2005, 11:15:04]