Writers' League of Texas: Burning the Midnight Oil - The Balancing Act of Life & Writing

The Writers' League presents a yearlong series called “The Write of
Way,” in which authors and publishing professionals explore various
elements of the writer’s life ranging from inspiration to perspiration,
time management to research, and drafting to publishing. “The Write of
Way” is for anyone who considers him or herself a writer – or even just
an avid reader who is curious about the process!

This month, the topic of conversation will be Burning the Midnight Ol: The Balancing Act of Life & Writing. Panelists this evening include:

Greg Levin - Greg Levin is a professional writer based in Austin, TX. He has been getting paid to put words together since 1994, working as a business journalist, freelancer, blogger and ghostwriter. Greg’s debut novel, Notes on an Orange Burial, was published in November 2011 by Elixirist and has sold over seven copies to his immediate family. He is currently working on his second book, which is already being hailed as one of the top two novels he has ever written. Greg can be reached at greg@greglevin.com. 

DJ Stout - DJ Stout is a fifth generation Texan and the co-author of The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and His Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club. He received his degree in design communication from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where he was honored as a distinguished alumnus. Between 1987 and 1999 he was art director of Texas Monthly, where he helped to guide the magazine to three National Magazine Awards. DJ and his team specialize in the creation of brand identity design and strategy, publication design, packaging and interactive design solutions. Recent projects include Microsoft Windows Vista, Ruby Tuesday Restaurants, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Walgreens, L.L. Bean, Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine, Yankee magazine, and Texas A&M’s Advance magazine. 

Varian Johnson - Varian Johnson - Varian Johnson is the author of three novels, including My Life as a Rhombus, which was named to the Texas Library Association Tayshas High School Reading List, the New York Public Library “Stuff for the Teen Age” list, and was a finalist for a Texas Institute of Letters award. He holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has taught and presented at St. Edwards University, Texas State University, and Austin Community College. His latest novel, Saving Maddie, was recently named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of 2011.

Nikki Loftin