Each month I’ll be investigating events around town that might pique the interest of the book nerds, the literature obsessed, and those who enjoy stimulating entertainment and/or socializing. Not surprisingly, Austin has a number of things going on every month the Book People community would enjoy.
May is apparently THE month to screen films adapted from books!
The following are Alamo Drafthouse screenings of book-to-film adaptations in the month of May:
Mommie Dearest Mother’s Day Roast w/ host Rebecca Havemeyer
Sunday, May 8th @ The Ritz location – 6:30pm – Tickets are $12
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Mother’s Day Brunch
Sunday, May 8th @ South Lamar location – Noon
Tickets are $65 and include a 4 course brunch with wine pairings!
The Masque of the Red Death in 35mm!
Terror Tuesday Screening, Tickets are $3
Tuesday, May 17th @ The Ritz location – 10:05pm
Cloud Atlas
Monday, May 23rd @ The Ritz location – 7pm – Tickets
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Saturday, May 28th @ Slaughter Lane location – 10am – Tickets
Tickets for Alice Through the Looking Glass include an at-your-seat serving of tea (or juice) and three delicious treats – Pigs in a Blanket, Silver Dollar Cornmeal Pancakes with Honey Butter, and Strawberry Jam and Cream Cheese Finger Sandwiches. There will also be a costume contest!
The Dionysium Spring Show
Wednesday, May 4th at The Alamo Drafthouse Village – 7pm
The theme of this Dionysium event is 1916. Typical Dionysium events feature a lecture, a declamation, a drinking song, and a debate. To learn more, visit their website and Facebook page!
39th O.Henry Pun-Off World Championships
Saturday, May 7th
Brush Square Park (Backyard to the O.Henry Museum) – 409 E. 5th St
It’s hard to get more Austin than this (maybe Eeyore’s Birthday, maybe). The O.Henry Pun-Off has been happening in Austin annually since 1977!
Pun (def): also called paronomasia, is the humorous use of a word or words in such a way as to suggest different meanings or applications OR words that have the same or nearly the same sound but different meanings.
The contest consists of two events:
Punniest of Show – where 32 contestants compete with their best “punny” material in 90 second increments.
Punslingers – a pair of punners square off with 5 seconds each in a tit-for-tat style pun off. The round is over when one of the contestants cannot make a pun.
Who is O.Henry?
Austin is proud to claim as a citizen William Sydney Porter, better known to the world as O. Henry , a writer of short stories that have become American classics.
For more information and schedules for the event, please visit the punoff website!
Eat Your Words
A night of true stories by celebrity foodies and a 4-course dinner with pairings by Austin’s most creative chefs.
Tuesday, May 10th @ Home Slice Pizza, 6pm
Austin Bat Cave’s Story Department at Home Slice pizza is replacing their regularly scheduled monthly event with this amazing fundraiser! All proceeds benefit Austin Bat Cave’s free writing program for kids. Check out their website for details, and buy a table here!
The Austin Bat Cave Story Department will be back with their monthly storytelling event on June 14th!
Naked Girls Reading – Queer Intentions
Saturday, May 14th at Salvage Vanguard Theater, 8pm and 10pm
This will be the final NGR show at our beloved Salvage Vanguard Theater. In this edition the cast will be exploring literature through the LGBTQIA lens.
General admission is $15. Get your tickets now! Most shows sell out in advance!
Salvage Vanguard Theater is located at 2803 Manor Rd, until June 30th.
Shakespeare Film Series at The Harry Ransom Center
Hamlet (1949) – Thursday, May 5th 7pm
The Dresser (1983) – Thursday, May 12th 7pm
Titus (1999) – Thursday, May 19th 7pm
Theater of Blood (1973) – Thursday, May 26th 7pm
The Ransom Center is located at the northeast corner of 21st and Guadalupe Streets on The University of Texas at Austin campus.
Parking on the University campus is limited. The best parking option for visitors is in any of the nine UT parking garages located around the campus.
Non-university parking options include street meters and private surface lots and garages.
Non-university garages include the Bullock Texas State History Museum (beneath the museum; entrance on south side on 18th Street) and Dobie Mall (2005 Whitis Avenue, across the street from the Ransom Center).
The POPular Vote: A Political (& not-so-political) Art Show
Guzu Gallery – Opening reception Saturday, May 14th 7pm-10pm
Art show displays through June 7th.
Guzu Gallery is Austin’s pop-art center for collectibles, from artwork to figurines. If you haven’t been by there, go, now, but beware, you might walk out having unwittingly emptied your bank account.
For more information about The POPular vote, and what artists will be on display, please visit the Guzu Gallery website and event page!
RECURRING MONTHLY EVENTS:
One Page Salon (every 1st Tuesday)– Tuesday, May 3rd – 7:30pm @ The North Door (FREE)
Nerd Nite (every 2nd Wednesday) – Wednesday, May 11th – 7:30pm @ The North Door (FREE)
Astronomy on Tap (every 3rd Thursday) – Thursday, May 19th – 7pm @ The North Door (FREE)
Testify (every fourth Thursday) – Thursday, April 26th – 7:30pm @ The Spider House Ballroom ($5)
Austin Events for the Literati is researched, curated, and written by bookseller Sarah Holdgrafer. Its purpose is to make it easier to discover events that would interest people in the literary scene, or just people that read the BookPeople blog, here in ATX. It is by no means comprehensive!
So, if you are hosting, or just know about, a literary themed event here in Austin in the upcoming months, email sarah.h (at) bookpeople dot com and let her know about it (hopefully with at least a few weeks advance warning)! The Austin Events for the Literati blog post goes up by the 1st of every month.
NOTE: These events are not produced by or affiliated with BookPeople. We just think they are great, that you’ll like them too, and hope to see you there! For official BookPeople events, please see the BookPeople Events Calendar!
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