Newsletter: June 2024 Edition
The Codger and the Sparrow book launch, future events, and more
It's been a little bit since my last newsletter and so much has happened since March 1st. My new novel, The Codger and the Sparrow, was released on March 22nd by TCU Press. On March 28th, the book launch event was at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. It was a night to remember! Fifty friends, family members, and readers came out to watch the conversation I had with extraordinary writer James Wade. I sold a bunch of books and signed a bunch more and hugged a lot of necks. It was such a fantastic event!
On March 30th, I drove down to San Antonio, Texas with my wife and daughter Sophia for a book event at Nowhere Bookshop. I was in conversation there with exceptional writer Andrew Porter. Afterwards Andrew, my wife, daughter, and I had dinner and drinks and it was such a great night!
On May 1st, the audiobook for The Codger and the Sparrow was released by Vibrance Press. Narrated by Brian P. Craig, he did such an exceptional job bringing my novel to life, particularly with voicing main character Hank. I am so proud of this audiobook!
On May 11th, I made an appearance at the first annual Greater Austin Book Festival at the main branch of the Austin Public Library in downtown Austin. Such a fantastic day and I met so many great writers and enthusiastic readers. I learned so much about the library system, too, from the staff. I hope to do it again next year!
On June 22nd, I will be making an appearance at the Agents and Editors Conference put on by the Writers’ League of Texas. If you're going to be there, then come by and say hello to me. My panel starts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
I will also be hosting a literary event at Alienated Majesty on Thursday August 15th. The featured writers are Emily Jon Tobias and Holly Hardy as well as myself. Looking forward to this event very much!
The last few months have been a valuable learning experience for me as a writer. I thought releasing a book through a university press would open more doors for me than it actually did. In many ways, releasing a book on a traditional publisher didn't make things any easier than when I was releasing books myself through my imprint Mutt Press. I thought more media outlets would be agreeable to reviewing my new book (nope, my publisher doesn't spend enough advertising money apparently). I thought more local media in Texas like newspapers and magazines would be more enthusiastic about my new book (nope, I'm still invisible apparently). Oh well. I wrote the best book I could at the time and did the best I could to make it attractive to the market. Maybe it's launch will slowly ascend well into the future. So many people are telling me to be patient. We'll see...
Anyway, if you'd like a paperback, eBook, or audiobook, then find your favorite retailer at the links below. If you live in Austin, then please stop by BookPeople for a signed paperback.
https://scottsemegran.com/books/the-codger-and-the-sparrow.html
https://scottsemegran.com/audiobooks/the-codger-and-the-sparrow.html
Photos from the BookPeople event were taken by my talented friend Jeff Loftin. The photo of Andrew Porter and I was taken by my wife Lori Hoadley. She also took the photo of me at the Greater Austin Book Festival. See below for more photos from the BookPeople book launch event.
Until next time, read more books, support your indie bookstores, support your local library, and be kind to each other.
Sincerely,
Scott Semegran
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