On the Road Again: Fall Festivals 2011

I love getting out to events, and I'm lucky enough to have three lined up between now and the end of the year.

September 4
Decatur Book Festival, Decatur GA, 1 p.m. at Java Monkey. This will be the second year in a row that Tammy and I will read our poetry on the local stage (thanks to JC Reilly's invite). This book festival is really a great event, and I'm totally stoked to be playing any sort of role. Hopefully, I can meet up with some of my favorite poets, including Collin Kelley, Sandra Beasley, Jericho Brown, Dorianne Laux, Thomas Lux, and more.

October 1
Houston Poetry Festival, Webster TX, at Barnes & Noble. I've got to thank Mary Margaret Carlisle, poet and president of the Gulf Coast Poets chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas, for arranging this appearance for me. I still need to get the time, but this will be for the Out of Bounds reading hosted by GCP.

November 12
Kentucky Book Fair, Frankfort KY. Thanks to Connie Crowe for inviting me to this event! I had to participate, because my Grandpa Brewer is convinced that we're related to or associated with about everyone from Kentucky. Unlike the other two events, I'll be appearing as an editor for this event, but I may figure out a way to read a poem or two while I'm in town.

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Need a speaker?
I have experience reading poetry and educating writers on the business of writing, including finding publishing opportunities, building writer platforms, and pitching editors and agents. As the editor of Writer's Market and Poet's Market, I know the business side of writing and publishing well. As a poet, I was named the 2010 Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere and was a National Feature poet at the 2011 Austin International Poetry Festival. Plus, I self-published a sold out, limited edition debut chapbook earlier this year titled ENTER and am currently accepting pre-orders on my second limited edition chapbook, ESCAPE (click here for more details).

If you're interested in having me come out to your event, get the conversation started by sending me an e-mail at robertleebrewer@gmail.com. Simple as that.

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I hope you can make it out to one of these upcoming events! The ones in Kentucky and Texas will require significant road trip time.

Here's a quick list of supplies I like to have when I hit the road:

• Ultimate Alabama 20 #1 Hits, Alabama. I grew up traveling with songs like "Mountain Music" and "Tennessee River."
• Rand McNally 2012 Road Atlas. My Droid's navigation saved me time and frustration during AIPF earlier this year, but it's always good to have a backup plan--you know, just in case I lose reception.
• Flashlight. If you're driving at night on a lonesome stretch of Interstate, you'll be glad to have vision if something goes wrong.
• Doritos and Mountain Dew. I hope I don't need to explain this one.